THU, JUL 20, 2023

Tomorrow's Top CNBC Stories Tonight

Bright spots in the utilities sector

Atmos Energy and Pinnacle West hit fresh 52-week highs today, while Constellation Energy finished 1% away from an all-time high. They’re among the handful of bright spots in the beleaguered utilities sector so far this year. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is in negative territory for 2023 and more than 10% off its recent high.

A rough go for cell tower REITs

It hasn’t been much prettier in the real estate sector this year. The cell tower real estate investment trusts are in particularly rough shape, with Crown Castle and SBA Communications both hitting 52-week lows in today’s trading. American Tower is around 4% from its recent low. According to FactSet, all three are trading at discounts to their average analyst price target. From a ratings perspective, analysts are most bullish on SBA and American Tower, with 70% and 85% buy ratings, respectively.

AutoNation's results are coming

AutoNation is among the names reporting earnings tomorrow morning. The stock hit an all-time high in yesterday’s session before pulling back a bit today. It’s been a monster this year, up nearly 65%. We’ll see how things go in the morning, but analysts remain mostly bullish heading into the print: 54% rate it a buy.

Sirius XM shares swing sharply

Nasdaq 100 constituent Sirius XM was on a wild ride today, spurring several volatility halts. It picked up steam late in the day on no real news, finishing up 42%. With short interest at about 34% of the stock’s float, the moves are likely part of a short squeeze. Today alone, volume was around 700% of its 30-day average. Between today’s gains and a big jump on Tuesday, the stock is heading for its best week since 2001.

Homebuilders under pressure

Despite an upbeat report from D.R. Horton and ongoing demand for new homes, the homebuilders were under pressure today. PulteGroup fell more than 5% for its worst day since October 2022. Lennar, Toll Brothers and KB Home each shed more than 3% Thursday, while D.R. Horton was off by about 2%. The weakness today was enough to send the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) into negative territory for the week. Still, the aforementioned names are firmly in positive territory in recent weeks. Homebuilding materials companies like MasterBrand, American Woodmark and Builders FirstSource are up 46% or more in the past three months. Beazer Homes has gained 65% in that time.

Financials' big week

Bolstered by quarterly results (or in some cases, despite them), it’s been a strong week for financials. In banks, Zions and KeyCorp jumped today and are heading for their best weeks since 2020. Other regionals, like Fifth Third, Regions Financial and Citizens Financial are firmly in positive territory, along with giants Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is up 36% from its May low. And even amid concerns over catastrophe losses, the insurers have performed well: Allstate is heading for its best week since May 2022, while Progressive and Chubb are both up around 6%. Given the headwinds faced by the industry, the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK) is still in the red for 2023.