How the day closed: indexes, leaders, laggards, and volatility.
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This is the CAMS Closing Market Recap for Friday, July 24.
Markets closed mixed today, with a clear divide between large-cap technology and the rest of the market. The S&P 500 finished nearly flat, gaining about a tenth of a percent to close at 738.93. The Dow added nearly half a percent, settling at 518.76. The Nasdaq 100 pulled back more than one percent, closing at 684.23. Small caps also slipped, with the Russell 2000 finishing down about a third of a percent at 291.17.
Breadth in the Dow was solidly positive — 23 advancers against 7 decliners. Verizon led the blue chips, gaining nearly six percent on the day. Salesforce added more than four percent, and IBM rose about three and a half percent. On the downside, American Express fell more than four percent, and Dow Inc. dropped about three and a half percent.
The sector story today was a pronounced rotation away from technology and toward more defensive and rate-sensitive areas of the market. Ten of eleven S&P sectors finished higher. Real Estate led the way with a gain of two and a quarter percent. Materials added nearly two percent, and Consumer Staples gained about one percent. Technology was the only sector to close in the red, falling one and a half percent.
Volatility eased modestly. The VIX edged lower, settling at 18.58.
The character of today's session was a classic end-of-week defensive rotation — dividend-sensitive and hard-asset sectors drawing interest while growth-oriented technology gave back some ground.
Looking ahead, the calendar turns serious next week. The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting on Wednesday the 29th, with the rate decision due Thursday the 30th. The desk will be watching how the bond market positions going into that meeting over the next few sessions.
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