At the close of trading, all the main Wall Street indices were in the green. The S&P 500 gained +0.28% to 5,631 pts, after having reached a new record of 5,666.94 pts during the session. The Dow Jones appreciated by +0.53%, to 40,211 pts. The Nasdaq ended the session firmly, with a rise of +0.40% to 18,472 pts. The market went for its historic record of 18,671 pts, without being able to reach it; the Nasdaq turned around 5 p.m. to a high of the day at 16,641 pts.
This Monday, the fundamental question was whether the New York indices would be able to find the breath and sufficient growth supports to continue their march forward, and free themselves from the latest series of records established.
The ball of corporate publications opened on Wall Street on Friday, with banking stocks, and it will continue all week. The markets will therefore draw their second wind from these corporate results… Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth Group are expected on Tuesday; Johnson & Johnson and US Bancorp on Wednesday…
This Monday, the markets discovered a new appetite for risk, and it seems, wanted to integrate the fallout from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Above all, they took into account the increasingly strong probability of his victory in the November presidential election. Unsurprisingly, the candidacy of the man who is now considered a “survivor” will be made official this week, at the Republican convention in Milkwakee.
The markets now see Donald Trump as an economic force, likely to toughen the country’s trade policy. Indeed, investors are far from having forgotten his leitmotif “America First” and the slogan of his previous term “Make America great again”. His profile as a businessman currently prevails over the shady affairs in which he has so far found himself entangled in the race for the White House.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is speaking to the Economic Club of Washington on Monday, which is also supporting the market. Investors are waiting for any wording that could validate the thesis of a rate cut in September, especially since in his last speeches, Jerome Powell has been cautious but not obtuse on the subject.
The highlight of the week will be the publication of the Fed’s Beige Book on Wednesday (8 p.m.).
Tomorrow, Tuesday, on the macroeconomic front, investors will be watching import and export prices (2:30 p.m.), retail sales (2:30 p.m.), business inventories and sales (4 p.m.) and the NAHB housing market index.
On the oil side, the barrel of WTI crude fell by -0.44%, to $81.63.
The greenback recovered by +0.10% against the European currency, and is trading at 0.918 euros.
An ounce of gold is trading at $2,420.
Bitcoin soars 10% to $63,593.
Values
* Macy’s (-11.73% to $16.85). The stock is collapsing on Wall Street. The American department store chain has ended discussions with the group of investors formed by Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, considering that the revised takeover proposal lacked certainty in terms of financing, and did not offer an attractive valuation. The two partners had proposed in their revised offer $6.86 billion, or $24.8 per share ($24 per share in the initial offer) to acquire the department store chain.
Macy’s said it now plans to focus on its turnaround plan, led by new Chief Executive Tony Spring, ahead of the crucial holiday season.
* Boeing (-1.76% to $179.17). American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has finalized a firm order for 35 737 MAX aircraft from leasing company Aviation Capital Group (ACG). At list prices, the order amount is worth nearly $4.5 billion.
* Blackrock (-0.61% at $822.95). For the period between April and June, the asset manager achieved a turnover of $4.80 billion (+6% over one year), and a net profit up +9% to $1.49 billion, which meets the expectations of the market consensus. Per share and excluding exceptional items, net profit exceeds the consensus at $9.96 and stands at $10.36. It is up +12%. The group reported a record level of assets under management in the 2nd quarter, with the strengthening of the market valuation of its clients’ assets, and the success of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with investors.
* Goldman Sachs (+2.57% to $492.23). In the second quarter, the net income of the American investment bank soared by 150% to $3.04 billion, or $8.62 per share. The earnings per share are higher than the consensus which is $8.42. Goldman Sachs’ revenues increased by +17% to $12.73 billion, exceeding the consensus expectations ($12.40 billion). Its profits are up sharply thanks to the solid performance of its investment banking and markets activities.
* Tesla (+1.78% to $252.64). In early trading, Tesla shares jumped on Wall Street, driven by Elon Musk’s declared support for Donald Trump, during the attempted assassination of the White House candidate. The markets estimated that the businessman could more easily obtain certain regulatory authorizations for his robotaxis and autonomous driving systems.
Elon Musk has however decided to delay the presentation of his robotaxi, due to a significant design change. The head of the automobile group indicated that more time would be needed to integrate a significant design change to the front of the vehicle and “show” other things. “We asked for what I think is a significant design change to the front, and the extra time allows us to show a few other things,” Mr. Musk said on his X platform. The event concerning the progress of the development of the robotaxi, initially scheduled for August 8, has therefore simply been postponed. Elon Musk did not specify when a new presentation will be organized. According to Bloomberg, it could be held next October.
* Netflix (+1.37% to $656.45). The streaming giant is doing well. Bank of America raised its price target on Netflix from $700 to $740, a few days before the publication of its second-quarter accounts.
* Morgan Stanley (+1.12% to $105.26). The stock is well oriented before the publication of the 2nd quarter results, tomorrow Tuesday. The market has a quarterly profit per share of $1.65 ($1.24 the previous year). Its revenues should increase by about 6% to reach $14.3 billion over the quarter. These last 5 quarters, Morgan Stanley had disappointed.
* Bank of America (+0.72% to $41.9). The stock is also well oriented before the publication of the second quarter results, before the market on Tuesday. The market expects a drop of about 11% in the profits of the second largest American bank, due to the decline in net interest income (NII) and the increase in provisions for loan losses.
* Alphabet (+0.79% to $186.53). Google’s parent company is in advanced negotiations to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for about $23 billion, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday. The deal would be the Mountain View giant’s largest acquisition ever. The transaction would be financed primarily in cash. Wiz had revenue of about $350 million in 2023. The company recently raised $1 billion in a private equity round that valued it at $12 billion.
