Closing Market Summary: Slide Into Close Ensures Flat Finish
The stock market had the rug pulled out from under it as the Christmas Eve session headed for the close. The S&P 500 ended flat after surrendering a five-point gain while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) outperformed.
Equity indices started with slim gains and inched higher into the afternoon amid light volume, before a wave of selling interest knocked the indices from their highs. Only 340 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor, which was a far cry from the average full session total of about 826 million.
Only three sectors finished in the green while energy (-0.8%) played the role of Grinch. The growth-sensitive group could not make it into positive territory as crude oil weighed. The energy component fell 3.6% to $55.08/bbl with a larger than expected inventory build contributing to the weakness.
The benchmark index was kept from following the energy sector into the red by the relative strength in the heavily-weighted health care space (+0.7%). The countercyclical group erased a portion of yesterday's decline and narrowed its week-to-date loss to 2.7% with biotechnology powering the move. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 299.80, +5.12) spiked 1.7% and reclaimed its 50-day moving average after settling below that level yesterday. Furthermore, the high-beta group was partially responsible for the outperformance of the Nasdaq.
The tech-heavy index owed some of its strength to chipmakers as the PHLX Semiconductor Index added 0.2%. For its part, the broader technology sector (-0.1%) ended just behind the market amid mixed performance in top-weighted listings. Apple (AAPL 112.01, -0.53), Google (GOOGL 536.93, -1.84), and Microsoft (MSFT 48.14, -0.31) lost between 0.3% and 0.6% while Cisco Systems (CSCO 28.30, +0.05), Oracle (ORCL 46.16, +0.15) and Qualcomm (QCOM 74.66, +0.06) posted gains between 0.1% and 0.3%.
Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, industrials (+0.1%) eked out a slim gain while consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and financials (-0.2%) lagged.
On the countercyclical side, the consumer staples sector ended lower by 0.2% while the utilities sector (+1.8%) ended in the lead.
Treasuries climbed into the green as the session neared the end with the 10-yr yield slipping one basis point to 2.26%.
Economic data was limited to initial claims and the MBA Mortgage Index:
* Weekly initial claims fell to 280,000 from an unrevised 289,000 while the consensus expected an increase to 290,000
* Layoff activities have stabilized and claims are holding firmly below 300,000, which is a level that is normally associated with an economy at, or near, full employment * Continuing claims increased to 2.403 million from an upwardly revised 2.378 million for the week ending December 6 while the consensus expected a decline to 2.358 million
* The weekly MBA Mortgage Index increased 0.9% to follow last week's 3.3% decline
Bond and equity markets will be closed tomorrow, but they will reopen for a full session on Friday. With Christmas Day on the horizon, we at would like to send along warm holiday wishes to all our readers and their families.
* Nasdaq Composite +14.3% YTD * S&P 500 +12.6% YTD * Dow Jones Industrial Average +8.8% YTD * Russell 2000 +3.6% YTD