Live Markets: U.S. equities sink with jobs, earnings in focus

Monolithic Power Systems

02/08/2024 18:28

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      Main U.S. indexes red; Nasdaq flirts with correction 
    

        * 
      Cons Disc biggest S&P 500 sector loser; Cons Staples only
gainer
    

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      Dollar, gold both down ~1%; bitcoin down >2%; crude off
~4%
    

        * 
      U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield slides to ~3.83%
    

  
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    U.S. EQUITIES SINK WITH JOBS, EARNINGS IN FOCUS
    Wall Street indexes are a sea of red on Friday with the big
three all down 2% or more after the much weaker than expected
July jobs report and some disappointing quarterly results from
market heavyweights. 
    The Nasdaq  .IXIC  is above its session low, but if it
closed at these levels, down 2.6%, it would still be a 10% drop
from its closing record high, reached on July 10, a milestone
regarded by many on Wall Street as confirmation of a correction.
    Investors went from cheering on Wednesday about firmer
prospects for a 25 basis point Federal Reserve rate cut in
September to now being anxious about a sharp jump in easing
expectations. And some started using the dreaded 'r' word.
    "The narrative appears to have shifted from soft landing to
recession fears, thanks to a bevy of data and quarterly earnings
calls this week," wrote Jack Ablin, chief investment officer and
founding partner at Cresset Capital.
     And meanwhile, the S&P 500  .SPX  Q2 earnings growth
estimate dipped to 12.9% on Friday from 13.3% on Thursday,
according to LSEG data.
    As such the CBOE market volatility index  .VIX , otherwise
known as Wall Street's 'fear gauge' hit 29.66, its highest level
since mid-March 2023. It was last close to 26. 
    Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors consumer
discretionary  .SPLRCD  is leading declines with a more than 5%
drop for the day and the sector went negative year-to-date for
the first time since early June. It was on track for its biggest
one-day percentage decline since September 2022.
    Amazon.com  AMZN.O , down close to 10% on Friday, is by far
its biggest drag.
        The benchmark's strongest performers so far are consumer
staples  .SPLRCS , barely higher, and  real estate  .SPLRCR ,
which is down least.  
  
        S&P 500 banks  .SPXBK , heading for their third straight
daily drop in a row, are down 4.9%, eyeing their biggest one-day
drop since March 2023, when the sector was under severe stress
after 
    several banks collapsed
    .  
  
        Intel  INTC.O , down ~28%, created a massive drag on the
Philadelphia semiconductors  .SOX  index, down 4.7%. But selling
is broadbased with declines of more than 5% for more than 15
other stocks in the sector. In fact, only two of index's stocks
are gaining - Monolithic Power  MPWR.O  and Advanced Micro
Devices  AMD.O .
        The small caps Russell 2000 index  .RUT  is down 3.5%,
returning to levels not seen since July 11, when the index was
embarking on a multi-day rally. The RUT's July 31 peak was its
highest level since Nov. 2021.
  
        Also, the Dow Transports index  .DJT , seen as somewhat
of an economic bellwether, is down sharply for the second day in
a row, last off 2.8%, which would be its biggest percentage drop
since October.
  
    That said one camp of strategists, including Art Hogan at B.
Riley Wealth, is questioning the depth of the sell-off.
    "This isn’t a category 3 hurricane, but we are seeing how
markets react to signs that the economy is normalizing after
turning hot in the first half of this year. The path to
normalization is never going to be smooth, and we’re just not
used to what ‘normalization’ feels like. Markets can find
themselves over-reacting and investors glom on to anything as an
excuse to take profits,” Hogan told Reuters.  
        Here is your mid-day snapshot from 1:16 p.m ET/ 1716
GMT:
  
        
  
        
  
        (Sinéad Carew, Suzanne McGee)
  
         ***** 
  
        
  
    
    FOR FRIDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
    
    CHIP STOCKS SLAMMED FOR SECOND DAY AS INTEL CRASHES - CLICK
HERE
    
    INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR BEARS THIN OUT, BULLS FATTEN UP - AAII -
CLICK HERE
    
    WEAKNESS IN JOBS, EARNINGS REPORTS SENDS STOCKS REELING -
CLICK HERE
    
    U.S. STOCK FUTURES, YIELDS, PLUNGE AFTER WEAK PAYROLL DATA -
CLICK HERE
    
    WHAT DROVE THE NIKKEI'S 5.8% FRIDAY DROP? - CLICK HERE
    
    ETHER ETFs FAIL TO MATCH INITIAL BITCOIN EUPHORIA - CLICK
HERE
    
    EUROPEAN LUXURY AND THE YEN - CLICK HERE
    
    FED EASING BETS RAMP UP AFTER WEAK DATA - CLICK HERE
    
    U.S. RECESSION FEARS AND THE SAHM RULE - CLICK HERE
    
    ALL FALL DOWN - CLICK HERE
    
    A RED DAY - CLICK HERE
    
    MORNING BID: NEW WORRIES OVER GROWTH SPOOK MARKETS - CLICK
HERE 
  
  
    
    

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