S&P 500 closes above 7,800 for the first time as AI trade powers on
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Meanwhile, oil markets moved higher Wednesday as fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian airports in Jazan and Najran stoked fears of renewed supply disruptions from the Middle East. Brent crude for December delivery gained 0.93% to $101.52 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate for November advanced 0.81% to $90.16 per barrel.
The rest of the market is not keeping up
Less than half of S&P 500 constituents closed above their 200-day moving average on Tuesday, according to Dow Jones Market Data; a figure that has been declining since August. The Russell 2000 small-cap index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and even the equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 are all trailing the benchmark over the past month.
Healthcare companies, banks, consumer staples and blue-chip industrials are broadly lower. Ten-year Treasury yields, which retreated slightly Tuesday, remain near their highest level in two decades; a headwind for most companies outside the largest tech players.
“Higher interest rates and inflation are taking a toll on other stocks in the S&P 500,” said Dan Russo, chief investment officer at Potomac Fund Management, in comments reported by the Journal. “It’s only the fortresslike balance sheets at the large-cap end of the spectrum that are propping the market up.”
