Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market's modest opening advance was enough to secure new record highs for the S&P 500 (-0.3%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), though a broad-based retreat quickly ensued, sending the major averages lower. 

The DJIA (-0.5%) underperformed the group, staying in negative territory for the week. 

While sector strength was split this morning, it deteriorated throughout the session, leaving just the consumer staples sector (+0.6%) in positive territory at the close. 

Other defensive sectors spent considerable amounts of time above their baselines as well, but a handful of corporate developments saw the consumer staples sector maintain its advantage through the close. 

Costco (COST 942.89, +28.09, +3.07%) captured a nice gain after reporting an increase in comparable sales of 6.0% for the month of September. 

PepsiCo (PEP 144.73, +5.89, +4.24%) reported an earnings beat, and Kenvue (KVUE 16.84, +0.76, +4.70%) was one of the best-performing names in the S&P 500, continuing its rebound from recent record lows. 

As for the declining sectors, the materials sector (-1.5) saw the widest loss despite Albemarle (ALB 96.50, +4.81, +5.25%) finishing as the best-performing S&P 500 name. Gold finally saw a pullback from its run to record highs, settling today's session $93.90 lower (-2.3%) at $3,976.50 per ounce. 

The industrials sector (-1.4%) also lagged, even though Delta Air Lines (DAL 59.57, +2.45, +4.29%) captured a nice gain after beating EPS and revenue expectations, which sent United Airlines (UAL 101.34, +3.25, +3.31%) higher as well. 

The sector faced pressure in its defense names after China's Ministry of Commerce announced the tightening of export restrictions on rare earth materials for high-tech products and military applications, sending the iShares US Aerospace and Defense ETF 1.8% lower. 

The energy sector (-1.3%) rounds out the three S&P 500 sectors to close with a loss wider than 1.0%, moving lower as crude oil futures settled today's session $1.15 lower (-1.8%) at $61.42 per barrel. 

This morning's retreat was initially led by the consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and communication services (-0.1%) sectors, which faced early pressure in their mega-cap components, though the market's largest names would go on to finish well off their session lows. 

Tesla (TSLA 435.46, -3.23, -0.74%) narrowed its early loss by nearly two percentage points, while Meta Platforms (META 733.51, +15.67, +2.18%) and Amazon (AMZN 227.74, +2.52, +1.12%) captured nice gains. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 192.57, +3.46, +1.83%) also contributed with a strong performance after receiving a target raise to $300 from $240 at Cantor Fitzgerald. In conjunction with Oracle's (ORCL 297.04, +8.41, +2.91%) advance, the information technology sector (-0.1%) stayed close to its flatline despite a majority of components moving lower. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (-0.1%) also closed just beneath its baseline after facing a loss of 0.5% earlier in the session. 

Today's action once again featured a lack of notable macro catalysts. The market did not receive any economic data of note due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Senate once again failed to pass a funding bill to end the shutdown, and none of today's FOMC speakers said anything to nudge the market's rate cut expectations in one way or another.

While the lack of drivers made for an uneventful afternoon, a late session pickup in buying among the market's largest names suggests investors may already be looking to capitalize on another buy-the-dip play. 

U.S. Treasuries saw some selling early in the cash session that resulted in yields drifting higher across the curve. The 2-year note yield settled up two basis points to 3.60%, and the 10-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.15%. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +19.2% YTD
• S&P 500: +14.5% YTD
• Russell 2000: +10.7% YTD
• DJIA: +9.0% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +4.3% YTD

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are slightly improved from their session lows, though a fierce buy-the-dip play would need to come to fruition quickly to bring them back to their baselines.

Ferrari (RACE 404.77, -74.44, -15.53%) is on track for its worst trading day ever on the New York Stock Exchange after the company disappointed investors with updated earnings guidance. 

Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA 435.22, -3.47, -0.79%) has substantially narrowed its loss for the day after being down 2.7% this morning. With Amazon (AMZN 226.79, +1.57, +0.70%) also reversing an earlier loss, the consumer discretionary sector (-0.3%) is no longer among the worst-performing S&P 500 sectors today. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (-0.2%) has halved its earlier loss, and the market-weighted S&P 500 (-0.4%) now considerably outperforms the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (-0.9%). 

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.4), and DJIA (-0.7%) sit near session lows as the market enters the final hour of the session. 

The consumer staples sector (+0.3%) remains the only S&P 500 sector in positive territory as the stock market largely retreats after fresh record highs. 

Commodities also faced pressure today, as crude oil futures settled today's session $1.15 lower (-1.8%) at $61.42 per barrel, contributing to a 1.3% loss in the energy sector. 

Even gold, which has surged to record high levels over the past week, settled today's session $93.90 lower (-2.3%) at $3,976.50 per ounce

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.42%) is in second place on Thursday afternoon, down about 28 points.

Briefly, S&P 500 constituents AppLovin (APP 600.35, -29.35, -4.66%), PulteGroup (PHM 121.53, -6.13, -4.80%), and Newmont Corporation (NEM 84.85, -3.55, -4.02%) dot the bottom of the standings. APP slides after a Needham analyst call flagged slowing growth in its core gaming business and muted momentum in e-commerce initiatives, while PHM falls after Barclays warned of softer margins, elevated valuations, and overly optimistic 2026 estimates across large-cap homebuilders, and NEM is weaker owing in part to losses in gold.

Meanwhile, Albemarle (ALB 96.16, +4.47, +4.88%) is one of today's better performers, stronger today after analysts at TD Cowen upped their target on the stock to $85 from $70 ahead of the Q3 print.

[BRIEFING.COM] The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (-0.45%) is in second place on Thursday afternoon, down about 103 points.

Gold futures settled $97.90 lower (-2.4%) at $3,972.60/oz, as traders took profits after a record run above $4K, pressured by a firmer dollar and easing geopolitical tensions. Analysts said the pullback looks technical, with underlying support from rate-cut bets and central-bank demand still intact.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is up about +0.6% to $99.44.