Closing Stock Market SummaryThe S&P 500 increased 0.3% on Monday in a furious buy-the-dip trade after being down as much as 4.0% intraday. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% after being down 4.9% intraday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% after being down 3.3% intraday.
The Russell 2000 outperformed with a 2.3% gain after being down as much as 2.8%. The small-cap index traded in bear market territory today, or down at least 20% from a recent high, so its outperformance stemmed from the fact that it was hit the hardest.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed higher after all 11 traded with steep losses. The consumer discretionary sector (+1.2%) led the recovery effort with a 1% gain, while the defensive-oriented utilities (-1.0%), health care (-0.4%), and consumer staples (-0.4%) sectors closed lower.
The session opened on a weak note, which gave way to a steady decline that accentuated the market's concerns on the Fed's tightening plans, the Russia-Ukraine situation, and peak earnings growth, among others. The selling itself was a concern, too, leading to expectations for more downside -- the CBOE Volatility Index (29.90, +1.05, +3.6%) spiked as much as 35% before calming down.
There's no doubt the market was oversold on a short-term basis and was due for a bounce, but no one really knew when that would happen. Fortunately for the bulls, the bounce happened today on no specific news and some short-covering activity in front of an eventful week in earnings, the Fed, and economic data.
It's worth noting that the Nasdaq Composite bottomed just before it could enter bear market territory. The tech-sensitive index was down 19.2% from its all-time high while the S&P 500 was down 12.4% from its all-time high.
Strikingly, the Treasury market never really exhibited a flight for safety, suggesting that the early weakness was more technically-oriented. The 10-yr yield declined just one basis point to 1.74% after trading at 1.71% during the day while the 2-yr yield declined two basis points to 0.97%. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.3% to 95.92. WTI crude fell 2.2%, or $1.86, to $83.30/bbl.
Separately, Kohl's (KSS 63.71, +16.87, +36.0%) stood out with a 36% gain after confirming takeover interest from PE firms, which are reportedly willing to acquire the company for at least $64 per share.
Reviewing Monday's economic data:
- The preliminary IHS Markit Services PMI for January fell to 55.0 from 57.7 in the final reading for December. The preliminary IHS Markit Services PMI for January fell to 50.9 from 57.6 in the final reading for December.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for January, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for November, and the FHFA Housing Price Index for November on Tuesday.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average -5.4% YTD
- S&P 500 -7.5% YTD
- Russell 2000 -9.4% YTD
- Nasdaq Composite -11.4% YTD