Daily Sector Wrap
Updated: 09-Jul-25 16:31 ET |
NVIDIA helps power Nasdaq to new high |
The stock market started today on a higher note, following the lead of NVIDIA (NVDA 162.88, +2.88, +1.80%), which topped a $4 trillion market capitalization. The S&P 500 quickly ran into resistance as it moved up toward last week's highs, but it eventually regrouped and marched steadily higher in the afternoon, supported by falling interest rates. The 2-yr note yield dropped five basis points to 3.86%, and the 10-yr note yield fell eight basis points to 4.34%. Any inflation angst that one might associate with the tariff letters that have been sent this week was set aside today. Participants continued to operate on the assumption that better trade deals will be struck and that the tariff actions won't lead to untenable inflation rates or to much weaker growth. Accordingly, the bull market action persisted, accented by the inclination to buy on weakness, the leadership of the mega-cap stocks, and a broadening out of the buying interest. NVIDIA provided the lead headline today, but it was not the biggest gainer among the mega-cap cohort. That distinction belonged to Broadcom (AVGO 277.90, +6.10, +2.24%). Other key supports included Meta Platforms (META 732.78, +12.11, +1.68%), Amazon (AMZN 222.54, +3.18, +1.45%), Alphabet (GOOG 177.66, +2.50, +1.43%), and Microsoft (MSFT 503.51, +6.89, +1.39%), the latter of which was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer. Their showing powered the Nasdaq Composite to a record high and kept the market cap-weighted S&P 500 on positive ground throughout today's trade. Elsewhere, the small-cap stocks had another good day. The Russell 2000 rose 1.1%. Mid-cap stocks were also on the move, but the S&P Midcap 400 Index registered a more modest 0.5% gain. The drop in market rates contributed to those advances, providing a tailwind for growth stocks and an added boost for rate-sensitive plays like the homebuilding and utilities stocks. Market breadth favored advancers by a roughly 8-to-5 margin at the NYSE and by a 7-to-4 margin at the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 utilities sector (+1.0%) was today's best-performing sector, followed by information technology (+0.9%), communication services (+0.9%), industrials (+0.7%), and consumer discretionary (+0.7%). The only sectors losing ground were the real estate (-0.02%), energy (-0.5%), and consumer staples (-0.6%) sectors. Today's action included Merck's (MRK 83.71, +2.34, +2.88%) news that it is acquiring Verona Pharma (VRNA 104.77, +17.91, +20.62%) in a $10 billion deal, several more inconsequential trading partners receiving tariff letters, a solid 10-yr note auction, and the release of the FOMC Minutes for the June 17-18 meeting, which conveyed a stronger expectation of rate cuts before the end of the year than no rate cuts at all.
Reviewing today's economic data:
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