For a second day the markets processed the better than expected inflation data and infrastructure deal and pulled profits out of tech and back into the more conventional sectors of materials, banking and industrials.  The S&P reached a new record and PCE data lent further assurances that inflation was under control. As today’s expert put it, “The positive news from the infrastructure package favors the S&P more than Nasdaq. The Nasdaq does not pour cement into roads and put steel in bridges. That’s the S&P.”  The Russell reconstituting its indexes today artificially inflated volume figures to an enormous 15 billion vs the 11.2 billion average so we’ll have to wait until Monday for more reliable data. 

Fri  June 25, 2021  4:32 PM

S&P 500 closes at record high, lifted by Nike and banks

Medha Singh, Noel Randewich

DJ: 34,196.82  +322.58        NAS: 14,369.71  +97.98        S&P: 4,266.49   +24.65    6/24

DJ: 34,433.84  +237.02        NAS: 14,360.39  -9.32           S&P: 4,280.70  +14.21     6/25

June 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended the week at record high on Friday, lifted by Nike and several banks, while weaker-than-expected inflation data eased worries about a sudden tapering in stimulus by the Federal Reserve.  Nike Inc (NKE.N) surged 15.5% to an all-time high after the sneaker maker forecast fiscal full-year sales ahead of Wall Street estimates, helping the Dow lead among the three main indexes. read more Bank of America (BAC.N)climbed 1.9% and Wells Fargo (WFC.N)rallied 2.7% after the Fed announced big banks have cleared stress test and will no longer face pandemic-related restrictions on buying back stock and paying dividends. read more  The S&P 500 financials index (.SPSY)rose 1.3% and was the top performers among 11 sector indexes.

"Today is a bit of profit-taking in tech and a reallocation into the banks after the results of the stress tests," said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC, adding he expects banks to soon announce increased dividends.  A bipartisan Senate deal on infrastructure spending embraced by U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday continued to lift stocks, with the materials (.SPLRCM) and industrials (.SPLRCI) indexes increasing and helping the S&P 500 outperform the Nasdaq.  "The positive news from the infrastructure package favors the S&P 500 more than then Nasdaq. The Nasdaq does not pour cement into roads and put steel in bridges. That's the S&P 500," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data showed a measure of underlying inflation rose less than expected in May. Core PCE rose 3.4% year-over-year as expected, above the Fed's 2% flexible target. read more

Billionaire Richard Branson's spaceship company Virgin Galactic (SPCE.N) soared almost 40% and was Wall Street's second most traded company after receiving approval from the U.S. aviation safety regulator to fly people to space. read more

With the FTSE Russell reconstituting its indexes following a wild trading year marked by the pandemic and a "meme" stocks, volume on U.S. exchanges surged to 15.1 billion shares, versus the 11.2 billion average over the last 20 trading days. nL2N2O01WH]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 0.69% to end at 34,433.84 points, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 0.33% to 4,280.69.  The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 0.06%, to 14,360.39.  For the week, the S&P 500 gained 2.7%, the Dow added 3.4% and the Nasdaq gained 2.4%. It was the S&P 500's strongest week since early February and the Nasdaq's strongest since April.

FedEx Corp (FDX.N) dropped 3.6% after the U.S. delivery firm missed 2022 earnings forecast due to hiring difficulties. read more  CarMax Inc (KMX.N) jumped 6.7% after the used-car retailer topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, helped by strong demand as more people opted for personal vehicles over public transport due to the COVID-19 pandemic. read more

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.29-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.22-to-1 ratio favored advancers.  The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 149 new highs and 14 new lows.