Closing Market SummaryThe stock market began the week on a strong note with the Nasdaq (+1.9%) recovering the bulk of its loss from Friday. The S&P 500 (+1.3%) and Dow (+0.7%) recorded slimmer gains, finishing near their opening levels from Friday.
Stocks rallied out of the gate as fears about the omicron coronavirus variant receded since there are no indications that this variant is more dangerous or more transmissible. In addition, the return of participants who were away on Friday contributed to the rebound.
All eleven sectors finished the day with gains. Five sectors added more than 1.0% with technology (+2.6%), consumer discretionary (+1.6%), and utilities (+1.6%) finishing in the lead.
The technology sector built on its gain as the day went on with chipmakers leading the way. The PHLX Semiconductor Index climbed 4.1% with all components rising at least 1.0%. Lam Research (LRCX 680.54, +38.56, +6.0%) was the best performer, rallying to a fresh record high.
Elsewhere in the tech sector, Microsoft (MSFT 336.63, +6.95, +2.1%) recovered its loss from Friday while Twitter (TWTR 45.78, -1.29, -2.7%) rallied out of the gate, but slid back to last week's low as the day went on. The volatility took place after Twitter CEO Dorsey announced his resignation. He will be replaced by the company's current CTO.
The consumer discretionary sector benefited from a strong showing in Tesla (TSLA 1136.99, +55.07, +5.1%) and a rebound in travel-related names like Expedia (EXPE 166.50, +6.70, +4.2%), Marriott (MAR 150.77, +3.33, +2.3%), and Royal Caribbean (RCL 69.89, +1.91, +2.8%). Retail stocks did well, though the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 96.62, -0.56, -0.6%) ended in the red due to a weak showing from a few of its top components. CNBC reported that retail store traffic on Friday was up nearly 50.0% from last year's levels but down 28.3% from 2019.
Today's rebound rally also boosted the energy sector (+0.6%) and oil, but crude spent the day in a pullback from its morning high while the energy sector followed. Crude oil ended the pit session higher by $1.67, or 2.5%, at $69.84/bbl, sliding back below its 200-day moving average (69.76) after overtaking that mark in the early morning.
The health care sector (+0.4%) finished near the bottom of the leaderboard with Pfizer (PFE 52.40, -1.60, -3.0%) reversing from a record high. The company, alongside Moderna (MRNA 368.51, +38.88, +11.8%), indicated that it can modify its vaccine formulation in a short timeframe, if necessary.
Treasuries ended in the red, but above their opening levels with the 10-yr yield rising five basis points to 1.53%.
Today's economic data was limited to the Pending Home Sales report for October, which showed a 7.5% increase (Briefing.com consensus 0.7%) while the September decrease was revised down to 2.4% from -2.3%.
The September FHFA Housing Price Index (prior 1.0%) and September S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (consensus 19.3%; prior 19.7%) will be released tomorrow at 9:00 ET, followed by November Chicago PMI ( consensus 67.0; prior 68.4) at 9:45 ET and November Consumer Confidence (consensus 111.0; prior 113.8) at 10:00 ET.
- S&P 500 +23.9% YTD
- Nasdaq Composite +22.5% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +14.8% YTD
- Russell 2000 +13.5% YTD