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Early Equities Roundup: IT, Pharma Keep Weakness at Bay

US STOCKS
  • Stock indexes drift in narrowly mixed ranges ahead midday Friday, a quiet end to a hectic week that saw S&P Eminis see-saw off Monday's 3-month lows. Currently, the DJIA trades down 11.92 points (-0.03%) at 39435.76, S&P E-Mini Future up 0.75 points (0.01%) at 5350.25, Nasdaq up 0.9 points (0%) at 16663.18.
  • Information Technology and Health Care sectors led gainers in the first half, software and services shares outpaced semiconductor makers: Akamai Tech +9.92% after beating earnings estimates late Thursday, Palo Alto Networks +2.9%, Micron +1.82%. Pharmaceuticals and biotech shares buoyed the Health Care sector: Eli Lilly +6.99%, Bristol-Myers Squibb +0.6%, Regeneron +0.58%
  • On the flipside, Communication Services and Utility sectors underperformed in early trade, media and entertainment shares weighed on the Communication Services sector: Google -1.19%, Disney +1.18% , Comcast -0.71%. Water & independent power providers traded weaker: American Water Works -2.68%, Vistra Corp -1.66%.
  • While the latest earnings cycle is approximately 82% complete, there are a number of announcements expected next week: Home Depot early Tuesday; Brinker Int, Samsonite and Cisco late Wednesday; Walmart, Applied Materials and Deere & Co on Thursday.

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