The S&P 500 climbed by 0.56% and the Dow rose for the 9th straight day, closing 0.58% higher. There were dips to be bought today. Buyers had come in for several days on any sign of weakness. The market started up and moved higher throughout the day.
Cyclical areas of the market outperformed. Energy and technology were leaders. Apple and IBM drove the tech sector and a spike in crude spurred a move higher in the energy space. All ten sectors of the S&P 500 closed higher today with safety area, healthcare and utilities, lagging the overall tape.
Media stocks were big gainers on the back of positive analyst commentary. Media conglomerates like Time Warner and CBS were highlighted for their recent spinoffs of non-core assets.
Commodities were mixedy. Precious metals lagged the tape but traded higher. Natural gas continues to rocket higher with a gain of 3.9%. Base metals gained but trailed the tape.
Financials traded up with the market. The Fed released their Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review stress-test results after the close. Most banks received favorable ratings. Bank of America’s capital plans were viewed as favorable and the stock spiked after hours as they announced a $5 billion stock buyback. None of the major financial institutions received objections from the Fed. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan did receive conditional approval. They have to submit new capital plans by the end of the third quarter to address weaknesses in their capital planning processes.
Multi line industrial stocks outperformed the tape, led by strength in early cycle names like MMM and late cycle stocks like General Electric. Caterpillar led the capital equipment area lower. Aerospace and defense names continue to work higher.
Rails, airlines, parcels and truckers all traded higher today. The transports continue to see broad based strength. CSX reiterated a theme that is helping many railroad stocks: increased traffic of crude via rails. FedEx and UPS continue to move higher. US Airways led the airline industry today. Sky West, UAL and Southwest all moved higher.
Energy was strong across the board. Service companies, drillers, integrated oil companies and refiners all moved to the upside. Exploration and production companies, especially those focused on gas exploration, were gainers on the day also.
Source: PFS Group
