Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The equity market had a mixed showing today. The S&P 500 (-0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) closed with losses after trading slightly higher or slightly lower through the entire session.

Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 continued its recent outperformance, jumping 1.1% today. The small cap index is 9.6% higher this month and the S&P 500 shows a 1.7% gain in July. 

Mixed responses to earnings news contributed to the mixed feeling in the market. UPS (UPS 127.68, -17.50, -12.1%) was among the losing standouts after missing earnings estimates. NXP Semiconductors (NXPI 262.30, -21.51, -7.6%), and Nucor (NUE 161.55, -1.79, -1.1%) were also among the notable losers following their quarterly results.

Spotify (SPOT 330.79, +35.34, +12.0%), Lockheed Martin (LMT 501.29, +26.70, +5.6%), and Sherwin-Williams (SWH 344.50, +22.15, +6.9%) were winning standouts following their reports.

The mixed disposition in the market also stemmed from some hesitation in front of the bulk of earnings season and following yesterday's solid rally. 

Only three of the S&P 500 sectors registered gains -- materials (+0.4%), financials (+0.1%), and consumer discretionary (+0.02%) -- while the energy (-1.6%), utilities (-0.7%), and consumer staples (-0.3%) registered the largest declines.

The 10-yr note yield declined two basis points to 4.24% and the 2-yr note yield settled four basis points lower at 4.48%.

• Nasdaq Composite:+19.9% YTD
• S&P 500: +16.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +10.7% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +10.0% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +7.1% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• June Existing Home Sales 3.89 mln (Briefing.com consensus 4.00 mln); Prior 4.11 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that sales activity slowed to levels last seen at the end of 2023, suggesting that elevated mortgage rates and low inventory are offsetting a seasonal activity boost that would be normally seen in the summer.

Wednesday's economic calendar features:

• 7:00 ET: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior 3.9%)
• 9:45 ET: flash July S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI (prior 51.6) and flash July S&P Global U.S. Services PMI (prior 55.3)
• 10:00 ET: June New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 640,000; prior 619,000)
• 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior -4.87 mln)