Stock Market News for Oct 22, 2024

Wall Street closed lower on Monday, pulled down by real estate stocks. Treasury yields rose to multi-month highs as market participants took cognizance of comments from Fed officials. Two of the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the red, while one closed in the green.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) ticked down 344.31 points, or 0.8%, to close at 42,931.60. Twenty-three components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while seven ended in positive.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 50.45 points, or 0.3%, to close at 18,540.01.

The S&P 500 declined 10.69 points, or 0.2%, to close at 5,853.98. Ten of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) fell 2.1%, 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 0.5%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.9% to 18.37. A total of 11.4 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.6 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 3.51-to-1 ratio on the NYSE while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 89 new highs and 51 new lows.

Treasury Yields Rise on Comments From Fed Officials

Mentioning that the economy remained resilient and the labor market strong, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Monday long-term direction for interest rates could be higher than it has been in the past, even if they are coming down now. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said she supports the current move to lowering interest rates. “However, any number of shocks could influence what that path to normal will look like, how fast policy should move and where rates should settle.” Logan added, “in my view, the FOMC will need to remain nimble and willing to adjust if appropriate.”

On cue, the yield on the benchmark 10-year treasury rose 12 basis points (bps) to 4.194%, touching its highest level in almost three months. The 2-year treasury yield increased 7 bps to 4.027%.

While talks about higher interest rates lead to high bond yields, tech stocks usually suffer because of their future valuation. Monday was an exception, though, with a 4.1% rise in NVIDIA Corporation NVDA carrying the tech sector on its shoulders. All the other sectors of the S&P 500 took a hit, with real estate and health care being the worst hit.

Consequently, shares of CBRE Group, Inc. CBRE and Prologis, Inc. PLD lost 1.7% and 3.9%, respectively. Both currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data

Per the Conference Board, the leading indicators for the U.S. declined 0.5% in September 2024 to 99.7, following a 0.3% fall in August. Over the six-month period between March and September 2024, the index fell 2.6%, more than its 2.2% decline over the previous six-month period (September 2023 to March 2024).

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