US markets edge higher, lifted by real estate, healthcare stocks

Benchmark US indices closed higher on Wednesday, July 7, pulled up by gains in real estate and healthcare stocks after the Fed held its first discussion on the bond purchase, accepting that inflation has been a cause of worry but deciding to keep the rates unchanged.

The S&P 500 was up 0.34% to 4,358.13. The Dow Jones rose 0.30% to 34,681.79. The NASDAQ Composite gained 0.01% to 14,665.06, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was down 0.95% to 2,252.85.

Investors looked for cues from Wednesday's Fed meeting after some central bank officials last month took a hawkish tone on interest rates citing inflation concerns. In addition, the Labor Department stated on Wednesday that new job openings have been at a record level this summer.

It said the number of job openings rose by 16,000 to 9.2 million at the end of May. But, conversely, hiring fell from 6 million in April to 5.9 million in May. The comments have enthused the markets, although officials couldn't say for sure when the labor shortage would ease despite a record number of jobs created, part of the Fed's goal to keep the interest rates to a near-zero level.

Eight of the 11 critical stock segments of the S&P 500 stayed in positive territory, with real estate and healthcare sectors leading the index. The energy stocks were the bottom movers.

Meanwhile, rail transport company Amtrak said that it would spend US$7.3 billion to replace its old coaches, while Siemens Mobility company said it would start manufacturing trains at its Sacramento, California-based plant in line with President Joe Biden's "Buy America" program.

Shares of online retail company Newegg Commerce Inc. (NEGG) jumped 181% in intraday trading after it started selling NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards, which is in short supply, a day before. On Wednesday, it launched a new business venture that offers PC assembly services to customers.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) increased by 1.67%, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) rose 0.85%, and Adobe Inc. (ADBE) gained 1.63%. NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) declined 0.93%, while ASML Holdings N.V. (ASML) advanced 0.93%. Salesforce.com, Inc. (CRM) ticked down 0.62%.

In healthcare stocks, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose 0.78%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) gained 0.77%, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) advanced 1.13%. Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) and Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) rose 1.35% and 1.37%, respectively, while Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) dropped 4.56%.

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In the energy sector, Exxon Mobil (XOM) stocks declined by 1.45%, Chevron Corp (CVX) fell by 0.88%, and PetroChina Company Limited (PTR) decreased by 1.88%. Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-A) and TotalEnergies SE (TTE) shed 1.01% and 1.29%, respectively. ConocoPhillips (COP) dropped 1.97%.

In real estate stocks, American Tower Corporation (AMT) advanced 1.13%, Prologis, Inc. (PLD) gained 0.82%, and Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) increased by 0.67%. Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) rose 1.34%, while KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) fell 8.64%.

Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) jumped 7.22%, while Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) advanced 2.06% and 1.83%, respectively.

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Top Gainers

Top performers on S&P 500 included Oracle Corp (3.62%), Nucor Corp (3.39%), Carmax Inc (3.12%), Biogen Inc (3.03%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Newegg Commerce Inc (148.42%), Mannatech Inc (49.69%), Data Storage Corp (32.78%), iPower Inc (32.19%). On Dow Jones, Apple Inc (1.80%), 3M Co (1.51%), Home Depot Inc (1.32%), Honeywell International Inc (1.00%) were the leaders.

Top Losers

Top laggards on S&P 500 included Xilinx Inc (-4.67%), Marketaxess Holdings Inc (-4.60%), Penn National Gaming Inc (-4.31%), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (-4.16%). On NASDAQ, Bridgeline Digital Inc (-30.09%), Bsquare Corp (-28.37%), Professional Diversity Network, Inc. (-20.75%), Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (-20.42%). On Dow Jones, Boeing Co (-1.85%), Chevron Corp (-1.02%), Salesforce.Com Inc (-0.72%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (-0.59%) were the laggards.

Volume Movers

Top volume movers were Apple Inc (20.24M), Ford Motor Co (13.67M), General Electric Co (13.55M), Bank of America Corp (12.01M), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (9.17M), AT&T Inc (7.96M), Microsoft Corp (7.31M), Exela Technologies Inc (34.36M), Dare Bioscience Inc (19.14M), Sundial Growers Inc (15.75M), Newegg Commerce Inc (14.92M), ContextLogic Inc (12.51M), OncoSec Medical Inc (8.51M), Data Storage Corp (7.43M).

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Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 0.54% to US$1,803.95 per ounce. Silver increased 0.19% to US$26.225 per ounce, while copper rose 1.30% to US$4.3063.
Brent oil increased 0.03% to US$73.37 per barrel and WTI crude decreased 1.61% to US$72.19.

Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields was down 3.03% to 1.942, while the 10-year bond yields decreased 3.44% to 1.323.
US Dollar Futures Index increased 0.18% to US$92.710.