* Major averages end a choppy session mixed; small caps outperform
* Energy shows strength, tech lags; value beats growth
* U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield hits a 4-week high
Sept 10 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of U.S. equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Terence Gabriel. Reach him on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: terence.gabriel.tr.com@reuters.net
STOCKS CONTINUE TO MIX IT UP (1608 EDT/2008 GMT)
Stocks turned in a decidedly mixed session on Tuesday. Indeed, the major averages were at first weighed down by growth concerns, but then buoyed by trade hopes. .N
In the end, the Dow Industrials .DJI closed slightly higher, the S&P 500 .SPX was essentially flat, and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC saw a slight dip.
That said, amid rising Treasury yields, beaten down stocks and sectors have suddenly taken the lead. Small caps and transportation plays outperformed. The Russell 2000 .RUT and Dow Jones Transports .DJT both rallied more than 1%. These indexes have been among 2019's laggards.
The same sort of story played out among sectors as energy .SPNY , the second worst performing major SPX sector year-to-date, has now been the best performing group two days in a row. Meanwhile, tech .SPLRCT , the year-to-date leader, is suddenly struggling.
As a result, growth's party vs. value may be winding down. is your closing snapshot:
(Terence Gabriel)
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FEWER U.S. FIRMS LOOKING TO BOOST HIRING (1408 EDT/1808 GMT)
Plans for increasing hiring appear to be slowing, according to a UBS survey of 500 U.S. businesses with at least $250,000 in annual revenue carried out between August 28 and Sept 3.
About 25% of business owners are planning to increase hiring compared with 46% last quarter, according to the survey results which also found that only 24% plan to invest more money in their companies compared with 36% last quarter.
If the current round of trade tensions persists for another six months, 15% of respondents said they would scale back investment in their business while only 11% said they would increase investment and 13% said they would increase hiring, UBS said.
Nearly 70% said trade conflict has had a negative effect on U.S. and global economies so far and 60% wish to either ratchet down the trade conflict after China has made some concessions or to end the fight altogether, UBS said.
While research from the UBS Global Wealth Management's chief Investment Office shows that a US recession is unlikely in 2019 or 2020 the firm said ongoing trade tensions "pose risks to job growth, which was slower than expected in August, and hence to the US consumer, which is currently an even more important motor of the US economy following weak capital expenditure in the second quarter."
And the US consumer is also likely to face headwinds after the full range of tariffs come into effect during the holiday season, it said.
(Sinéad Carew)
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PROFIT GROWTH FOR S&P 500, BUT DECLINE FOR TECH (1353 EDT/1753 GMT)
S&P 500 .SPX companies managed to rack up profit growth of 3.2% for the second quarter. That's based on results from all but three companies in the index. Additionally, 73.8% of the companies beat analysts' expectations, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Heading into the earnings period, analysts were expecting a year-over-year decline in earnings for the second quarter.
In any event, results from the major sectors were mixed, with earnings from technology .SPLRCT companies down 2.2% year over year.
Other sectors with a declines in earnings in the second quarter are energy .SPNY , industrials .SPLRCI and materials .SPLRCM , the data showed.
The sectors with the highest percentage of year-over-year growth were communication services .SPLRCL , followed by health care .SPXHC .
(Caroline Valetkevitch)
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AFTER A SOMEWHAT SOUR OPEN, THE MARKET TRIES TO SWEETEN (1226 EDT/1626 GMT)
After growth fears contributed to the S&P 500 .SPX sliding about 0.7% into a mid-morning trough .N , the market then ran with a South China Morning Post report citing a source saying China is ready to sweeten a trade deal by buying more agricultural products from the United States. the SPX has now recouped about half of its early loss. Small caps continue to outperform with the Russell 2000 .RUT now up more than 1%. The Dow Transports .DJT are also enjoying another strong day, and are up more than 1% as well.
