Both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished higher by 0.2% today. The market opened lower and saw selling intensify in early going even though there were better than expected economic numbers released this morning. February University of Michigan Consumer sentiment numbers came in above expectations. February ISM numbers were also better than expected with an actual reading of 54.2 against an estimate of 52.4.
The S&P 500 flirted with the 1500 level today; the intraday low was 1501 before moving higher to close at 1519. Airlines were the best performing area of the market. Delta Airlines announced they were raising fares from $4-$10.
Financial stocks rallied again today. Recently released 10K data shows that the financial position of banks continues to improve. Investors are also anticipating positive news from a financial services conference next week. Money center banks and the large brokerage firms continue to lead the space.
Materials underperformed the market today on weakness in steels, base metals and chemicals. Alcoa led the metal stocks to the downside today.
Refiners were the one area of strength in the weak energy sector. Crude fell by 1.75% today and natural gas was slightly lower. Drillers were weak today after some names in that area were downgraded.
Multi-line industrials were mixed today. Early cycle names traded better than late cycle names. Capital equipment stocks traded lower as Joy Global and Cat were both weak on the day. Eaton led an advance in engine making stocks. Eaton management raised guidance on the strength of synergies from a recent acquisition.
Media stocks traded higher today. Content companies were in favor. Disney continued to trade higher as it gained more than 1% today. Yahoo hit another 52-week high as they disclosed better than expected growth.
Tower stocks continued to lead the telecom space. These names sold off a few weeks ago on rumors of decreased spending from wireless service providers. Those fears were put to rest when the tower stocks reported better than expected earnings with good guidance this week.
Source: PFS Group
