The S&P 500 traded higher by 0.18% and the Dow closed at another all-time high as it gained 0.23%. Industrials, financials, technology and materials were the leading groups today. Safety areas of the stock market, transports and Treasuries, lagged.
Commodities were mostly higher with copper, crude, natural gas and grains moving higher. Both gold and silver were off slightly on the day but they both finished near their lows. Crude had a positive reversal intraday and closed higher by 1.25%.
More jobs numbers will be released prior to the open tomorrow. ADP numbers came in yesterday at 198,000. The estimate for tomorrow is in the 180,000 range when you combine the ADP number with a loss from the public sector in the 15,000 range.
Banks led the financial sector higher ahead of stress test announcements. Money center banks continue to perform well and the relative laggard, regional banks, outperformed the tape today as well. Life insurance companies also outperformed the broad market averages.
Transports were weak today after breaking out to all-time highs ahead of the Dow. Rails were weak today after some negative comments made regarding coal shipments at an industry conference. Airlines were the best performing industry group in the area. Regional airline SkyWest moved to another 52-week high and US Airways received favorable analyst commentary and moved higher by 1.5%.
Energy stocks were in line today as crude rose 1.5%. Exxon was weak as they gave muted guidance on production growth. Exploration and production names were the best performing area of the energy complex.
Source: PFS Group
