Yiwen Lu8/30/24

US stocks jump; S&P gains for the fourth straight month

The S&P 500 closed 1% up on Friday, with Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.3%. Both indices were up in August, with the S&P scoring a fourth straight monthly gain. The Russell 2000 ticked up 0.7% on the session.

This upcoming month sees a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, and Friday’s job report will offer some clues for how large the widely anticipated rate cut might be.

Treasury yields increased. The US dollar ended the month with a gain after a sharp monthly decline. Oil fell on reports the OPEC+ would begin returning some oil to market in the coming months.

All S&P 500 sector ETFs moved higher, and consumer discretionary was the best performer with a 1.5% gain.

Intel, which lost 28.3% over the past month, was the biggest gainer among S&P 500 stocks, up 9.5% on Friday. Bloomberg reported on Thursday night that Intel was considering the split of its costly foundry manufacturing business and eradicating certain projects. Shares plunged by almost 30 percent in the beginning of August on a grim earnings report.

Ulta Beauty was the worst S&P 500 performer, down 4%. The beauty retailer reported results that missed estimates after the market closed on Thursday, two weeks after the price hike from Berkshire’s investment.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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