The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) fell by 0.08%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) decreased by 0.44%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) dropped by 0.15% on the market today. A 5% decline in Netflix weighed heavily on technology stocks after the company forecasted below-consensus operating margins. Key reports today showed that June housing starts rose 4.6% month-over-month to 1.321 million, surpassing expectations of 1.300 million, while the University of Michigan’s July consumer sentiment index hit a five-month high of 61.8, above the expected 61.5.
On the bond front, the 10-year T-note yield is down 3 basis points to 4.42%, influenced by dovish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller indicating support for a 25 basis point rate cut in the upcoming July 29-30 FOMC meeting. Additionally, current futures pricing indicates a 5% chance for a rate cut at this meeting and a 58% chance for the following meeting on September 16-17.
Weakness in managed health care stocks affected the broader market, with Elevance Health falling over 5% after a downgrade and Humana down more than 2% following a lost legal case regarding Medicare payments. In contrast, Talen Energy experienced a rise of more than 22% after acquiring gas-fired power plants for $3.5 billion, while Invesco Ltd jumped over 11% after filing a proxy statement to convert a fund into an open-ended structure.
