(These are the market notes on today’s action by Mike Santoli, CNBC’s Senior Markets Commentator. See today’s video update from Mike above.) A swift downside reversal in the big indexes shows a twitchy, erratic market running out of eager buyers near the upper end of the past week’s range. The opening rally attempt got its push from overnight overseas strength after strong China exports, positive European shipping trends and hope that the imposition of U.S. tariffs left room for negotiated exemptions. Twitchy bond-market action after some headlines on Fed governor Waller potentially having a better shot as President Trump’s Fed Chair pick and after a soft 30-year Treasury auction had yields a bit higher across the board. Trump subsequently said he’d nominate Council of Economic Advisors chair Stephen Miran to what’s left of the unexpired term. Isolated pockets of pronounced weakness in some earnings reporters and subsectors of tech. Eli Lilly ‘s disappointing weight-loss-drug results knocked the stock down 14%, and perhaps destabilized other crowded, large-cap growth names such as Visa (off 2.3%). Software stocks were bloodied, with a clanging guidance miss by cybersecurity player Fortinet triggering a flight from a group already seen as vulnerable in a more AI-centric world. Given all these hazards, the broader market hung together OK. The S & P has spent all week inside the range set by last Thursday’s record high a bit above 6400 and Friday’s post-payroll-report low just above 6200. Benign churn to alleviate overbought conditions or the start of a less trustworthy tape given loss of momentum, challenging seasonal factors and waning momentum? Damage to the S & P limited by Apple ‘s upside follow-through, the stock ahead by another 3% after it was seen as sidestepping further tariffs on its imports from India. The move only modestly closed its yawning 22-percentage-point underperformance relative to the Nasdaq-100 this year, but provided good ballast for the S & P 500. Weekly jobless claims a non-event, stuck in a benign range, though another uptick in continuing unemployment claims to a new cycle high, just under 2 million, accentuates the current low-metabolism labor market: weak hiring pace, few layoffs and muted labor supply (given retirements and immigration crackdowns). CPI next Tuesday is the next key macro input as the debate over the growth-inflation-policy interplay remains tense.
