The S&P 500 opened down 0.2%, moved lower but bounced back to around its opening level. Around noon multiple reports of new hostilities in the region pulled the index lower as we finish this note.The equal-weight is a big outperformer though and small caps are higher as well. Tech continues to be an anchor for the index overall- it’s the only sector substantially lower today, and the weakness is concentrated in the semis and storage names (NYSE Semis -4%). The hyperscalers are mixed and software is slightly lower.

Staples, Healthcare and Real Estate are the leading sectors today. Staples is seeing gains across-the-board. For Healthcare there’s signs of life across the Med Device space as Abbott pops 10% on its earnings, and UNH is powering the MCOs higher (though not all are up). REITS are higher despite yields backing up, though data centers are lower, both traditional and neoclouds and the crypto miner converts.

Treasury yields are up ~4bp across the curve. The move is reversing yesterday’s decline on the long-end. The US Dollar is up as well. Retail sales on both the headline and control group were inline with expectations but the growth slowed from last month. Jobless claims continued to stay low. Pending Home sales fell 5% and missed estimates. Brent crude is around flat, breaching $85 but unable to hold a move above the 50/100d ma ~$86.25. Gold and silver are lower. Gold has been trading between $4000-$4100 for most of the past 3 weeks and is again trying to hold $4K. Ag is lower, as is Bitcoin and Ether. President Trump is expected to meet with Senators today to discuss the CLARITY Act’s standing.