U.S. markets opened higher but quickly gave back gains within the first hour of action. Tech and the small-caps held up well, but the broader market gained downside momentum while bottoming at midday lows.The mixed finish comes ahead of a busy week for earnings as nearly a third of the S&P 500 and Dow components are set to report. Volatility stayed slightly subdued after holding key levels of resistance for a 2nd-straight session.
The Nasdaq showed strength for much of the session after rising 0.3% while reaching a peak of 7,520. Near-term resistance at 7,500-7,525 and the 200-day moving average held with a close above 7,550 being a more bullish signal.The Russell 2000 was off 0.2% after testing a high of 1,551 and trading in a 16-point range. Lower support at 1,540-1,535 on the session low with the May low of 1,532 still in focus.The S&P 500 was lower for the 11th time in 13 sessions after falling 0.4% and tapping a low of 2,749. Upper support at 2,750-2,825 was stretched but held on the 2nd-straight close below the 200-day moving average.The Dow dipped 0.5% while testing an intraday low of 25,236. Upper support at 25,200-25,000 held with a close below the latter and the 200-day moving average being a bearish development.Technology jumped 0.8% to lead sector strength while Consumer Discretionary added 0.4% to round out the winners.Financial and Real Estate paced sector laggards after giving back 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively. Energy was lower by 1.1%.
Chipotle (CMG) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC CapitalIntel (INTC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura InstinetSAP (SAP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
eBay (EBAY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Monness CrespiReliance Steel (RS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at LongbowWingstop (WING) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush
Tuesday’s earnings announcements (EST):
Before the open: 3M (MMM), Avery Dennison (AVY), Biogen (BIIB), Caterpillar (CAT), CIT Group (CIT), Corning (GLW), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Harley-Davidson (HOG), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Lockheed Martin (LMT), McDonald’s (MCD), PulteGroup (PHM), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), TransUnion (TRU), United Technologies (UTX), Verizon Communications (VZ), Xerox (XRX)
After the close: Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Capital One Financial (COF), Chubb (CB), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Flushing Financial (FFIC), Illumina (ILMN), iRobot (IRBT), Juniper Technologies (JNPR), Navient (NAVI), Robert Half International (RHI), Six Flags (SIX), Texas Instruments (TXN), Varian Medical Systems (VAR)
UPCOMING ECONOMIC NEWS Tuesday’s Economic Reports (EST):Redbook – 8:55amRichmond Fed Manufacturing Index – 10:00am
METALS / OIL
Gold closed at $1,224.60 an ounce, down $4.10
Silver settled at $14.59 an ounce, down $0.06
Copper finished at $2.79 a pound, up $0.01
Crude Oil is at $69.25 a barrel, up $0.07
Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) ended at $7.18 up $0.13
I hope this helps you prepare for the trading day. Make it a great one!
Todd Mitchell
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