Top S&P 500 Movers on Friday
August 02, 2024 06:00 PM EDT
Decliners
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- The downdraft in the semiconductor industry was not confined to Intel stock. Shares of Microchip Technology (MCHP) sank 10.6% after the company issued a lackluster sales and profit forecast for the current quarter. The chipmaker cited macroeconomic headwinds, particularly softness in U.S. and European industrial and automotive markets, for the unfavorable outlook.
- Prudential Financial (PRU) shares fell 10% following mixed second-quarter financial results. Although total revenue slightly topped consensus forecasts, the insurer’s adjusted operating income fell short of estimates. A year-over-year decline in the firm’s international operating income dragged down its performance in the quarter, reflecting the impact of lower net investment spreads and depressed underwriting results.
Advancers
- Clorox (CLX) shares notched the strongest gains in the S&P 500, jumping 7.4% after the provider of consumer and professional cleaning products posted better-than-expected quarterly profits. The implementation of a streamlined operating model focused on cost reductions helped the company achieve gross margin expansion and drive earnings growth. Clorox also announced an agreement to sell its Better Health Vitamins business and touted its progress on recovering from a cyberattack that affected the company last year.
- Shares of internet domain provider GoDaddy (GDDY) gained 7% after the company boosted its full-year revenue guidance. The company highlighted the progress of GoDaddy Airo, an AI-powered tool included with new domain purchases that can help customers with a variety of functions, including the creation of social media ads and email marketing campaigns.
- Shares of MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX), which operates an electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, added 6.1% ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. In its most recent report, the firm reported better-than-expected profits, driven by record commission revenue from emerging markets, Eurobonds, and municipal bonds.
The Market Hasn’t Been This Volatile in a While
August 02, 2024 05:37 PM EDT
With Friday’s selloff, stocks concluded the most volatile stretch the market has seen in more than a year by some measures.
In the past 10 trading days, there were six sessions in which the S&P 500 rose or fell more than 1%, the most since November. By another measure, stocks are moving more dramatically now than they have in more than a year. Over the last 10 days, the average daily move was 1.02%, the highest since March 2023.
There wasn’t a single day that the S&P 500 moved more than 1% between June 6 and July 9, two days before a soft inflation report surprised Wall Street and boosted expectations for interest rate cuts.
Earnings, specifically big tech earnings, have exacerbated volatility. This week, when four of the world’s largest tech companies reported quarterly results, there were three days in which the S&P 500 moved more than 1%.
Read the full article here.
Nasdaq Falls Into Correction
August 02, 2024 05:17 PM EDT
The Nasdaq Composite tumbled into a technical correction on Friday after a weak jobs report added to tech investors’ earnings-related woes.
The Nasdaq fell 2.4% on Friday, putting it 10% below its record close of 18,647.45 from July 10.
The unemployment rate jumped to 4.3% and the economy added just 114,000 jobs in July, far fewer than economists were expecting. The data raised concerns on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve, which acknowledged the labor market was softening when it left interest rates unchanged earlier this week, may have waited too long to lower rates.
Economic concerns amplified an already gloomy mood on Wall Street. Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday evening missed second-quarter revenue estimates and issued disappointing guidance for the current quarter. It also joined the chorus of big tech companies saying they will continue to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure. That spending has spooked Wall Street this earnings season and prompted several big sell-offs.
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Despite Friday’s sell-off, the Nasdaq remains nearly 12% higher for the year. The S&P 500 has also gained 12% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 5.5%.
Clorox Bucks Friday’s Downturn on Strong Earnings
August 02, 2024 04:33 PM EDT
Clorox (CLX) shares jumped Friday to become the top performer in the S&P 500 after the company known for its namesake bleach and disinfectants reported better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Expanding gross margins and cost-reduction efforts helped the company achieve 9% bottom-line growth from the year-ago period. For its fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, which ended on June 30, Clorox reported adjusted EPS of $1.82, far ahead of consensus estimates.
Although net sales of $1.9 billion fell slightly short of estimates, the results reflected the impact of Clorox’s divestment of its Argentina operations. Clorox guided for higher full-year fiscal 2025 EPS in a range of $6.55 to $6.80, topping analysts’ projections.
Clorox shares gained 7.4% on Friday.
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Markets Pricing in Bigger Fed Rate Cuts
August 02, 2024 03:19 PM EDT
In the wake of Friday’s jobs report showing the labor market deteriorating unexpectedly sharply, the question on the mind of investors and economists is no longer whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, but how steeply it will cut them.
