Wall Street is consolidating this Tuesday in pre-session trading. The S&P 500 is down 0.4%, the Dow Jones 0.3% and the Nasdaq 0.5%, while Tesla is hesitant before the publication of its quarterly deliveries. On the Nymex, the barrel of WTI crude is up 1.1% to $84.3. The ounce of gold is down 0.1% to $2,335. The dollar index is stabilizing against a basket of reference currencies. Caution prevails, while the indices remain close to historical highs and the political situation is not very encouraging, with a very weakened Biden in the run-up to the November election.
Among other notable events this week on Wall Street, Fed chief Jerome Powell is speaking on Tuesday. The JOLTS report on job openings in the United States for May will be released at 4 p.m. (consensus 7.9 million units).
Tomorrow, investors will be following the Challenger, Gray & Christmas study on layoff announcements, the ADP report on private employment, as well as the balance of international trade in goods and services and the final US composite PMI index. The ISM services and industrial orders are expected the same day. The FOMC Minutes will be published in the evening.
Finally, on Friday, operators will follow the monthly government report on the employment situation in the United States for the month of June (FactSet consensus: 190,000 job creations for a 4% unemployment rate).
At the same time, S&P is warning some major nations about their management. The agency is unlikely to see the United States, France and the major economies halt the rise in their debt levels in the coming years. S&P Global estimates that for the United States, Italy and France, the primary balance would have to improve by more than 2% of combined GDP for their debt to stabilise. “This is unlikely to happen in the next three years,” S&P says. “In our view, only a sharp deterioration in borrowing conditions could persuade G7 governments to implement more resolute fiscal consolidation at this stage of their electoral cycle,” S&P Global adds.
Among the quarterly financial releases on Wall Street this week, Constellation Brands reports tomorrow, but the schedule is otherwise fairly sparse.
Values
Tesla has yet to release its quarterly global delivery figures, but data from China’s CPCA (China’s Passenger Car Association) shows that Model 3 and Model Y deliveries fell to 71,007 units in June. These figures are based on Bloomberg calculations using CPCA data. This reflects a 2.2% decline in deliveries month-on-month and a 24.2% correction year-on-year in deliveries from the Shanghai site. The group is therefore still suffering from the intense local price war.
Tesla soared 6.05% last night at the close on Wall Street to $210, while Elon Musk followed Uber founder Travis Kalanick on X. This event, which could have seemed innocuous, stimulated speculations concerning a future “robotaxi”. Also yesterday, Wells Fargo added Tesla to its list of “tactical ideas” that could experience a significant increase in the short term. However, the broker maintains its recommendation to ‘underweight’.
Apple has reportedly increased its chip orders, suggesting increased demand for the iPhone 16, according to Apple Insider. The California-based company has reportedly increased its chip orders from TSMC, which is reportedly putting iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models on the A18 chip. The introduction of Apple Intelligence at the recent WWDC developer conference may have helped boost demand for the iPhone 16, Apple Insider adds. The Cupertino group may be changing its chip strategy as a result… With the increased orders in place with partner TSMC, Apple is reportedly preparing to sell between 90 million and 100 million units of the iPhone 16, claims Apple Insider, which is reporting from sources in Taiwan’s Commercial Times. Both the Pro and non-Pro models of the iPhone 16 are therefore said to use, at least in some cases, processors from the A18 family, which would make the models capable of using Apple Intelligence.
Paramount. Barry Diller is also reportedly considering a bid to take over Paramount, the New York Times reports. Mr. Diller, a pioneer of digital media, lost a bidding war for Paramount Pictures decades ago, the NYT recalls. This time, he is reportedly going after its parent company National Amusements. The billionaire is thus considering a bid to take over Paramount, the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon. The NYT cites four people familiar with the matter. Diller’s digital media conglomerate, IAC, is said to have signed confidentiality agreements with National Amusements, Paramount’s majority shareholder. Diller’s interest in Paramount is a new twist in the matter. Paramount was previously on the verge of reaching an agreement in recent months with Skydance, a Hollywood studio, before negotiations abruptly collapsed.
Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar has announced that it will have to take measures to offset heavy EU and US import duties on its electric cars made in China. The group also posted an operating loss for its first quarter. The group, controlled by Chinese company Geely, which currently designs all of its vehicles in China, will adapt to the tariffs by producing its new model, the Polestar 3, in the United States by the end of the summer. The Polestar 4 will then be produced in South Korea from the second quarter of 2025. For the quarter ended, the group reported an operating loss of $232 million, while its revenues fell to $345 million from $543 million a year earlier.
