FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

US Equity Markets End Lower as Bond Yields Rise After July's Inflation Rate Accelerates

By

US equity indexes ended lower Wednesday as most government bond yields rose after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose and investors awaited Nvidia's (NVDA) quarterly earnings.

* The personal consumption expenditure price index rose by 0.2%, following a 0.1% decline in June, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. That's above the consensus for a 0.1% gain in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* The Fed's preferred core measure, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.2% in July, as expected. That's faster than the June print of 0.1%. The annual core gauge held steady at 3.3%, as projected.

* US economic growth, measured by gross domestic product, rose by 1.5% in Q2, unrevised from the advance estimate released last month, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. GDP rose by 2.1% in Q1.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.40 to settle at $81.96 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.13 at $87.45.

* Western Digital (WDC) shares were up roughly 4%, the second-best performer on the Nasdaq, after the company said Wednesday it executed private transactions to swap roughly $191 million of its 3% convertible senior notes maturing in 2028 for a mix of cash and stock.

* GoDaddy (GDDY) shares were down about 4.3%, the third-worst performer on the S&P 500, after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to underweight from equalweight and lowered its price target to $76 per share from $80.

Related Articles

Japan

US Equity Markets Higher as Crude Oil Prices, Bond Yields Drop After US Treasury Threatens Economic Sanctions on Iran

US equity indexes ended higher Tuesday as crude oil prices and government bond yields dropped, after the US Treasury Department started a campaign to impose economic sanctions on Iran.* The Treasury is targeting aviation, shipping, technology, gold and digital assets such as cryptocurrency to choke off Iran's economy, CNN reported. The US is also threatening new sanctions on countries that refuse to cut economic ties with Tehran.* Iran pledged to fight back against expanded US sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist the pressure campaign and saying that Washington was keen to revive talks, Reuters reported.* The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July, compared with expectations for no change in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.* New-home sales fell to a 607,000 annual rate in July from an upwardly revised 678,000 in June, below the 620,000 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, and down 6.3% from a year ago.* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $3.96 to settle at $81.05 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $4.92 at $87.25.* Moderna (MRNA) shares were up roughly 14%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after Wolfe Research upgraded the company's stock to peer perform from underperform.* Shell (SHEL) has drawn interest from potential bidders, including ExxonMobil (XOM), LyondellBasell (LYB) and Apollo Global Management (APO), for its US chemicals assets, which could fetch up to $8 billion, the Financial Times reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. LyondellBasell shares were down 4%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$APO$LYB$MRNA$SHEL$XOM
Japan

Update: US Equity Indexes Advance Amid Slumping Treasury Yields, Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose as technology topped sector charts while government bond yields and crude oil extended declines after the Treasury Department began a campaign to tighten sanctions against Iran.The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to 26,090.8, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 7,667.4 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3% to 53,558.5. Energy and consumer staples led the decliners.The Treasury is targeting aviation, shipping, technology, gold and digital assets such as cryptocurrency to choke off Iran's economy, CNN reported. The US is also threatening damaging new sanctions on countries that refuse to cut economic ties with Tehran.Iran pledged to fight back against expanded US sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence major trading partners would resist the pressure campaign and saying that Washington was keen to revive talks, Reuters reported.Hours after the US sanctioned dozens of Chinese entities and threatened to target an unspecified "major financial institution" for its dealings with Tehran, Beijing responded by saying its relationship with Iran "should not be disrupted or undermined," Bloomberg reported. China will take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its interests, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian was cited as saying.Meanwhile, Iran and Oman outlined a proposal to establish a temporary joint shipping lane and launch a demining effort in the Strait of Hormuz, the CNN news report said.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 3.2% to $82.29 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 4% to $88.50 per barrel.US Treasury yields remained lower in the final stretch of trading. The 30-year slumped 6.1 basis points to 5.17%, the 10-year dropped 6.7 basis points to 4.64% and the two-year retreated 4.5 basis points to 4.19%.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500
Japan

Update: Technology Helps Push US Equity Indexes Higher in Midday Trading

(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose as technology topped sector charts while government bond yields and crude oil extended declines after Iran vowed to retaliate against the Trump administration's plans to choke its fragile economy.The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 26,127.1, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 7,670.2 after midday Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by less than 0.1% to 53,435.5. Technology topped the gainers while consumer Stapels and energy led the decliners.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, more than half of the top 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those six firms, five were related to the semiconductor industry. Marvell Technology (MRVL) led the pack, up 6.5%.US Treasury yields dropped after midday. The 30-year slumped five basis points to 5.18%, the 10-year dropped 5.5 basis points to 4.65% and the two-year retreated 3.6 basis points to 4.2%.Iran pledged to fight back against expanded US sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist the pressure campaign and saying that Washington was keen to revive talks, Reuters reported.Hours after the US sanctioned dozens of Chinese entities and threatened to target an unspecified "major financial institution" for its dealings with Tehran, Beijing responded by saying its relationship with Iran "should not be disrupted or undermined," Bloomberg reported. China will take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its interests, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian was cited as saying.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 2.9% to $82.56 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 3.1% to $89.35 per barrel.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500