Market Stalls After Early Gains as Broad Selling Caps Momentum

The stock market opened with strength today, buoyed by a fresh round of earnings reports and encouraging housing data, but early gains faded as broad-based selling pressure set in, ultimately leaving the major indices little changed.

Futures ticked higher ahead of the opening bell, supported by solid quarterly results from several major companies. Optimism increased further after the June Housing Starts and Building Permits report came in slightly above expectations, with starts at 1.321 million and permits at 1.397 million, both topping consensus estimates. However, underlying weakness in single-family permits and starts quickly tempered that enthusiasm.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite briefly touched new all-time highs early in the session, only to retreat as selling took hold across nearly all sectors. The day’s pullback appeared to reflect a classic “sell-the-news” reaction, with several companies like Netflix, American Express, and 3M trading lower despite beating earnings expectations and offering solid forward guidance.

Still, some names bucked the trend. Charles Schwab reached a new 52-week high, while Comerica and Regions Financial delivered strong post-earnings performances with gains of 4.7% and 6.1%, respectively.

By the close, five of the eleven S&P 500 sectors finished in the green. Consumer discretionary (+1.0%) and utilities (+1.7%) led the way, while energy (-1.0%) and health care (-0.6%) were notable laggards. The market lacked conviction across all capitalizations, with the equal-weighted and cap-weighted S&P 500 finishing flat, and the Russell 2000 trailing with a 0.6% decline—though still up 3.0% for the week.

Today’s session reflected a pause in momentum rather than a shift in sentiment, as investors took a breather after a strong run to reassess valuations in the midst of a busy earnings season.

FTinvest 11 began the day on a positive note, opening with a modest gain and signaling continued investor confidence. However, early optimism quickly faded, and the index pulled back by midday as selling pressure emerged.

Despite the intraday reversal, the retreat was shallow. The index shed just 0.14% by the close, managing to stay above the 790 mark and finishing the session at 791.29. While today’s movement was far from dramatic, it reflected a cautious tone as markets weighed recent gains against underlying macroeconomic uncertainties.

The mild loss suggests that investors remain hesitant to extend the rally without fresh catalysts, though the ability of FTinvest 11 to stay near recent highs is a positive technical sign.