* U.S. equities gain ground with Nasdaq out front
* Upbeat quarterly earnings, coronavirus relief hopes underpin
* Dollar, crude up; gold down; US 10-Yr T-Nt yield ~0.56%
NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of U.S. equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Sinéad Carew. Reach her on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
WALL ST GAINS ON STIMULUS HOPES, EARNINGS, M&A (1014 EDT/ 1414 GMT)
Wall Street's three major indexes are gaining ground on Monday as investors appear to be focusing on better than expected earnings reports, merger news and hopes for a government stimulus package after the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits.
Many strategists have said they are worried that a dip in consumer spending, resulting from reduced benefits, would put renewed pressure the economy, which has struggled due the coronavirus pandemic.
Congressional Democrats and Trump administration officials face increasing pressure to come up with an agreement on coronavirus aid legislation after missing Friday's deadline to extend relief to tens of millions of jobless Americans.
Both sides are due to resume talks aimed at breaking the deadlock, after reporting progress over the weekend, but remaining far apart, with top Republican lawmakers on the sidelines.
"Even though it feels like a ways to go on negotiations there seems to be some progress. That adds a little procyclical tilt to today's trading," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta. "As long as talks don't break down the market will assume something will get passed."
Buchanan also said the announcement of some big M&A deals showed confidence by big companies.
Marathon Petroleum announced it would sell its Speedway gas stations network to 7-Eleven's Japanese owner Seven & I for $21 bln in an all cash deal.
Also German health group Siemens Healthineers said on Sunday it was buying Varian Medical Systems Inc for $16.4 billion as it seeks to lead in cancer care solutions.
Of the S&P's 11 major sectors, technology is the clear leader on Monday with a gain of more than 2%.
Here is your morning snapshot:
(Sinéad Carew)
*****
NASDAQ COMPOSITE: FACING ANOTHER WATERLOO? (0903 EDT/1303 GMT)
The Nasdaq Composite's recent advance to new highs has been spearheaded by a small number of mega-caps, or "generals." However, a look behind the lines reveals that the great mass of "troops" have been far less brave. (Click on chart below)
Despite the Composite's new highs in June and July, the Nasdaq daily Advance/Decline (A/D) line , or a cumulative measure of net advancing stocks in the index, is lagging. Of note, Nasdaq A/D line divergence preceded the market's February/March swoon.
Indeed, the Nasdaq A/D line peaked on January 16, and then diverged into the Composite's February high. During that period, Apple , Microsoft , Amazon.com , Alphabet and Facebook , or the Nasdaq's generals, on average, gained around 7%, while the Composite only advanced about 5%.
On June 8, when the Composite finally closed at a new high, the A/D line ended well below its early 2020 peaks. And despite fresh IXIC highs since then, the breadth measure has been unable to surpass those prior highs, and, in fact, it ended Friday at a 2-week low.
Meanwhile, the recent performance disparity between the Nasdaq's generals and the index has been even more glaring. Since June 8, the average gain in these titans is about 15%, or nearly double the IXIC's 8% rise over this period.
Thus, unless a greater number of the Nasdaq's troops participate in the Composite's advance, the index may be facing another waterloo.
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
/><^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IXIC08032020
Wall Street gains with tech in the lead
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views
expressed are his own)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (646) 223 6186; Reuters
Messaging: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
* Upbeat quarterly earnings, coronavirus relief hopes underpin
* Dollar, crude up; gold down; US 10-Yr T-Nt yield ~0.56%
NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of U.S. equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Sinéad Carew. Reach her on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
WALL ST GAINS ON STIMULUS HOPES, EARNINGS, M&A (1014 EDT/ 1414 GMT)
Wall Street's three major indexes are gaining ground on Monday as investors appear to be focusing on better than expected earnings reports, merger news and hopes for a government stimulus package after the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits.
Many strategists have said they are worried that a dip in consumer spending, resulting from reduced benefits, would put renewed pressure the economy, which has struggled due the coronavirus pandemic.
Congressional Democrats and Trump administration officials face increasing pressure to come up with an agreement on coronavirus aid legislation after missing Friday's deadline to extend relief to tens of millions of jobless Americans.
Both sides are due to resume talks aimed at breaking the deadlock, after reporting progress over the weekend, but remaining far apart, with top Republican lawmakers on the sidelines.
"Even though it feels like a ways to go on negotiations there seems to be some progress. That adds a little procyclical tilt to today's trading," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta. "As long as talks don't break down the market will assume something will get passed."
Buchanan also said the announcement of some big M&A deals showed confidence by big companies.
Marathon Petroleum announced it would sell its Speedway gas stations network to 7-Eleven's Japanese owner Seven & I for $21 bln in an all cash deal.
Also German health group Siemens Healthineers said on Sunday it was buying Varian Medical Systems Inc for $16.4 billion as it seeks to lead in cancer care solutions.
Of the S&P's 11 major sectors, technology is the clear leader on Monday with a gain of more than 2%.
Here is your morning snapshot:
(Sinéad Carew)
*****
NASDAQ COMPOSITE: FACING ANOTHER WATERLOO? (0903 EDT/1303 GMT)
The Nasdaq Composite's recent advance to new highs has been spearheaded by a small number of mega-caps, or "generals." However, a look behind the lines reveals that the great mass of "troops" have been far less brave. (Click on chart below)
Despite the Composite's new highs in June and July, the Nasdaq daily Advance/Decline (A/D) line , or a cumulative measure of net advancing stocks in the index, is lagging. Of note, Nasdaq A/D line divergence preceded the market's February/March swoon.
Indeed, the Nasdaq A/D line peaked on January 16, and then diverged into the Composite's February high. During that period, Apple , Microsoft , Amazon.com , Alphabet and Facebook , or the Nasdaq's generals, on average, gained around 7%, while the Composite only advanced about 5%.
On June 8, when the Composite finally closed at a new high, the A/D line ended well below its early 2020 peaks. And despite fresh IXIC highs since then, the breadth measure has been unable to surpass those prior highs, and, in fact, it ended Friday at a 2-week low.
Meanwhile, the recent performance disparity between the Nasdaq's generals and the index has been even more glaring. Since June 8, the average gain in these titans is about 15%, or nearly double the IXIC's 8% rise over this period.
Thus, unless a greater number of the Nasdaq's troops participate in the Composite's advance, the index may be facing another waterloo.
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
/><^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IXIC08032020
Wall Street gains with tech in the lead
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views
expressed are his own)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (646) 223 6186; Reuters
Messaging: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)