The Wall Street stock market is well oriented at 5 p.m. The S&P 500 gains +0.64% to 5,651 pts, very close to its record of 5,655 pts. The Dow Jones appreciates by +0.58%, to 40,232 pts. The Nasdaq is again very firm, on a rise of +0.93% to 18,568 pts, its historical record being 18,671 pts.
This Monday, the fundamental question is whether the New York indices will find sufficient growth supports to continue their march forward and free themselves from the latest series of records established.
The ball of corporate publications has opened, with banking stocks and 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.
In the first trading of the week, the markets are discovering a new appetite for risk, and seem to want to integrate the fallout from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and especially, the increasingly strong probability of his victory in the November presidential election. Unsurprisingly, the candidacy of the one who is now considered a “survivor” will be made official this week, during the Republican convention in Milkwakee.
Markets see Donald Trump as an economic force, likely to toughen the country’s trade policy. Investors are far from having forgotten his mantra “America First” and the slogan of his previous term “Make America great again”.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak to the Economic Club of Washington on Monday, which is also supporting the market. Investors are waiting for any comment that could validate the thesis of a rate cut in September, especially since in his last interventions, 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, 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 -0.41%, to $81.85.
The greenback fell by -0.10%, and is trading at 0.9159 euros.
The ounce of gold is greener again with a rise of +0.79% to $2,434.
Bitcoin soars 9.89% to $63,315.
Values
* Macy’s (-14.19% to $16.38). The American department store chain ended discussions with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, considering that the revised takeover proposal lacked certainty in terms of financing, and did not offer an attractive valuation.
* Blackrock (+0.52% to $832.25). 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.
* Alphabet (+1.30% to $187.47). 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 financing that valued it at $12 billion.
* Goldman Sachs (+1.41% to $486.62). In the second quarter, the American investment bank’s net income soared 150% to $3.04 billion, or $8.62 per share. Earnings per share are higher than the consensus of $8.42. Goldman Sachs’ revenues rose +17% to $12.73 billion, exceeding consensus expectations of $12.40 billion. Its profits are up sharply thanks to the solid performance of its investment banking and market activities.
