Risk appetite experienced a setback in the first session of August, following the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closing their fifth consecutive month of gains in July.
Disappointing manufacturing activity data, marking the ninth straight month of contraction, and mixed corporate earnings likely weighed on the sentiment. Additionally, signs of a softening labor market were evident as the number of job openings fell, reaching a two-year low in June.
The declines were widespread across equity sectors, bonds, and commodities, with the noteworthy exception of the U.S. dollar, which gained strength against peers.
Cues From Tuesday's Trading:
The S&P 500 was down 0.4%, snapping a three-day positive streak. The Dow Jones was flat on the day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% at the time of publication on Tuesday.
Small caps underperformed, with the Russell 2000 Index falling 1%.
US Index Performance On Tuesday
| Index | Value | Tuesday’s Performance (+/-) | July’s Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | 15,719.17 | -0.32% | +4.05% |
| S&P 500 Index | 4,577.11 | -0.39% | +3.14% |
| Dow Industrials | 35,571.13 | +0.03% | +3.35% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,003.18 | -0.96% | +6.06% |
Tuesday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs: In midday trading on Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.4% lower to $456, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA held steady at $355.60 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 0.3% lower to $382.70, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Almost all the U.S. equity sectors were negative, except for the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI, which showed marginal gains of 0.1%.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE was the laggard, down 1.2%, followed by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY, down 1%.
Latest Economic Data:
S&P Global released its final manufacturing purchasing managers' index for July, confirming prior the flash reading of 49, up from 46.3 in June.
The ISM Manufacturing PMI rose from 46 to 46.4 in July, but missing economists estimates of 46.8 for July.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) showing a decline to 9.582 million compared to 9.616 million in May.
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Stocks In Focus:
- Artista Networks, Inc. ANET jumped nearly 21% following the release of its quarterly results.
- Caterpillar, Inc. CAT rose nearly 8%, after reporting strong results last quarter.
- ZoomInfo Technologies ZI fell 25%, after missing revenue estimates.
- Zebra Technologies Corp. ZBRA fell 18%, after missing revenue estimates.
- Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER fell 5%, on track for the largest loss in 2023, after missing revenue estimates.
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH fell 13% despite beating Q1 Street’s estimates, on track for the largest loss since September of last year, as the company announced a weaker Q3 profit guidance.
- Major companies reporting after the close include Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, Starbucks Corp. SBUX, Vertex Pharma, Inc. VRTX, Electronics Arts, Inc. EA, and MicroStrategy, Inc. MSTR.
Commodities, Bonds, and Other Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil fell 0.5%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $81. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 0.6% lower to $72.8.
Treasury yields rose sharply, with the 10-year yield up by 8 basis points to 4.04% and the two-year yield up by 1 basis points to 4.89%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT was 2% lower for the day.
The dollar rallied, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, up 0.6%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was 0.2% lower to 1.0978.
European equity indexes closed in the red. The SPDR DJ Euro Stoxx 50 ETF FEZ fell 1.7%.
Gold fell 1.2% to $1,942/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust GLD was 1.1% lower to $180. Silver fell 2.2% to $24.18, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV down 2.2% to $22.2. Bitcoin BTC/USD declined 1% to $28,928.
Read Next: July’s Top-Performing Country ETFs: This Nation Led Global Equity Rally, And It Wasn’t China
Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Friday.
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