Briefing

Market Snapshot

• Dow: 46428.38, +305.43 (0.66%)
• Nasdaq: 21929.83, +167.93 (0.77%)
• SP 500: 6593.89, +35.53 (0.54%)
• NYSE: Adv 1927, Dec 813, Vol 1.18 bln
• Nasdaq: Adv 3227, Dec 1534, Vol 8.11 bln

Industry Watch

• Strong: Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Materials, Utilities, Health Care
• Weak: Energy

Moving the Market

• Optimism around a peace proposal between the U.S. and Iran, despite Iranian denials.
• Oil prices retreated.
• Broad strength and solid mega-cap gains.
• S&P 500 finished just below its 200-day moving average, which acted as resistance.

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Market Overview

• Stocks rose broadly amid optimism for a U.S.-Iran peace proposal and retreating oil prices, though gains were tempered by Iranian denials of negotiations.
• Major averages finished off session highs, with the 200-day moving averages acting as resistance.
• Crude oil futures settled $1.96 lower (-2.1%) at $90.33 per barrel.
• Energy sector (-0.5%) was the only S&P 500 sector to finish lower.
• Materials sector (+2.0%) led advances, boosted by chemical names and rising gold prices (+3.4%). Newmont Corporation (NEM) outperformed.
• Consumer Discretionary sector (+1.2%) benefited from mega-cap strength, with Amazon (AMZN) leading. Carvana (CVNA) and cruise lines also gained.
• Information Technology sector (+0.6%) saw gains from NVIDIA (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel (INTC), boosting the PHLX Semiconductor Index. Memory storage names like Sandisk (SNDK) and Micron (MU) fell due to a new AI memory reduction technology (TurboQuant).
• Communication Services sector (+0.2%) finished slightly higher; Alphabet (GOOG) and Meta Platforms (META) ceded early gains after being found liable in a social media addiction trial.
• Health Care sector (+1.0%) outperformed with strong gains in biotech and pharmaceuticals.
• U.S. Treasuries bounced, with the 10-year note yield settling down six basis points to 4.33%, despite weak demand in recent auctions.
• Specific Stock Movers:
  • EchoStar (SATS) rallied on reports of SpaceX's planned IPO.
  • Robinhood (HOOD) gained on a newly approved $1.5 billion share buyback program.
  • Interactive Brokers (IBKR) rose due to a positive response to its new crypto portfolio transfer feature.
  • Verisk Analytics (VRSK) underperformed after filing a mixed shelf offering.
• Gold futures soared $150.30 (+3.4%) to $4,552.30/oz, boosted by easing inflation fears, a softer dollar, and Fed rate-cut bets.
• Economic Data:
  • Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index: -10.5%
  • Q4 Current Account Balance: -$190.7 bln
  • February Import Prices: 1.3% (ex-oil 1.1%)
  • February Export Prices: 1.5% (ex-ag. 1.7%)