Several forecasters changed their predictions for the central bank’s next moves, calling for three quarter-point rate cuts by the end of the year instead of two.
Financial markets priced in an even more aggressive path, with five rate cuts for 2024, up from three the day before, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts interest rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data. The likelihood priced in of a half-point cut at the September FOMC meeting is now 72.5%, up from 22% the day before.
The Fed is under pressure to respond to the weakening labor market because of its twofold mission to to keep inflation low and employment high. Recent reports have shown inflation falling towards the Fed’s goal of a 2% annual rate from its post-pandemic surge, and with the threat of rising unemployment growing larger, the central bank may shift its focus towards preventing mass layoffs.
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“This clearly gives the Fed the green light to start cutting rates in September, and the market’s attention will now shift focus toward how many and how deep the coming cuts will be,” Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.
Read the full article here.
Atlassian Plummets After Issuing Soft Guidance
August 02, 2024 01:51 PM EDT
Shares of Atlassian (TEAM) sank as the business software provider posted disappointing guidance and announced its top sales executive is leaving the company.
The stock was down nearly 18% in recent trading at its lowest level in more than a year. It trailed only Intel on the list of big Nasdaq Composite decliners Friday.
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Atlassian expects fiscal 2025 first-quarter revenue of $1.149 billion to $1.157 billion. It sees fiscal 2025 revenue growth of 16%, below the 23% gain in fiscal 2024.
The company reported fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, with revenue up 20.5% to $1.132 billion. Both were in line with forecasts.
Snap Has Another Another Big Post-Earnings Move
August 02, 2024 12:24 PM EDT
Shares of Snap (SNAP) plunged Friday after the social media company missed revenue estimates for the second quarter and offered lower-than-expected guidance, citing a weaker advertising environment.
The social-media company’s shares can move dramatically—in either direction—on its results, and today was no exception. The stock was down 25% in early-afternoon trading to its lowest level of the year.
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The operator of the Snapchat photo and video-sharing site reported second-quarter revenue rose 15.8% year-over-year to $1.24 billion, short of analysts’ projections. Average revenue per user of $2.86 was also below forecasts.
Snap said it anticipates current-quarter revenue in the range of $1.35 billion to $1.38 billion, below analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
Fear Gauge Jumps to Highest Level Since Late 2022
August 02, 2024 11:32 AM EDT
The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, jumped to its highest level all year on Friday morning after a troubling jobs report exacerbated Wall Street’s fears about a weakening economy.
The VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, subsequently leaped nearly 10 points to as high as 28.25, its highest level since October 2022.
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The VIX, sometimes called the “fear index,” hummed along below 15, a relatively low level indicating stability, from early May to mid-July. Simultaneously, the S&P 500 steadily crept higher as investors became increasingly confident the U.S. economy was coming in for a soft landing.
But the calm in the markets was disrupted in mid-July when a soft inflation report sparked a sell-off in big tech stocks and rotation into small-caps. Volatility began to rise amid the rotation and has accelerated in recent weeks after some disappointing tech earnings reports and, this week, signs of a weakening labor market.
Amazon Slides on Soft Revenue Guidance
August 02, 2024 10:30 AM EDT
Amazon (AMZN) shares were down 12% in recent trading after the e-commerce giant reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and issued light current-quarter guidance, as consumers opted to purchase cheaper products, lowering the average selling price in its core retail business.
Although the company’s stock reached a record high last month, investors have been quick to book profits in the weeks since amid growing concerns over increasing competition from discount e-tailers and a slowdown in consumer spending arising from lingering inflation and higher interest rates.
A bearish engulfing pattern formed on Amazon’s chart leading into the company’s earnings report, a candlestick formation that warns of lower prices.
Amid post earnings selling, investors should monitor key support levels in Amazon shares at $170, $161, $145, and $123.
Read our full technical analysis here.
Intel Plunges More Than 25% After Weak Earnings
August 02, 2024 09:52 AM EDT
Intel (INTC) shares tanked Friday after the chipmaker reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street quarterly estimates, issued soft current-quarter guidance, and unveiled a $10 billion cost-cutting plan that includes slashing 15% of its workforce.
The stock has continued to trend sharply lower on above-average volume since breaking down from an ascending channel in April.
Intel shares may attract bargain hunters at historically significant price levels including $26, $20, and $13.
Read our full technical analysis here.
Futures Point to Sharply Lower Open for Major Indexes
August 02, 2024 08:07 AM EDT
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.8%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 1.2%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.8%.
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