Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up nine points and are trading 0.1% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 18 points and are trading 0.1% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 71 points and are trading 0.1% above fair value.

Total new orders for durable goods surged 9.9% month-over-month in July (Briefing.com consensus 4.0%) following a downwardly revised 6.9% decline (from -6.6%) in June. That surge, like the downturn in June, was driven by transportation equipment orders, which soared 34.8%. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders declined 0.2% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.5%) in June.

The key takeaway from the report is that business spending was soft in July, evidenced by a 0.1% decline in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.

Treasury yields turned lower in response. The 10-yr note yield moved from 3.81% to 3.78% and the 2-yr note yield moved from 3.91% to 3.89%.