Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market finished the week with gains. The S&P 500 (+0.6%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%), and Russell 2000 (+1.1%) pulled back from session highs before the close, but still logged solid gains.

The upside bias was driven by carryover momentum and strength in the semiconductor space. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) registered a 1.3% gain today.

Bank stocks were left out of today's rally after quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 204.94, -2.51, -1.2%), Citigroup (C 64.52, -1.19, -1.8%), and Wells Fargo (WFC 56.54, -3.62, -6.0%), which garnered negative responses despite beating earnings estimates. 

The S&P 500 financial sector eked out a 0.2% gain, closing near the bottom of the lineup among the 11 sectors. The consumer discretionary (+1.0%) and information technology (+0.9%) sectors were among the top performers.

The equity market had a muted response to this morning's hotter-than-expected Producer Price Index for June and upward revisions to the numbers in May. Total PPI was up 0.2% versus an expected 0.1% increase and Core PPI was up 0.4% versus an expected 0.1% increase.

Treasuries also had a muted response to the data. The 10-yr yield settled unchanged at 4.19% and the 2-yr note yield settled down five basis points to 4.46%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +22.6% YTD
• S&P 500: +17.7% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +8.6% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +6.1% YTD
• Russell 2000: +6.0% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• June PPI 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.0% from -0.2%; June Core PPI 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.3% from 0.0%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the year-over-year rate for PPI and core PPI accelerated for the fifth month out of the last six with rising prices of services outweighing falling prices of goods in June.
• July Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment - Prelim 66.0 (Briefing.com consensus 67.5); Prior 68.2
  • The key takeaway from the report was that it showed little change relative to June, as many consumers remained burdened by high prices, though inflation expectations dipped slightly.

Looking ahead to Monday, the NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index for July will be released at 8:30 ET.