Daily global market review
Today's trading session witnessed some choppy movements in the major indices, but ultimately concluded with modest gains, indicating a prevailing aversion to negative territory. The Nasdaq, however, exhibited relatively weaker performance compared to its peers due to hesitation ahead of earnings reports from Tesla and Netflix after the market close. Market participants largely operated on the belief that the economy would avoid a harsh downturn and anticipate a resurgence in earnings growth in the second half of the year.
Despite concerns about a potential pullback following the strong start to the year, the lack of concerted selling pressure has provided support, leading to short covering activity and attracting sidelined funds for fear of missing out on further market gains. Several earnings-related news items grabbed attention, with Apple gaining interest due to reports of internal testing of AI tools. Notable winners on the earnings front included Goldman Sachs, J.B. Hunt, Northern Trust, M&T Bank, Western Alliance, and U.S. Bancorp, with financial stocks performing well in solidarity. In contrast, only three S&P 500 sectors closed with losses, namely materials, information technology, and industrials, while real estate and utilities sectors recorded the most significant gains. Treasuries saw gains, with the 2-year and 10-year note yields falling, supported by favorable inflation data from the UK and weaker-than-expected June housing starts and building permits data. However, the $12 billion 20-year bond reopening received lukewarm demand.
Looking at the year-to-date performance of various indices, the Nasdaq Composite leads with a gain of 37.2%, followed by the S&P 500 with 18.9%, the Russell 2000 with 12.7%, the S&P Midcap 400 with 12.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average with 5.8%. In terms of economic data, the MBA Mortgage Applications Index rose, and total housing starts declined while building permits also decreased, reflecting some challenges posed by higher financing costs for builders in a supply-constrained housing market. The weekly EIA crude oil inventories showed a draw after last week's build. Today's market movements were influenced by carryover upside momentum, reactions to corporate news, optimism about the market's resilience, short covering, and the fear of missing out on potential gains, attracting sidelined funds back into the market. Sectors that performed strongly included real estate, utilities, health care, consumer discretionary, and communication services, while materials, industrials, and information technology exhibited relative weakness.
The Dow rose by 109.28 points, equivalent to a 0.31% increase. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 saw a smaller gain of 10.74 points, representing a 0.24% rise. The NASDAQ had the smallest increase, with just 4.38 points or 0.03%. Conversely, the VIX, a measure of market volatility, increased by 0.35 points, accounting for a 2.63% rise.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index showed a positive trend, going up by 113.05 points or 0.55%. The S&P/TSX 60 index also experienced a gain of 6.80 points or 0.56%. However, the Brazilian BOVESPA index had a minor decrease of 324.67 points, representing a 0.28% decline.
In Europe, most major indexes saw marginal gains, with the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom rising significantly by 134.51 points, a 1.80% increase. The CAC 40 in France had a slight gain of 7.76 points or 0.11%. The German DAX is not mentioned in the data provided.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index showed a notable increase of 402.14 points or 1.24%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong experienced a slight decrease of 63.41 points, a 0.33% decline. The Shanghai Composite in China had a minimal gain of 1.02 points or 0.03%. The South Korean KOSPI had a marginal increase of 0.62 points or 0.02%, while the Taiwan SE had a decline of 111.47 points, representing a 0.65% decrease.
Among the major indices, the Nifty Midcap 50 displayed strong gains, increasing by 0.83%, followed closely by the NIFTY Smallcap 100, which surged by 0.78%. Both of these indices consist of mid-sized and small-sized companies and their notable gains indicate a positive sentiment for these segments. Additionally, the BSE SmallCap index rose by 0.61%, showing promising performance for smaller companies in the market. The Nifty Smallcap 250 also performed well, advancing by 0.73%, further emphasizing the overall strength in the small-cap category. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 150 and the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.60% and 0.68%, respectively, underlining the robustness of mid-sized companies in the Indian stock market. Among the broader indices, the S&P BSE ALLCAP and the S&P BSE-500 exhibited solid performance, both increasing by 0.48% and 0.46%, respectively. These indices encompass a wide range of companies, providing a comprehensive view of the overall market. On the larger-cap front, the Nifty 50 and the Nifty 100 recorded gains of 0.42% and 0.43%, respectively, indicating steady growth in the major companies' stock prices. Furthermore, the Nifty Next 50, which represents the next 50 companies in terms of market capitalization after the Nifty 50, rose by 0.53%, demonstrating positive momentum in this segment.
