CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Tue Jul 30th, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index +0.10%, 98.08
USDJPY, +0.20%, $108.86
EURUSD, +0.12%, $1.1142
GBPUSD, -1.28%, $1.2217
USDCAD, -0.03%, $1.3166
AUDUSD, -0.11%, $0.6898
NZDUSD, -0.10%, $0.6629
There were no notable U.S. Economic Prints on Monday.
Wells Fargo (WFC 48.28, -1.02, -2.1%) was a notable laggard amid a Wall Street Journal report indicating that the Trump administration plans to make it harder for deeply indebted borrowers to acquire mortgage loans.
U.S. Treasuries finished the session higher, pushing yields lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield declined three basis points each to 1.84% and 2.06%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index finished higher at 98.08. WTI crude increased 1.2% to $56.87/bbl.
In Brexit, Sterling has fallen to its lowest level for more than two years as investors react to the escalating no-deal rhetoric of Boris Johnson’s government. Johnson told Scotland’s First Minister, Sturgeon that while he would prefer to negotiate a new exit deal with the EU, Britain would be leaving the bloc on October 31 “come what may”, his office said. Although markets are fearing a no-deal outcome, the path to that scenario won’t occur without a general election which will likely be called in September.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, -0.16%, 3,020.97
Nasdaq, -0.35%, 7,989.08
Nikkei Futures, +0.16%, 21,652.5
S&P 500 lost 0.16% on Monday, slipping from record highs in a lacklustre session. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.35%) and Russell 2000 (-0.6%) both underperformed, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) managed to finish higher.
Monday’s session didn’t include much price action, as investors appeared to be waiting for several key events later this week. Some of these events will include the FOMC’s rate decision, U.S.-China trade talks, the July employment report, and Apple’s (AAPL 209.68, +1.94, +0.9%) earnings report. On a related note, Apple’s price target was raised to $235 from $225 at UBS before its results after Tuesday’s close. Apple shares rose on the increased price target, but the broader market was still weighed down by widely-held shares ofAmazon (AMZN 1912.45, -30.60, -1.6%),Facebook (FB 195.94, -3.81, -1.9%), and Alphabet (GOOG 1239.41, -11.00, -0.9%). In turn, the S&P 500 consumer discretionary (-0.6%) and communication services (-0.5%) sectors were among today’s laggards but, like the broader market, finished the session off intraday lows.
Beyond Meat stock (BYND), which has skyrocketed nearly 800% since its IPO in May, fell 12.5% in the extended session of trading on Monday after the stellar rally. The company generated $67.25 million in revenue during the second quarter, up 287.2% year-over-year. Beyond Meat’s earnings handily beat the Wall Street estimate of $52.7 million. Excluding certain one-time items, the company lost $0.24 per share. This loss is much worse than analysts’ estimate for a loss of $0.08 per share. The big miss is the main reason BYND stock tanked after-hours.
Separately, Mylan N.V. (MYL 20.78, +2.32, +12.6%)agreed to combine with Pfizer’s (PFE 41.45, -1.64, -3.8%)off-patent drug business, giving Mylan shareholders 43% of the combined company. On a related note, Mylan N.V. beat top and bottom-line estimates; Pfizer beat earnings estimates but missed revenue estimates.