Stock Market Overview
On August 11, US stocks experienced minimal changes as they hovered near record levels, with investors awaiting fresh inflation data.
This July, the consumer price index (CPI) is anticipated to rise. A poll from Reuters suggests a projection of 2.8% year-over-year, slightly up from June’s 2.7%. There’s curiosity about whether President Trump’s tariffs on imports are influencing higher consumer prices. The CPI report from June indicates that those tariffs are indeed raising prices for some goods.
The upcoming July inflation data is crucial as it could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on potential interest rate cuts.
Following weaker-than-expected job growth, the market is leaning towards the expectation of interest rate reductions. According to a tool from CME, there’s over an 88% likelihood that interest rates will be cut at the next Federal Reserve meeting in September.
At 9:36 am ET, the Dow Jones increased by 0.21%, gaining 90.72 points to reach 44,266.33. The S&P 500 rose 0.04%, adding 2.56 points to settle at 6,392.01, while the NASDAQ climbed 0.19%, or 41.52 points, to 21,408.51. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.281%.
Government Transactions with Semiconductor Giants
Nvidia and AMD are providing the US government with 15% of their revenue from specific chip sales in China. In exchange, these companies have obtained export licenses for selling NVIDIA H20 and AMD MI308 chips in China, as reported by the Financial Times. Such arrangements are unprecedented in the industry.
Meanwhile, Nvidia has denied claims from Chinese state media that their H20 AI chip poses a national security threat.
As for stock performance, Nvidia saw a near 1% decline, while AMD dropped by 1.17%.
Corporate Highlights
- Intel CEO Rip Boo Tan is set to meet with Trump following the president’s call for divestment from Chinese firms, resulting in a 4.89% increase in Intel stocks.
- Nexstar is reportedly in talks to acquire rival Tegna, which led to a 5.54% rise in NextStar’s shares.
- Avantor shares are expected to jump by 4.13% as changes occur after activist investor Engine Capital increases its stake in the company.
- AMC Entertainment posted stronger-than-anticipated quarterly results, leading to a 7.16% hike in stocks.
- Paramount acquired TKO Group’s US rights to UFC for $7.7 billion over the next seven years, causing TKO shares to rise by 3.68%.
- C3.AI has warned that its fiscal first-quarter results may fall short of market expectations, resulting in a nearly 31% drop in stocks.
Oil Prices
Oil prices dipped last week as investors anticipated a meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin to address the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
There’s some optimism that a resolution to the war might result in lifted sanctions on Russian oil, potentially increasing global supply. Following the meeting, oil prices stabilized, increasing by 0.52% to $64.21 per barrel.
Cryptocurrency News
Recently, El Salvador enacted a law allowing financial institutions with capital exceeding $50 million to operate as investment banks, enabling them to provide various crypto-related services to investors with liquid assets above $250,000.
Bitcoin approached its record high, rising 0.16% to $119,490.10. Ether also saw gains over the weekend, although it later retreated to $4,184.18, marking a 1.66% decline.
