Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market has exhibited turbulent action at the index thus far. The S&P 500 trades 0.7% higher now, the Nasdaq Composite shows a 1.0% gain, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trades 0.8% above its prior close. 

A recent increase in buying coincided with a Bloomberg report that the Trump administration is weighing a delay on auto tariffs for Canada and Mexico by one month. There was also some hopeful buzz that there could be some tariff relief for the counties, yet reports also indicated that the relief won't be in terms of lower tariff rates, but would involve USMCA modifications instead. 

Mega caps benefitted from the recent uptick in buying, providing an added boost to the major indices. NVIDIA (NVDA 117.69, +1.75, +1.5%), Microsoft (MSFT 396.61, +8.00, +2.1%), and Amazon.com (AMZN 207.94, +4.15, +2.0%) are some influential standouts in the space. 

Upside price action has also become its own positive catalyst, drawing in buy-the-dip plays following recent weakness in equities. 

This morning's data hasn't disrupted the upside bias, yet the initial reaction to the releases was muted. The ADP Employment Change Report for February was weaker than expected, yet the ISM Services PMI for February was stronger than expected.

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 20.4%; Prior -1.2%
• February ADP Employment Change 77K (Briefing.com consensus 145K); Prior was revised to 186K from 183K
• February S&P Global US Services PMI - Final 51.0; Prior 49.7
• February ISM Services 53.5% (Briefing.com consensus 53.0%); Prior 52.8%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the pace of expansion in the nation's largest sector accelerated in February, taking a little edge off the market's growth concerns; however, the acceleration in activity was also accompanied by an acceleration in prices.
• January Factory Orders 1.7% (Briefing.com consensus 1.3%); Prior was revised to -0.6% from -0.9%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it reflected not only a rebound in orders for nondefense aircraft and parts, but a nice pickup in business spending overall, evidenced by the 0.8% jump in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.