Closing Stock Market Summary
The major indices settled the session little changed on the heels of Friday's rally. Early selling pressure, driven in part by a sense that the market is due for some consolidation, had stocks modestly lower right out of the gate. The major indices climbed off their worst levels, though, after the S&P 500 found support on a test of the 4,400 level, hitting 4,393 at its low.
There was a general lack of conviction from both buyers and sellers ahead of tomorrow's release of the October Consumer Price Index. That tentative price action left five of the 11 S&P 500 sectors higher and six lower. In turn, 15 of the 30 Dow components were up and 15 were down. Boeing (BA 204.54, +7.89, +4.0%) was a standout winner in the DJIA after news that it received multiple orders at the Dubai Airshow and a Bloomberg report that China is considering ending its freeze of Boeing with a new 737 Max deal.
The energy sector (+0.7%) saw the largest gain, rising alongside oil ($78.34/bbl, +1.13, +1.5%), followed by the health care (+0.6%) and consumer staples (+0.4%) sectors. The utilities (-1.2%), real estate (-0.8%), and information technology (-0.5%) sectors were the worst performers.
The move higher in the stock market also coincided with Treasuries pulling back from intraday high yields. The 2-yr note yield, which hit 5.07% this morning, settled one basis point lower than Friday at 5.04%. The 10-yr note yield settled unchanged from Friday at 4.63% after hitting 4.69% this morning.
Notably, Treasuries did not react much to the report from Moody's after Friday's close that it had downgraded the U.S. credit outlook to negative from stable based in part on concerns about partisan politics and the potential for budget deficits that remain very large. Moody's, however, did not downgrade its U.S. credit rating, which remains AAA.
- Nasdaq Composite: +31.5% YTD
- S&P 500: +14.9% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +3.6% YTD
- S&P Midcap 400: +0.2% YTD
- Russell 2000: -3.2% YTD
Today's economic data was limited to the October Treasury Budget, which showed a deficit of $66.6 billion compared to a deficit of $87.9 billion in the same period a year ago. The deficit in October resulted from outlays ($470.0 billion) exceeding receipts ($403.4 billion). The Treasury Budget data is not seasonally adjusted so the October 2023 deficit cannot be compared to the September deficit of $170.7 billion.
- The key takeaway from the report is that the month of October marks the start of the government's fiscal year, and FY24 started with a deficit like FY23 did, albeit a smaller one.
Looking ahead, the October Consumer Price Index report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET tomorrow.