Stocks Extend Gains , Led by Tech and Energy
3:08 pm Friday, July 29th, 2022
The stock market ended on a high note fueled by carryover momentum from yesterday’s rally. The positive bias is also a reaction to quarterly results from names like Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon (XOM). The market lost a little bit of steam and currently moves sideways off its highs. The S&P 500 pushed above the 4,100 level this session, where it remains through midday.
On the heels of the better-than-feared earnings reports from Apple and Amazon.com, the mega caps are leading the upside charge. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) is up 1.7% versus a 1.0% gain in the S&P 500 and a 0.5% gain in the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP).
These names are also lending a boost to their respective S&P 500 sectors. Information technology (+1.1%) and consumer discretionary (+3.6%) have outpaced the broader market thus far. To be fair, the big downside move by Intel (INTC) is limiting the gains in the technology sector.
The energy sector (+3.8%) is the top performer currently thanks to better-than-expected earnings reports from Chevron and Exxon.
On a related note, WTI crude oil futures pushed above the $100.00/bbl mark today but pulled back recently, currently up 3.3% to $99.62/bbl.
Separately, there was a batch of discouraging economic data today that included the highest PCE Price Index reading (+6.8% yr/yr) since 1982, the second-lowest consumer sentiment number on record (51.5), and the lowest Chicago PMI reading (52.1) since August 2020.
Also, the 2-yr note yield is unchanged at 2.87% while the 10-yr note yield is down four basis points to 2.64%.
