US STOCKS: Midday Equities Roundup: Four Week Highs/Narrow Ranges Into Weekend
May-16 15:42
- Stocks have retreated from modest early Friday highs, holding surprisingly narrow ranges ahead of the weekend. Currently, the DJIA trades up 38.81 points (0.09%) at 42360.68, S&P E-Minis up 11.5 points (0.19%) at 5944.25, Nasdaq up 15.9 points (0.1%) at 19127.21.
- Investors appear unwilling to extend the week's equity rally to the highest levels since early March afte massive investment pledges from United Arab Emirates, not to mention the sweeping 90-day US/China tariff reductions stemming from negotiations in Switzerland last weekend.
- Health Care and Utility sectors outperformed in the first half, pharmaceutical and services related stocks buoyed the former with Moderna +4.95%, Humana +2.38%, Elevance Health +2.09%, Eli Lilly & Co +2.08% and West Pharmaceutical +1.91%.
- Leading gainers in the Utility sector included: PG&E Corp +3.34%, Vistra Corp +2.65%, Consolidated Edison +1.62% and Edison International +1.24%.
- Conversely, Energy and Information Technology sectors underperformed in the first half, oil and gas shares weaker despite a rise in crude prices (WTI +.60 at 62.22): APA Corp -2.00%, Diamondback Energy -1.70%, Devon Energy -1.41% and Occidental Petroleum -1.33%.
- Profit taking after a week of strong performance saw Applied Materials decline 6.67%, Accenture -2.41%, First Solar -2.27% and EPAM Systems -2.12%.
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US DATA: GDPNow Lifted With PCE Tracking Highest Since Early March
Apr-16 15:40
- The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate for Q1 real GDP growth has been revised up to -2.17% annualized from -2.42% in the Apr 9 update.
- The gold-adjusted alternative model was nudged up from -0.3% to -0.1%, offering a better readthrough to what might actually be reported by the BEA by stripping out monetary gold transfers.
- The upward revision was primarily driven by today’s retail sales and IP data for March, with the details suggesting an intra-update estimate of -0.5% for gold-adjusted after yesterday’s international price data.
- Indeed, tracking for personal consumption expenditure growth was revised up from 0.7% to 1.4%. That’s still a marked moderation in activity after 3.9% annualized in 2H24 or 3.1% Y/Y in Q4, and it would be the softest quarter since 2Q23, but it’s nevertheless the strongest Q1 tracking since Mar 7 in very early days for Q1 tracking.
- Questions remain as to how much tariff front-running there was in March although we noted after retail sales earlier that food services & drinking places saw an encouraging rebound after recessionary signs back in February.
US STOCKS: Midday Equities Roundup: Chip-Maker Curbs Weighing on IT
Apr-16 15:39
- Stocks are paring early losses ahead midday, the DJIA outperforming S&P eminis and Nasdaq indexes at the moment, Oil & Gas shares leading gainers as crude prices gained (WTI +1.35 at 62.68).
- Currently, the DJIA trades down 32.7 points (-0.08%) at 40338.31, S&P E-Minis down 40 points (-0.74%) at 5388.5, Nasdaq down 264.3 points (-1.6%) at 16560.98.
- Leading oil and gas shares include APA +3.96%, Devon Energy +3.58%, Marathon Petroleum +3.21%, Diamondback Energy +3.01% and Occidental Petroleum +2.65%.
- Other gainers included Abbott Laboratories +5.36%, Mosaic +4.55% and Travelers +4.14%.
- On the flipside, Information Technology sector shares were weighed down by Pres Trumps chip maker curbs: NVIDIA -6.93%, Advanced Micro Devices -5.96%, KLA -4.88%, Omnicom Group and Applied Materials both -4.50%.
FED: US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: HIGH 4.225%(ALLOT 60.26%)
Apr-16 15:32
- US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: HIGH 4.225%(ALLOT 60.26%)
- US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: DEALERS TAKE 38.81% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: DIRECTS TAKE 1.61% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: INDIRECTS TAKE 59.57% OF COMPETITIVES
- US TSY 17W BILL AUCTION: BID/CVR 2.75
