Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market opened to a continuation of yesterday's slide that saw the S&P 500 (-0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.5%), and DJIA (-0.6%) close below their 50-day moving averages. 

The major averages are currently well off of session lows, as the broader market attempts to rebound while mega-cap names lag. 

Only the consumer discretionary (-2.3%) and information technology (-1.7%) sectors hold losses, though they are substantial enough and concentrated in the market's largest names to keep the major averages lower. 

Microsoft (MSFT 489.63, -17.86, -3.52%) and Amazon (AMZN 223.26, -9.61, -4.13%) pace losses for both sectors after both names were downgraded by Rothschild & Co. this morning. 

The newly announced partnership involving Microsoft, NVIDIA (NVDA 183.37, -3.23, -1.73%), and Anthropic did little to revive confidence in the AI trade today.

NVIDIA, which reports its earnings after the close tomorrow, closed with a similar loss yesterday after it was revealed that Peter Thiel's fund, Thiel Macro LLC, fully divested its ~537,742-share stake in the company. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is down 0.7%, and the PHLX Semiconductor Index is down 1.0%, widening its month-to-date loss to 8.2%. 

Meanwhile, the health care sector (+0.7%) also continues to move with its recent trend line, albeit a much more positive one. 

Dow component Merck (MRK 97.47, +4.61, +4.96%) is an outperformer after announcing it will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share from $0.81 per share, while Medtronic (MDT 101.83, +5.55, +5.77%) trades even higher after delivering a solid beat-and-raise earnings report. 

Managed care names, such as UnitedHealth (UNH 311.70, -8.82, -2.75%) and Elevance Health (ELV 325.28, -5.63, -1.70%), are lower today after President Trump said via Truth Social "The only healthcare I will support or approve is sending the money directly back to the people, with nothing going to the big, fat, rich insurance companies, who have made trillions, and ripped off America long enough."

Though a recent uptick in sector strength has nine S&P 500 sectors trading in positive territory, the health care sector is the only sector with a gain wider than 0.5%. 

On the earnings front, Home Depot (HD 344.44, -13.59, -3.80%) moves lower after missing EPS expectations and lowering its FY26 guidance, which adds to pressure in the worst-performing consumer discretionary sector. 

The market received some economic data today, including the surprise overnight release of some October jobless claims release data. The weak initial jobless claims report for the week ended October 18 (232k; prior 219k), in conjunction with Fed Governor Christopher Waller's (voting FOMC member) remarks in favor of a December rate cut yesterday afternoon, have combined for a modest uptick in rate-cut expectations. The CME FedWatch Tool currently prices in a 48.9% probability of a 25-basis point rate cut at the December FOMC meeting, up from 42.4% yesterday.

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 232K; Prior was revised to 219K from 218K
• Weekly Continuing Claims 1.947 mln; Prior was revised to 1.916 mln from 1.926 mln
• August Factory Orders 1.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.8%); Prior -1.3%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that business spending remained on an upswing, evidenced by back-to-back increases in new orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, in July and August.
• November NAHB Housing Market Index 38 (Briefing.com consensus 36); Prior 37