Sectors are mixed, though value IVE.P is outperforming growth IVW.P . Energy is the leading group, though NYMEX Crude Futures CLcv1 have slipped into negative territory after it was announced President Trump fired national security adviser John Bolton. .SPLRCT is still among the weaker sectors on the day. This ahead of Apple's AAPL.O press event scheduled for 1300 EDT/1700 GMT where the company is expected to unveil new iPhones and streaming details. the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR continues to climb, hitting a fresh four-week high at 1.6902%.
Here is your midday snapshot:
(Terence Gabriel)
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GROWTH VS. VALUE: IS THE PARTY WINDING DOWN? (1132 EDT/1532 GMT)
Since bottoming in 2007, the trend of the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF IVW.P /iShares S&P 500 Value ETF IVE.P ratio has long favored growth. Indeed, the ratio hit a fresh all-time high in late August. However, the picture may be changing as the ratio is now on pace for its most severe weekly percentage drop since late 2016 as value suddenly outperforms growth. (Click on chart below)
A turn in the ratio doesn't mean value will necessarily rise faster than growth. Instead, it may simply fall more slowly as was the case, for example, during the ratio's sharp setback late last year when the market assumed a more defensive posture.
In any event, whether growth or value outperforms may still come down to tech .SPLRCT vs. financials .SPSY . At about 27% of market value, tech is the IVW's largest weighting. Financials are the IVE's greatest concentration at about 22% of market value.
That said, there is a wild card and that's Apple AAPL.O . Apple is in the tech sector, but is considered a value stock. As of the end of August, IVW doesn't own it, and AAPL is the largest individual stock holding in the IVE. Nevertheless, the tech/financials ratio is so far shying away from its Y2K high. the IVW/IVE ratio is falling to its lowest level since mid-April, and now threatening its first close below its rising 200-day moving average (DMA) since mid-February. Of note, the 200-DMA has not down-ticked since late-March 2017. Thus, enough weakness that sees this long-term moving average's slope inflect from up to down may add confidence in a more enduring turn in favor of value.
(Terence Gabriel)
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TECH WOBBLES, MAJOR AVERAGES STUMBLE (1033 EDT/1433 GMT)
With tech .SPLRCT , the market's leading sector in 2019, coming under pressure, the major averages suddenly find themselves struggling. And this coming just as Fibonacci retracement barriers of the July/August declines were being tested. tech, which was recently up more than 30% this year, is trading down close to 2% so far this week. Thus, not surprisingly, the Nasdaq .IXIC is suddenly leading the market lower. Small caps, however, are once again outperforming. The Russell 2000 .RUT is actually in positive territory early in the session.
In any event, weak economic data from China pointed to slowing growth in the world's second largest economy, adding to fears of a global recession. said, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR is on the rise, and at 1.6680%, hit a 4-week high.
(Terence Gabriel)
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DOW INDUSTRIALS: TAKING IT TO THE LIMIT? (0915 EDT/1315 GMT)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI has now recovered enough to challenge the maximum Fibonacci retracement zone of its July/August selloff. Given that Dow Futures 1YMcv1 are in a similar position, the blue-chip average may be close to signaling, one way or the other, whether the current rally is set to extend or run out of steam. (Click on chart below)
Indeed, with its push to a high of 26,900.83 on Monday, the Dow has now retraced 75.8% of its July/August slide, and essentially tagged the 76.4%/78.6% Fibonacci retracement zone at 26,912.74/26,958.04. Thus, if the recent rally is simply a counter-trend bounce, the Dow should be close to a reversal. Of note, recoveries in February and November of last year failed at this retracement zone.
Additionally, another issue facing the Dow may be the especially large September 5 gap that still beckons to be filled. As a percentage of the prior day's close (0.91%), it is the largest upside daily gap the Dow has seen in nearly four decades (Refinitiv data). It requires a fall to 26,362.35 for a fill. Thus, if the Fibonacci barrier is not enough, gravity may present another problem.
Daily closes above 26,958.04, however, can focus the Dow back on its 27,398.68 July peak, as well as the resistance line across its 2018 highs (now at about 27,425).
(Terence Gabriel)
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