THE GIST (“THE WHAT”)
Trading sideways for most part of the morning session, the S&P 500 index broke higher after a bag of strong economic data raised the odds of a soft landing and boosted investors’ risk appetite despite a hawkish Fed. Closing Thursday’s gap, the index closed near the day’s highs at 4378.40, up 49.59 points (1.15%).
Note: Our daily “S&P 500 Trading plan” will be posted around 9:30/10:00am EDT, every trading day.
Trading Plans for TUE. 06/27: Markets Awaiting the PCE and FOMC – Day 2
For the last published Results of the Morning Trading Plans, please click here
THE DETAILS (The “How & Why”):
In economic news, U.S. new home sales rose for the third straight month, surging surprisingly by 12.2% on an annual basis in May on the back of a decent demand and limited supply of existing homes. New orders for manufactured durable goods also beat economists’ expectations and rose for the third straight month, jumping 1.7% in May. The U.S. consumer confidence number also reflected calming recession jitters and cooling inflation, leaping to a 17-month high.
Technology sector led the day’s gains with semiconductor stocks leading the sector gains. Applied Materials, Lam Research Corp, Microchip Technology and NXP Semiconductors all closed more than 4% higher. Meta Platforms Inc jumped 3.1% following price upgrade by Citibank citing strong advertising revenue projections for the next year.
Bucking the day’s strong trend, healthcare sector was the only decliner of the session, led by an 8.71% decline in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals after the US FDA disapproved its higher-dose version of Eylea drug that could be used to treat a disease that is leading cause of blindness among the elderly.