Stock indexes pared losses Monday afternoon, with the technology sector still dragging and retail stocks higher despite weak September sales.
XThe Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% as it felt the weight of tech stocks but still pared losses. The SPDR Technology ETF (XLK) was down 0.8% while the iShares North America Tech Software ETF (IGV) was off 0.7%. Biotechs also hurt the Nasdaq: IBD's biotech industry group fell 0.3% and the related medical research group was off 0.8%. Both were among the weakest industry groups today.
The S&P 500 was up 0.2% as the energy sector came under selling. Exploration & production, refinery, and drilling groups lost ground. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq remain below their 200-day moving averages. (For updates on this story and other market coverage, check Stock Market Today.)
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.4%. Consumer companies Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Walt Disney (DIS), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coca-Cola (KO) were up more than 1%.
Apple (AAPL) was the weakest Dow component, down 1.5%. Goldman Sachs warned that demand for iPhones is rapidly slowing and it could hurt Apple's results, CNBC reported.
Volume was tracking lower compared with the same time on Friday.
Retail Stocks Rise
Retail stocks were mainly higher despite that September retail sales missed forecasts. Sales edged up 0.1% and fell 0.1% excluding autos. Economists expected a 0.6% gain overall, and a 0.4% rise ex-autos.
IBD's restaurants group was up 0.2% even as the latest data was disappointing. Restaurant sales slid 1.8%, the primary reason for the miss in September retail sales, says James Bohnaker, Associate Director of IHS Markit. "Hurricane Florence may have stunted food services spending in high-population areas in the Southeast when it made landfall in mid-September," Bohnaker noted. "Regardless, restaurant sales were due for a breather after outsize gains during the summer."
After the retail sales report, IHS Markit cut its forecast for growth in holiday sales to 4.7% from 5%. That would be a decline from growth of 5.3% last year. Bohnaker cited rising gasoline prices and said continued stock market volatility may hurt discretionary spending.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was flat and still below the 200-day moving average.
Leading stocks were mainly lower, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) down 0.1% but off the day's lows. The ETF fell sharply the past two weeks but has been stabilizing since Friday.
IBD 50 member Nvidia (NVDA) was the weakest, down 3.5% as it meets resistance at the 200-day moving average. Many other tech and health care stocks were in the bottom half of the IBD 50.
Oil equipment company Cactus (WHD) climbed back above its 37.48 buy point.
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