CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Tue Jul 23rd, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index +0.19%, 97.34
USDJPY, +0.07%, $107.90
EURUSD, -0.11%, $1.1204
GBPUSD, -0.31%, $1.2472
USDCAD, +0.55%, $1.3127
AUDUSD, -0.19%, $0.7029
NZDUSD, -0.31%, $0.6739
U.S. Dollar advanced on Monday after Boston Fed President Rosengren (FOMC voter) advocated against a rate cut at the July 30-31 policy meeting after Friday’s close. The market appeared undeterred by the stance on Monday, as it still expected a cut of at least 25 basis points.
U.S. Treasuries closed slightly higher in a quiet session. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point each to 1.81% and 2.04%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.19% to 97.34. WTI crude advanced 1.0% to $56.20/bbl amid lingering concerns that tensions in the Middle East will disrupt supply.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.28%, 2,985.03
Nasdaq, +0.90%, 7,905.12
Nikkei Futures, +0.16%, 21,393.0
S&P 500 increased 0.28% on Monday in a tech-driven advance. Noticeable gains in Apple (AAPL 207.22, +4.63, +2.3%), Facebook (FB 202.32, +23.96, +2.0%), Amazon (AMZN 1985.63, +21.11, +1.1%), and Microsoft (MSFT 138.43, +1.81, +1.3%)contributed to the outperformance of the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%).
The S&P 500 information technology sector (+1.2%) was Monday’s outright leader, led by shares of Apple and semiconductor companies. The other ten S&P 500 sectors didn’t stray too far from their unchanged marks, although the consumer staples sector (-0.5%) did show relative weakness.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.0% following positive commentary out of Goldman Sachs. The firm upgraded Micron (MU 47.19, +1.67, +3.7%), Lam Research (LRCX 207.21, +8.74, +4.4%), and Applied Materials (AMAT 50.73, +2.92, +6.1%)to Buy from Neutral, stemming from a positive view on the memory market. Similarly, Apple outperformed after Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $247 from $231.
Notable companies that reported earnings on Monday included Halliburton (HAL 23.74, +1.99, +9.2%)and RPM Inc. (RPM 65.09, +2.80, +4.5%), both of which beat profit estimates. Lennox International (LII 264.00, -14.90, -5.3%), however, came up short of expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.