US stocks go nowhere with big week of earnings on tap
The grind higher continued on Monday, but at a snail’s pace ahead of earnings from megacap tech companies Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta this week.
The S&P 500 opened higher on the heels of this weekend’s trade deal with the European Union and hopes for an extension of the quasi-truce for cross-border commerce with China. The benchmark index gave back those gains throughout the day before creeping back into the green for another record close just before the end of trading.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4% while the Russell 2000 ended 0.2% lower.
A Bloomberg index that tracks the Magnificent 7 closed at a record high for the first time since December 17.
Energy, technology, and consumer discretionary were the only S&P 500 sector ETFs to finish positive on the day, while real estate, materials, utilities, and consumer staples all fell at least 1%. The number of stocks that declined in the S&P 500 outnumbered those that advanced by 220.
The day’s paltry gains in the index were led by Super Micro Computer, which rose double digits, as well as Nike, which popped nearly 4% after JPMorgan analysts upgraded the stock to “overweight” and hiked their price target. Declines were led by Albemarle, which fell nearly 11%, as well as Revvity, which sank 8% after the medical equipment maker topped Q2 estimates but slashed its full-year profit forecast.
Meanwhile…
Shares of Samsung Electronics had their best day of the year, rising 6.8% during trading in South Korea after the electronics giant announced a $16.5 billion chip manufacturing deal that Elon Musk said was with Tesla. Tesla shares were up 3% on the news.
Energy companies including Cheniere Energy, Venture Global, APA Corporation, EOG Resources, and Diamondback Energy all jumped after the EU said it would purchase $750 billion in US energy products over the next three years as part of a trade agreement with the US.
Celcuity rose more than 150% after the biotech company reported positive results in late-stage trials for its breast cancer combination treatment.
Duolingo shares sank 6.5% after the language learning company got its price target cut to $450 from $475 by Citizens JMP as user engagement growth slows.
Opendoor shares initially popped after the real estate tech company (and retail favorite) postponed a shareholder vote relating to a planned reverse stock split, but gave all that back and then some to finish down 8%.
ChargePoint plunged nearly 19% after the EV charging company announced a 20-for-1 reverse stock split in an effort to stave off delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares of Centene slumped 5% after Cantor cut its rating on the stock to “neutral” and slashed its price target, citing uncertainty in the company’s key Medicaid and ACA exchange businesses.
Palantir shares fell as much as 3% before closing down just 0.6% following a new report from The Information that federal agencies (like the Department of Defense) are testing AI to reduce reliance on contractors.
