Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The equity market closed with losses in the major indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.0%.

Today's price action led the S&P 500 back below its 200-day moving average (5,756) and led the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which turned positive on the year in yesterday's advance, back into the red for 2025. 

There were some indications of buying interest in the early going, but losses in the mega cap space kept a cap on index performance. Selling increased in the space, and the broader equity market, following news that President Trump is expected to announce tariffs on auto imports. 

Tesla (TSLA 272.06, -16.08, -5.6%) was an influential loser, giving up some ground after a solid recovery in response to a weak start to 2025. Shares are still 9.4% higher this week, yet show a 32.6% decline since the start of the year.

NVIDIA (NVDA 113.76, -6.93, -5.7%) and other chipmakers also registered outsized losses. Reports indicated that the U.S. placed more than 50 Chinese companies on a blacklist of export restrictions for advanced computing capabilities; meanwhile, FT reported that Chinese environmental regulations could hurt NVIDIA's sales in the country.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed 3.3% lower than yesterday. The selling interest contributed to the underperformance of the S&P 500 information technology sector, which was the worst performers by a wide margin. The communication services (-2.0%) and consumer discretionary (-1.7%) sectors were the next worst performers. 

The defensive-oriented consumer staples (+1.4%) and utilities (+0.7%) sectors were the top gainers, reflecting a more risk-off tone in today's trade.

Elsewhere, Treasuries settled with modest losses. The 10-yr yield settled three basis points higher at 4.34% and the 2-yr yield settled one basis point higher at 4.01%. On a related note, today's $70 billion 5-yr note auction met weaker demand than yesterday's 2-yr note offering, but the market reaction was limited.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.2% YTD
• S&P 500: -2.9% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: -4.2% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: -7.3% YTD
• Russell 2000: -7.0% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index -2.0%; Prior -6.2%
• February Durable Orders 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus -1.2%); Prior was revised to 3.3% from 3.1%, February Durable Goods - ex transportation 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.1% from 0.0%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that durable goods orders were stronger than expected; however, that understanding was clouded by the added realization that there was a downturn in business spending, evidenced by the 0.3% decline in nondefense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft.

Looking ahead to Thursday, market participants receive the following data:

• 8:30 ET: Q4 GDP -- third estimate (Briefing.com consensus 2.3%; prior 2.3%), Q4 GDP Deflator -- third estimate (Briefing.com consensus 2.4%; prior 2.4%), Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 225,000; prior 223,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.892 mln), advance February goods trade balance (prior -$153.3 bln), advance February Retail Inventories (prior -0.1%), and advance February Wholesale Inventories (prior 0.7%)
• 10:00 ET: February Pending Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 2.9%; prior -4.6%)
• 10:30 ET: Weekly natural gas inventories (prior +9 bcf)