T - AT&T Inc. - Price: $14.60, Change: +$1.15 (8.51%), Volume: 135M
TSLA - Tesla, Inc. - Price: $292.33, Change: -$1.01 (0.34%), Volume: 122M
CVNA - Carvana Co. Class A - Price: $56.28, Change: +$16.48 (41.41%), Volume: 115M
NKLA - Nikola Corporation - Price: $2.58, Change: +$0.06 (2.58%), Volume: 103M
PLTR - Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A - Price: $18.05, Change: -$0.03 (0.17%), Volume: 87M
AAPL - Apple Inc. - Price: $195.10, Change: +$1.37 (0.71%), Volume: 77M
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. - Price: $116.43, Change: -$1.50 (1.27%), Volume: 69M
LCID - Lucid Group, Inc. - Price: $7.25, Change: +$0.21 (2.91%), Volume: 63M
BAC - Bank of America Corp - Price: $31.52, Change: +$0.82 (2.69%), Volume: 61M
VZ - Verizon Communications Inc. - Price: $33.98, Change: +$1.71 (5.31%), Volume: 58M
In the cryptocurrency market, the Nasdaq Crypto Index had a positive change of 13.97 points, equivalent to a 0.81% increase. Bitcoin and Ether both experienced gains, with 203.00 points (0.68%) and 11.50 points (0.61%), respectively. Litecoin showed a significant gain of 1.65 points or 1.81%, while XRP rose by 0.05 points, a 6.81% increase.
In the currency market, several exchange rates experienced slight movements. The Euro to US Dollar rate stood at 1.1201, showing a minor decrease of 0.25%. Similarly, the British Pound to US Dollar rate decreased by 0.78%. The US Dollar to Canadian Dollar rate saw a minimal decrease equivalent to a 0.07% drop. Conversely, the US Dollar to Swiss Franc rate increased slightly to 0.8587, showing a gain of 0.07%. The US Dollar to Japanese Yen rate rose by 0.62%.
The provided data pertains to the current yields and recent yield changes for various U.S. Treasury bonds of different maturities. Starting with the short-term maturities, the 3-Month Treasury yield stands at 5.250%. Moving to the intermediate maturities, the 2-Year Treasury yield has increased slightly by 0.013 percentage points, resulting in a new yield of 4.781%. In contrast, the 5-Year Treasury yield has experienced a decline of 0.019 percentage points, leading to a new yield of 3.989%. Similarly, the 10-Year Treasury yield also decreased, with a notable drop of 0.040 percentage points, bringing the yield to 3.753%. Lastly, the long-term 30-Year Treasury yield underwent the most significant decline, decreasing by 0.058 percentage points, and currently stands at 3.844%.
In the commodity market, the Bloomberg Commodity index rose by 1.40 points (0.60%) to reach 236.43. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index increased by 10.08 points (0.67%) to 1,515.79. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index showed a gain of 1.42 points (0.47%) to settle at 304.55. The Rogers International index saw a rise of 26.70 points (0.72%) to 3,744.25. The S&P GSCI index climbed by 50.90 points (1.52%) to reach 3,396.76 on July 18, 2023.
In the energy sector, WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) decreased by 0.48 points (-0.63%) to settle at $75.27 per barrel for the August 2023 contract. Brent Crude (ICE) dropped by 0.14 points (-0.18%) to $79.49 per barrel for the September 2023 contract. RBOB Gasoline (Nymex) showed an increase of 3.17 points (1.18%) to reach 272.61 USd/gal. for the August 2023 contract. Natural Gas (Nymex) remained unchanged at 2.63 USD/MMBtu for the August 2023 contract. Heating Oil (Nymex) rose by 3.87 points (1.49%) to 263.81 USd/gal. for the August 2023 contract.
In the precious and industrial metals market, Gold (Comex) increased by 1.20 points (0.06%) to settle at $2,020.80 per troy ounce for the December 2023 contract. Gold Spot decreased by 1.52 points (-0.08%) to $1,977.20 per troy ounce. Silver (Comex) rose by 0.12 points (0.47%) to reach $25.38 per troy ounce for the September 2023 contract. Copper (Comex) dropped by 1.50 points (-0.39%) to 381.45 USd/lb. for the September 2023 contract. Platinum Spot declined by 11.50 points (-1.17%) to $974.90 per troy ounce.
In the agriculture market, Corn (CBOT) showed an increase of 18.75 points (3.51%) to reach 553.25 USd/bu. for the December 2023 contract. Wheat (CBOT) rose by 54.75 points (8.16%) to settle at 725.50 USd/bu. for the September 2023 contract. Cocoa (ICE) increased by 26.00 USD/MT (0.76%) to reach 3,433.00 USD/MT for the September 2023 contract. Cotton #2 (ICE) saw a gain of 1.50 points (1.82%) to settle at 83.75 USd/lb. for the December 2023 contract. Live Cattle (CME) showed a minor increase of 0.13 points (0.07%) to reach 183.68 USd/lb. for the October 2023 contract.
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, there will be several economic events scheduled for release. At 8:30 AM ET, the Jobless Claims report will provide data on Initial Claims - Level, Initial Claims - Change, and the 4-Week Moving Average. At the same time, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index will be published. Later, at 10:00 AM ET, the Existing Home Sales report will present information on Month over Month, Year over Year, and the Annual Rate. Additionally, at 10:00 AM ET, the Leading Indicators report is expected. At 10:30 AM ET, the EIA Natural Gas Report will be released, providing data on Week over Week. These reports are anticipated to have varying impacts on the markets.