Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%), and DJIA (+0.5%) are recovering nicely from yesterday's weakness, supported by broad gains and leadership from tech names. The Nasdaq Composite established new record highs, while the S&P 500 sits just 0.2% below its own all-time high.

The top-weighted information technology sector (+1.5%) is one of the best-performing S&P 500 sectors, as semiconductor stocks rebound sharply from yesterday's lower finish. The PHLX Semiconductor Index is up 4.5%, with Intel (INTC 108.66, +12.88, +13.45%) leading the advance after Bloomberg reported that Apple (AAPL 282.61, +5.78, +2.09%) may source chips from the company for some of its products.

Meanwhile, memory storage names are extending their impressive post-earnings runs, with Micron (MU 637.80, +61.36, +10.64%), Western Digital (WDC 472.11, +29.75, +6.73%), and Sandisk (SNDK 1396.26, +140.40, +11.18%) all reaching fresh all-time highs today.

Elsewhere in the sector, software names are off to a lower start, with the iShares GS Software ETF down 0.7%. Palantir Technologies (PLTR 136.12, -9.91, -6.79%) is a notable laggard despite a beat-and-raise earnings report, with the stock's price action appearing more related to valuation exhaustion than any clear issue with the quarter itself.

The latest batch of earnings reports has driven several notable stock-specific moves across the market. DuPont (DD 48.89, +3.48, +7.66%) leads strength in the materials sector (+1.9%), which is the top-performing S&P 500 sector today.

The industrials sector (+1.1%) also outperforms, with Rockwell Automation (ROK 443.58, +43.27, +10.81%) sharply higher after a beat-and-raise report while Huntington Ingalls (HII 325.19, -38.18, -10.51%) lags after topping estimates but just reaffirming its FY26 guidance.

Gains are more modest elsewhere, though strength remains broad, with only the financials (flat) and communication services (flat) sectors failing to trade higher.

Fiserv (FISV 57.12, -5.68, -9.05%) and PayPal (PYPL 45.90, -4.50, -8.92%) trade lower after earnings, while Meta Platforms (META 601.25, -9.16, -1.50%) is a mega-cap laggard.

Overall, today's broad gains reflect an eagerness to move past yesterday's geopolitical-driven volatility, with a lack of further escalations adding to the constructive backdrop. Currently, crude oil is down $4.20 (-4.0%) to $102.22 per barrel.

Combined with sustained earnings momentum and a nice rebound in semiconductor names today, the major averages are once again at the doorstep of record highs.

Reviewing today's data:

• March Trade Balance -$60.3 bln (Briefing.com consensus -$60.3 bln); Prior was revised to -$57.8 bln from -$57.3 bln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it has yet to fully capture the pickup in crude oil exports from the U.S. that has been driven by the Strait of Hormuz blockade. That pickup should be considerably higher in the next report and a boon for Q2 GDP growth forecasts.
• April S&P Global U.S. Services PMI - Final 51.0; Prior 51.3
• April ISM Non-Manufacturing Index 53.6% (Briefing.com consensus 53.9%); Prior 54.0%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that there was no real change in the key trends for the services sector, which include a modest expansion, contracting employment, and increasing prices.
• March JOLTs - Job Openings 6.886 mln; Prior was revised to 6.922 mln from 6.882 mln
• February New Home Sales 635K; Prior was revised to 583K from 587K, March New Home Sales 682K (Briefing.com consensus 654K); Prior 635K
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the bulk of the increase in sales was driven by lower-priced homes, which drove down average selling prices, but at the same time, the median price of a new home also fell. Altogether the pricing indications reflect some improved positioning for buyers.