The S&P 500 closed off 0.24%, the Dow was off just 0.06% and the NASDAQ was down 1.01%. The NASDAQ was rocked mid-day when tech giant Google’s worse-than-expected earnings were announced ahead of schedule. Google closed 8.01% lower on the day. Tech titans Apple and IBM also traded lower. IBM has been off sharply the past two days in response to its earnings announcement. Weakness in those three names masked some strength in the tech sector today. EBAY traded higher at the open and strengthened throughout the course of the day to close up better than 5% on the day.
Financials outperformed in the weak tape today. Insurers led the way with Travelers closing up more than 3.5% on strong earnings. ACE, ALL and several other insurers also did well.
Industrials did well again today. Machinery stocks were up nicely on the strength of better than expected numbers from China overnight. Transports were up 1% on strength from parcel delivery stocks, and the airlines. While overall the railroads were weaker, Union Pacific traded higher all day after they reported earnings pre-open. They cited strong volume in their energy related business and strong pricing on contract renewals.
Better than expected news from China overnight helped the materials stocks. Steels and base metals traded higher. Chemical stocks outperformed on strength from DD and DOW.
The healthcare sector underperformed the market. Life sciences and medtech stocks were hit hard today. Money again gravitated to the mega cap healthcare names. JNJ, MRK and LLY all traded higher JNJ is up more that 6.5% for the week.
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose to 380,000. The number reported today was the highest reading since mid-July after a good number was reported last week. The Philadelphia Fed survey came in well above expectations. The number today was 5.9 against -1.9 last month. This is the first positive reading for this number since April. China GDP rose 7.4% year over year. This number was well received and companies with heavy exposure, for the most part, traded higher on the day.
Source: PFS Group
