Stocks Gain As Investors Expect Fed to Slow Pace
2:39 pm Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022
Today’s trade has a more positive disposition after retreating yesterday on lingering growth concerns. Those concerns are still in play today following reports that suggest COVID-related lockdowns have reached record levels in China, but the stock market is showing nice resilience.
The upside bias today is bolstered by a slew of generally positive earnings news. Best Buy (BBY) and Burlington Stores (BURL) are among the biggest earnings-driven winners in the retail space while Agilent Technologies (A) and Analog Devices (ADI) are standouts in their respective areas.
Mega cap stocks, which sold off in recent sessions, are another supportive factor for the broader market. Tesla (TSLA) is a notable winner for the group after suffering big losses recently. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) and the S&P 500 both sport a 0.7% gain.
Market participants are taking advantage of thinner holiday trading conditions to do some tactical, and opportunistic, trading in some of this year’s most beaten-up stocks. That includes a wide array of names with the S&P 500 down 16.5% year-to-date and the Nasdaq Composite down 29.2% year-to-date.
A pullback in Treasury yields and a weakening dollar has also provided some support. The 10-yr note yield is down seven basis points to 3.76% and the U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.5% to 107.28.
Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors trade in positive territory. Energy (+2.8%) and materials (+1.5%) sit atop the leaderboard while real estate (-0.1%) is alone in the red.
There was no U.S. economic data of note today.
