Closing Stock Market SummaryThe S&P 500 lost 0.4% on Monday amid continued weakness in the large growth stocks, which were largely responsible for the underperformance of the Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%). The Russell 2000 (-0.5%) performed comparably to the benchmark index, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) eked out a gain.
The consumer discretionary sector (-2.1%) was the weakest performer with a 2% decline, as heavyweights Amazon.com (AMZN 2216.21, -44.89, -2.0%) and Tesla (TSLA 724.37, -45.22, -5.9%) continued to struggle. The information technology sector (-0.9%) was another key laggard without the leadership of Apple (AAPL 145.54, -1.57, -1.1%).
Growth stocks in general remained out of favor, evident by the 1.1% decline in the Russell 3000 Growth Index, versus the 0.1% gain for the Russell 3000 Value Index. Energy stocks contributed to the outperformance of the value index and, more directly, the S&P 500 energy sector (+2.6%) as oil prices ($113.80/bbl, +3.48, +3.2%) continued to appreciate.
The increase in oil prices was linked to news that Shanghai was planning to phase in business re-openings, thereby increasing demand expectations out of China. Despite the reopening news, risk sentiment was still pressured by ongoing growth concerns stirred by a host of developments.
Namely, weaker-than-expected Chinese data for April, a negative print (-11.6) for the May Empire State Manufacturing Survey, a downwardly revised 2022 eurozone growth forecast from the European Commission, and a temporary ban on wheat exports from India that drove wheat futures higher ($1247.50/bu, +70.00, +5.4%).
The Treasury market, like last week, continued to manifest these growth concerns through a decline in the 10-yr yield, which fell six basis points to 2.88%. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 2.58%. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.3% to 104.24.
Overall, there just wasn't a ton of conviction today, but at least the CBOE Volatility Index (27.47, -1.40, -4.9%) dipped further below 30.00 in a move reflecting decreased hedging interest. There might have been a wait-and-see mindset for the retail sales report and a speech from Fed Chair Powell tomorrow.
In corporate news, shares of Spirit Airlines (SAVE 19.27, +2.29, +13.5%) rallied 13.5% after JetBlue (JBLU 9.45, -0.61, -6.1%) officially commenced a hostile takeover bid for the company. Wix.com (WIX 66.68, -4.51, -6.3%) and Warby Parker (WRBY 16.51, -0.93, -5.3%) provided disappointing earnings news.
Monday's economic data was limited to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May, which dropped to -11.6 (Briefing.com consensus 15.0) from 24.6 in April. Looking ahead, investors will receive Retail Sales for April, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for April, the NAHB Housing Market Index for May, and Business Inventories for March on Tuesday.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average -11.3% YTD
- S&P 500 -15.9% YTD
- Russell 2000 -20.6% YTD
- Nasdaq Composite -25.5% YTD