October 02, 2024 19:22 GMT
US STOCKS: Late Equities Roundup: IT and Energy Lead Gainers
US STOCKS
- Stocks cling to mildly higher levels late Wednesday, off this morning's lows as post-data tactical shorts covered ahead of Friday's employment report. Currently, the Dow is up 68.4 points (0.16%) at 42224.62, S&P E-Minis up 6 points (0.1%) at 5766, Nasdaq up 44.8 points (0.3%) at 17954.25.
- Semiconductor stocks continued to lead gainers in the IT sector amid continued AI demand (not to mention several dealer upgrades for chip makers in general): KLA Corp +3.34%, Monolithic Power +3.20%, Teradyne +2.88% while Lam Research gained 2.57%.
- Even though crude prices were well off early highs (WTI at 70.45 vs. 72.40 this morning), the ongoing tensions in the Mideast continued to support oil and gas shares: Williams Cos +2.03%, Diamondback Energy +1.46%, Devon Energy +1.23%.
- Conversely, Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors continued to underperform the late trade. Food and beverage companied weighed on the Staples sector: Conagra Brands -8.0% after missing earnings on "challenging environment", while McCormick trades -3.16%.
- Automakers weighed on the Consumer Discretionary sector: Tesla -3.34% while Ford -2.37%.
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