(Thursday market open) The S&P 500® index (SPX)...
(Thursday market open) The S&P 500® index(SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average® (DJI) ended little changed but still edged to record highs for a second straight day Thursday as investors processed another batch of quarterly earnings and looked ahead to inflation updates next week that will likely factor into expectations for the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.
Much like the 2023 equity market, recent strength continues to be driven largely by mega caps and other large tech companies, while signs of weakness continue to percolate further down the cap spectrum, according to Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab's chief investment strategist.
"Cap-weighted indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite look great on the surface, but there are divergences under the surface, with several sectors lagging and market internals, such as breadth, narrowing in recent weeks," Sonders said.
"Narrow breadth, all else equal, is not a great backdrop" for stocks, Sonders added. "However, markets can remain narrow with concentrated leadership for extended periods. It’s akin to overly optimistic sentiment, which is also not ideal but can stay that way for extended periods."
Here's where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 index added 2.85 points (0.1%) to 4,997.91, after briefly rising to 5,000.40, breaching the 5,000 level for the first time; the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48.97 points (0.1%) to 38,726.33; the Nasdaq Composite climbed 37.07 points (0.2%) to 15,793.71.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) rose more than 5 basis points to 4.154%.
The Cboe Volatility Index® (VIX) fell 0.04 to 12.79.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery rose $2.36 to $76.22 per barrel Thursday. Brent crude for April delivery rose $2.42 to $81.63 per barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for March delivery rose 8 centsto $2.34 a gallon. March heating oilrose 7 cents to $2.89 a gallon. March natural gas fell 5 cents to $1.92 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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