Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have languished today amid a lack of buying interest. It has been a slight change of course for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, which were riding eight-session win streaks coming into today.

That run saw the S&P 500 rise 7.9% and the Nasdaq Composite surge 10.4%, so there is some natural consolidation interest cutting across today's tape as participants wait for some key market-moving information in Wednesday's trade.

Specifically, Wednesday will feature the release of benchmark revisions for nonfarm payrolls for April 2023-March 2024 and the minutes for the July 30-31 FOMC meeting.

Today's session has had a somewhat defensive orientation. The best-performing sectors are the health care (+0.3%), consumer staples (+0.3%), and communication services (+0.2%) sectors; meanwhile, the 2-yr note yield is down seven basis points to 4.00% and the 10-yr note yield is down five basis points to 3.82%.

Small-cap stocks have been the weakest links in today's market. The Russell 2000 is down 1.2%.

There has been some additional fallout for the dollar, too, as participants anticipate future rate cuts by the Fed. The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.4% to 101.39, which is its lowest level since the start of the year.

While the complexion of the major indices isn't favorable, there are some individual stocks with some shine on them. Palo Alto Networks (PANW 374.15, +30.79, +9.0%) leads all S&P 500 stocks after posting better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results and issuing better than expected fiscal Q1 guidance. Eli Lilly (LLY 942.95, +21.14, +2.3%) is powering up after saying tirzepatide reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% in adults with pre-diabetes and obesity.

On the other side of the ledger, home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW 239.87, -3.34, -1.4%) is weak after disappointing with its FY25 guidance; and Dow component Boeing (BA 171.77, -7.88, -4.4%) is down with Bloomberg reporting the company paused test flights of its 777X plane to investigate cracks in a key part.

Semiconductor stocks are laggards today as well. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down 1.8%.

In overnight developments, the People's Bank of China left its 1-yr and 5-yr loan prime rates unchanged at 3.35% and 3.85%, respectively; Sweden's Riksbank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.50% and said 2-3 more cuts could happen this year if the inflation outlook remains the same; and ECB member Rehn suggested growth risks have increased the prospects of a rate cut at the ECB's September meeting.

There was no U.S. economic data of note on today's calendar.