Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market closed mixed at the index level, but the vibe under the surface was negative through the entire session. The underlying downside bias followed a hotter-than-expected January Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which sent Treasury yields sharply higher.

Total CPI was up 3.0% year-over-year, versus 2.9% in December, while core CPI was up 3.3% year-over-year, versus 3.2% in December. The 10-yr note yield, which is most sensitive to changes in inflation, was at 4.53% ahead of the 8:30 ET release before settling at 4.64%. The 2-yr yield settled eight basis points higher at 4.37%.

The S&P 500 closed 0.3% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.5% lower after recovering off session lows. The Nasdaq Composite settled slightly higher than yesterday, boosted by gains in the mega cap space in a buy-the-dip bid following initial declines. 

Apple (AAPL 236.87, +4.25, +1.8%) and Meta Platforms (META 725.38, +5.58, +0.8%) were integral in the turnaround action after being down as much as 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively. 

Other stocks that went against the downside grain included DoorDash (DASH 200.89, +7.80, +4.0%), Gilead Sciences (GILD 103.31, +7.17, +7.5%), and Confluent (CFLT 37.65, +7.55, +25.1%), which hit 52-week highs after reporting earnings. 

Many other stocks registered declines, leading nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors lower. The energy (-2.7%) and rate-sensitive real estate (-0.9%) sectors closed at the bottom of the pack.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +4.3% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +1.6% YTD
• Russell 2000: +1.2% YTD
• S&P 500: +2.9% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +1.8% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 2.3%; Prior 2.2%
• January CPI 0.5% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%); Prior 0.4%
• January Core CPI 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%); Prior 0.2%

Thursday's economic lineup includes:

• 8:30 ET: January PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%; prior 0.2%), January Core PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%; prior 0.0%), weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 217,000; prior 219,000), and Continuing Claims (prior 1.886 mln)
• 10:30 ET: Weekly natural gas inventories (prior -174 bcf)