Stock indexes kept to a narrow trading range midday Wednesday as they inched to modest gains and losses.
The Nasdaq rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 retreated 0.1%. The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.3%. Volume slipped on the NYSE and edged up on the Nasdaq in the stock market today vs. this time Tuesday.
Within industry groups, retail stocks were doing well. Of 197 groups, six of the day's top seven groups were from the retail sector. On Tuesday, the retail sector scored nine new highs, the most for any sector.
Select restaurant stocks continue to show strength. Fast-food chain Sonic (SONC) gapped up as much as 11% before giving back about half the gain. Volume was red hot. The stock fell in after-hours trade Tuesday after the company missed on revenue but beat the consensus estimate on earnings. On the upbeat side, Sonic CEO J. Clifford Hudson said at Tuesday's earnings call that the company completed its refranchising program ahead of schedule.
Starbucks (SBUX) is a restaurant stock that is starting to look more attractive. The stock has been consolidating since October 2015. However, the stock has sketched a flat base within the larger pattern. The flat base, which began forming in mid-December, has shown tighter action than the larger pattern. Starbucks' pretax margin was 19.3% in fiscal 2016 ended in September. That was the best reading on pretax margin in at least nine years.
The beaten-down department-store group rang up the day's best gain despite ranking last among the 197 groups. The group rose about 3.5%.
The homebuilder group was up only slightly despite a report on pending home sales in February. The reading came in at 5.5%, topping the consensus view for 2.4% and also beating the highest estimate in the range. The highest estimate was 3.5%.
This was not too surprising because the pending gauge is considered a leading indicator of existing-home sales rather than new-home sales.
Before Thursday's open, the third report on fourth-quarter GDP will be released. The Street expects a 2% pop vs. the prior reading of 1.9%.
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