Thursday's Market Recap - After Some Initial Concerns About The Dovish Fed, Stocks Headed Higher
What is The Premarket Telling Us?
7:00 AM.
US stock futures are indicating a mixed session at the open. Dow futures are lower by 31 points, Nasdaq up 6.5 points, and the S&P up down 1.50 points. After a four month IPO drought, denim company Levi, reenters the public market, and will begin trading today.
Asian markets were mixed overnight.
On The Bond Desk:
The US 10 Year Bond Yield has ticked lower, at 2.54%, down 0.07% or seven basis points, feeling the effects of the dovish Fed stance, after yesterday's meeting.
Currency Desk:
Euro dollar: 1.13
UK Pound: 1.31
Crude Oil:
WTI crude oil futures at $59.90/barrel, down 0.55%.
On the Earnings Calendar:
In M&A News:
Levi, the denim company, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange today.
What About The Asian And European Markets?
Major Asian markets closed mixed today. Japan (Nikkei 225) rose 0.20%, Shanghai gained 0.35%, Hong Kong (Hang Seng) down 0.85%.
Major European markets were also mixed in their session. German (DAX) down 0.37%, France CAC 40 up 0.05%, London FTSE 100 up 0.88%.
Market And Sector Dynamics
Stocks opened today's session moderately lower, with the Dow down 80 points, Nasdaq down 17 points, and the S&P down 6 points. Blame fallout from a super dovish, and continued pressure from shares of Boeing, and technology stocks which seems to be taking a breather today, in the early going. Share of Apple are bucking the downward trend, after a couple on analyst upgrades this morning.
Market bounced off the morning lows shortly after the open. By 10:00 AM, market had turned around. The Dow was up 60 points, Nasdaq up 30 points, and the S&P added 7 points.
A successful launch of the Levi Strauss IPO appears to have also been a catalyst for the markets, as participation broadened, and market tone became more positive. At noon, the Dow was up 228 points, with shares of Apple adding 40 plus points to the down.
Today's rally was broad based. Ten of the eleven S&P sectors closed with solid gains led by Technology, Real Estate, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Utilities, Basic Materials, Industrials, and Energy. Financials ended modestly lower.
Factors Influencing Today's Market
Denim company, Levi Strauss (LVI), had a successful IPO launch on the NYSE today. The company priced its offering at $17.00, and opened at $22.22/share, a 35% premium.
After yesterday's dovish Fed announcement, the US 10 year bond yield ticked lower, to low 2.50% - 2.60%.
Major Asian and European markets were all mixed today.
This week's Initial Jobless Claims fell 9,000 to 221,000 claims, suggesting a nice rebound from February lows.
Crude oil was modestly higher today. WTI crude oil closed at $59.99/barrel, up 0.25%.
Market Close Volume Traded And Advance Decline Ratio
At the end of trading markets were higher. The Dow gained gained 216.83 points, Nasdaq rose 109.99 points, and the S&P was up 30.65 points. Total NYSE volume traded, a modest 3.53 billion shares. Advancing shares outpaced Declining shares by 2.5:1.
Data Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN Money, Google Finance, Market Watch, TD Ameritrade, Yahoo Finance.
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