The stock market fell Thursday but erased some of earlier losses that came after a spate of economic and inflation reports pointed toward a recession. Consumer discretionary and technology stocks led the downside, and solar stocks led the upside.
The Nasdaq composite lost 0.8% but had been down nearly 3%, and the S&P 500 was down 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.4%.
Volume fell on the Nasdaq and rose on the NYSE compared with the same time on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 is on track for the worst June since 2008, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. As of Wednesday's close, the S&P was off 7.6%, the worst June since an 8.6% drop in June 2008. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 are on pace for the worst first half of any year on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500, down 21% year to date, is having its worst first half since 1970, when it also fell 21%.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 30835.85 | -193.46 | -0.62 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 3799.68 | -19.15 | -0.50 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11085.66 | -92.23 | -0.83 |
| Russell 2000 | 170.08 | -0.61 | -0.36 | |
| IBD 50 | 26.90 | +0.00 | +0.00 | |
Last Update: 1:26 PM ET 6/30/2022 |
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The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation came out Thursday morning, with the personal consumption expenditure price index rising 0.6% in May, with a year-over-year increase of 6.3%. Both numbers came in slightly lower than consensus Econoday estimates. Personal income rose 0.5% in May, in line with estimates.
Personal Consumption Is Lower Than Expected
The PCE price index is one measure of U.S. inflation, tracking the change in prices of goods and services purchased by consumers throughout the economy. The core PCE fell from 4.9% to 4.7% and was unchanged, in line with views.
Meanwhile, first-time unemployment claims fell to 231,000, down from a revised 233,000 in the prior week, per the Labor Department.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 9 basis points to 3.0%.
Amazon.com declined more than 2% and was trading below its 21-day exponential moving average after trying to move above that line in the past several days. Amazon is ramping up for its annual Amazon Prime Day event, which is set for July 12 and 13 after being delayed several times due to Covid.
The consumer discretionary and technology sectors were the worst performing sectors of the S&P. In financials, big banks also fell, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup all falling around 2%.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF was flat, escaping most of the carnage in the major indexes.
Solar energy stocks Daqo New Energy and Enphase Energy helped the IBD 50. Both were up more than 4%.
Daqo is extended past its profit zone from a 53.70 buy point off a consolidation. The shares are well above both their 50-day and 21-day exponential moving averages.
Enphase broke back into its buy range on Thursday, jumping nearly 7% past its buy point of 193 off a double-bottom base.
The price of U.S. crude oil fell 3% to $106.65 a barrel.
Negative Earnings Outlooks Weigh On Stock Market
Walgreens Boots Alliance was the worst performer in the Dow. It fell nearly 6% despite that the drugstore chain beat Wall Street estimates for both earnings and sales for its fiscal third quarter. Shares climbed last week in line with a surge in health care stocks, but sank below the 50-day moving average on Thursday.
Walgreens reported adjusted earnings of 96 cents a share, beating estimates for 90 cents a share, but coming in 30% lower than the same quarter last year.
Simply Good Foods plunged more than 7%, on pace for its largest decrease since March 3, 2020, when it fell 13.4%. Simply Good Foods easily beat analysts' estimates for both earnings and sales, but analysts weren't happy with the company's outlook.
"Due to the year-to-date higher than usual customer inventory levels, we expect fourth quarter net sales performance to be below the anticipated retail take-away increase of high-single digits on a percentage basis versus last year," said Joseph Scalzo, president and CEO.
Steel and mining stocks were also getting hit, with the S&P Materials Sector ETF down 1.1%. U.S. Steel was down 2.3%. Schnitzer Steel was down 2.8% after it reported earnings after the close on Wednesday that beat analyst expectations on both earnings and sales.
Follow Michael Molinski on Twitter @IMmolinski
