U.S. equities pulled back from Friday’s record closing levels...
...ahead of Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen’s testimony to the Senate & House over the next two days. The Nasdaq Composite pushed higher into the close, bringing its winning streak to 9-conseuctive sessions, as Apple posted another new all-time high (note AAPL’s market cap is now $770B, nearly more than double the #2 company by market cap, XOM at $376B) and Biotech recorded new highs. Strength not only in the U.S., as the UK is at a record high, Japan’s Nikkei is at a 15-year high and Germany is at a record high.
Commodity prices were volatile (energy prices lagged, weighing on oil related stocks today), markets traded in a fairly narrow range, while Greece will send its economic reform plans to EuroZone finance ministers on Tuesday morning (missing the Monday deadline – which was a condition for extending the country's bailout program). Energy, Materials and Industrial sectors lagged today, while Defensive Healthcare & Utilities led. M&A was very active today, with a full list of details below.
HammerstoneReport Closing ReCap 2/23/15