Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.7%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.3%), and Russell 2000 (-1.9%) all closed near their worst levels of the session with solid losses. Decliners led advancers by a 7-to-2 margin at both the NYSE and at the Nasdaq. 

Mixed action in the mega cap and semiconductor spaces contributed to mixed action at the index level in early trading. Ultimately, many stocks finished lower on the day or pulled back from early highs, including mega cap and semiconductor names. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) closed 0.9% lower and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX), which had been up as much as 1.9%, closed just 0.5% higher than yesterday. 

Apple (AAPL 224.18, -4.70, -2.1%), Microsoft (MSFT 440.37, -3.15, -0.7%), and Amazon.com (AMZN 183.75, -4.17, -2.2%) were among the influential losers due to ongoing profit-taking activity.

Domino's Pizza (DPZ 409.04, -64.23, -13.6%) was another notable laggard, registering the steepest decline among S&P 500 components after reporting earnings. This price action, along with the decline in AMZN, contributed to the underperformance of the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector (-1.3%).

A solid earnings-related gain in D.R. Horton (DHI 173.42, +16.91, +10.1%) and other homebuilder stocks provided some offsetting support in the consumer discretionary sector.

The health care (-2.3%) and financial (-1.3%) sectors were also among the top laggards. Meanwhile, the energy sector (+0.3%) was alone in positive territory by the close.

The 10-yr note yield settled four basis points higher at 4.19% and the 2-yr note yield settled three basis points higher at 4.46%. The bond and equity markets were little changed by this morning's release of a weekly jobless claims report that showed a sizable increase in initial claims. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +19.1% YTD
• S&P 500: +16.2% YTD
• Russell 2000: +8.5% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +9.2% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +7.9% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 243K (Briefing.com consensus 225K); Prior was revised to 223K from 222K; Weekly Continuing Claims 1.867 mln; Prior was revised to 1.847 mln from 1.852 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it fits with the view that there is some softening in the labor market, which is a trend that will massage the market's belief that the Fed is likely to cut the target range for the fed funds rate before the end of the year.
• July Philadelphia Fed Index 13.9 (Briefing.com consensus 2.9); Prior 1.3
• June Leading Indicators -0.2% (Briefing.com consensus -0.3%); Prior was revised to -0.4% from -0.5%

There is no US economic data on tomorrow's calendar.