Closing Stock Market SummaryThe stock market had a mixed showing to close out a constructive week overall for the bulls. The S&P 500 climbed past 4,300 for the first time since August after yesterday's closing level (4,293.93) marked a 20% advance off the October closing low, which meets the technical definition of entering a new bull market. The index couldn't maintain that position on a closing basis, however, ultimately settling the session just a whisker shy of 4,300.
Initially, many stocks were participating in index gains. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) was up 0.4% at its high for the day, but closed with a 0.1% loss after many stocks pulled back.
The market reverted back to 2023 form shortly after the open, which is to say that mega cap stocks supported the major indices while the broader market was relatively weak. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK), which had been up as much as 1.2%, closed with a 0.4% gain.
Even Tesla (TSLA 244.40, +9.54, +4.1%), which logged its eleventh straight gain after announcing a charging network deal with General Motors (GM 36.23, +0.38, +1.1%), pulled back from a gain of 7.5% at its high of the day.
The shift in market breadth as the session progressed also reflected underlying weakness. Shortly after the open, advancers and decliners at the NYSE and Nasdaq were nearly even. By the close, decliners led advancers by a 5-to-3 margin at the NYSE and a nearly 2-to-1 margin at the Nasdaq.
S&P 500 sector performance was mixed. Strength from their respective mega cap components had the information technology (+0.5%), consumer discretionary (+0.4%), and communication services (+0.1%) sectors near the top of the leaderboard.
The communication services sector had added support from Netflix (NFLX 420.02, +10.65, +2.6%), which is reportedly seeing an increase in subscriptions after cracking down on password sharing. Also, Adobe (ADBE 454.00, +14.97, +3.4%) was a standout winner from the info tech sector after being upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo.
The cyclically-oriented materials (-0.8%) and energy (-0.6%) sectors closed at the bottom of the pack.
Mega caps outperformed despite rising market rates. The Treasury market was on the defensive today with participants eyeing a rush of new supply in coming weeks and months as the Treasury works to replenish its General Account. The 2-yr note yield rose 10 basis points to 4.62% and the 10-yr note yield rose three basis points to 3.75%.
There was no U.S. economic data of note today.
- Nasdaq Composite: +26.7% YTD
- S&P 500: +12.0% YTD
- Russell 2000: +5.9% YTD
- S&P Midcap 400: +4.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +2.2% YTD
Economic data on Monday is limited to the May Treasury Budget at 2:00 p.m. ET, but the focal point on the economic calendar next week will be the May Consume Price Index, which is released on Tuesday. That report will be followed by the May Producer Price Index and the FOMC decision on Wednesday. The FOMC meeting will also include updated economic and interest rate projections from Fed members.