S&P 500 makes new closing highs

Index & Sector performance 8/20/14

The Market:

A respectable session for the Dow (DIA) and S&P 500 (SPY) as the SPY finished at a new closing high and the DIA is not all that far off.  The NASDAQ (QQQ) managed to finish slightly up on the session and while not as strong as the DIA or SPY, the QQQ has been the clear leader on the year.  The Russell 2000 (IWM) continues to lag and was unable to finish the session higher like the other broad indices however the index did manage to rally well off the earlier lows.

In individual sectors it was the Industrials (XLI) which stood our gaining over 1% on the session.  One of the lagging sectors on the year, albeit up over 4% YTD,it will be interesting to see if the sector can continue to build on this momentum and challenge the all time highs.

Not much in terms of volume of data today but certainly traders were focused on the FOMC minutes.  One key headline from the report was that if the Fed’s objectives were realized quicker than expected that many participants felt it would be appropriate to remove monetary policy accommodations faster than previously anticipated.  Tomorrow we see much more in terms of reported data with Unemployment Claims, Existing Home Sales, and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index all key data points to watch.

Economic Calendar Week of 8/18/14

Reporting EPS 8/21/14 Pre-Market:

Companies reporting EPS 8/21/14 pre-market

Analyst Comments:

Upgrades 8/20/14

Downgrades 8/20/14

Initiations 8/20/14

Price Target Changes 8/20/14