Stock Market
The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: Dow Jones declined 0.34% at 53,791.85; S&P 500 declined 0.32% at 7,728.20; NASDAQ declined 0.60% at 26,445.44. A late-day fade in heavyweight technology names offset strength in select consumer and energy shares, leaving all three benchmarks in the red for a second straight session.
Big moves were concentrated in a handful of tech-centric names. E-commerce and gaming group Sea Ltd (SE) jumped 14.56% at $131.51 after upbeat quarterly revenue, topping today’s gainers list.
Semiconductor-levered ETF SOXL rose 2.31% at $133.00 alongside chipmaker SK Hynix (SKHY) up 4.70% at $141.65. On the downside, software giant Oracle (ORCL) fell 3.69% at $145.48 as fresh questions over AI spending surfaced, while search parent Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) declined 3.84% at $343.80.
Mega-cap hardware names traded mixed: Nvidia (NVDA) eased 0.02% at $217.50; AMD climbed 1.01% at $474.32; Intel (INTC) added 0.19% at $97.71; Apple (AAPL) slipped 1.09% at $304.91; Microsoft (MSFT) dipped 0.44% at $503.81; Meta Platforms (META) firmed 0.71% at $599.12.
Electric-vehicle bellwether Tesla (TSLA) edged up 0.58% at $332.81, while e-commerce titan Amazon (AMZN) shed 2.09% at $272.27, rounding out a broadly choppy day for the tech majors.
Market breadth skewed negative despite isolated standouts. Modest profit-taking in the major indices followed a two-week rally, with traders awaiting fresh inflation data and additional earnings for direction.
Other Markets
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged, latest at 4.68%.
USD/CNH rose 0.04% at 6.79; USD/HKD was flat at 7.85.
U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.02%, at 99.80.
WTI crude futures rose 0.35%, at 83.49 USD/bbl; COMEX gold futures fell 0.30%, at 4,427.90 USD/oz.
Top News
1. Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance profits slipped, raising questions about underwriting discipline. Second-quarter insurance underwriting income fell 13%, even after favorable reserve releases. Analysts warn tougher property-and-casualty conditions could pressure future margins.
2. Oracle faces renewed scrutiny over AI spending plans amid rising debt costs. The company’s credit-default-swap spread hit a six-year high as investors weighed financing needs. Shares dropped sharply on concerns it lags larger cloud rivals in capital flexibility.
3. New York City’s mayor backed a bill compelling Amazon and others to directly hire delivery workers. The proposal would license warehouses and mandate safety and employment standards. Amazon says it may relocate facilities if the measure passes.
4. FTC reached a major settlement with Caremark in an antitrust case targeting pharmacy-benefit practices. Regulators say the deal will cut patient costs and improve transparency in drug pricing. The agreement follows a broader federal push to rein in healthcare middlemen.
5. AppLovin plunged after BofA downgraded the stock on revenue-growth doubts. The analyst cut the rating to Neutral and trimmed the price target, citing slower mobile-gaming demand. Management blamed AI-model update delays for recent sales softness.
6. Intel’s $20 billion share offering was multiple-times oversubscribed, leaving a third of orders unfilled. The 10 largest investors took 55% of allocations, illustrating strong institutional appetite. Proceeds support the chipmaker’s foundry expansion strategy.
7. IBM and Together AI agreed to build a $240 million Nvidia-powered inference cluster on IBM Cloud. The platform will serve open-source AI models, using next-generation Blackwell chips and Spectrum-X networking. The partnership targets soaring demand for cost-efficient inference capacity.
8. Beyond Meat approved a 1-for-30 reverse stock split to regain Nasdaq listing compliance. Shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis later this week. The stock fell sharply in pre-market dealings on dilution concerns.
9. Sea Ltd beat revenue estimates as Shopee drove 49% e-commerce growth. Overall sales hit $7.79 billion, well above consensus, while digital-finance revenue surged nearly 59%. Management credited AI-enhanced recommendations and logistics efficiency.
10. Wells Fargo urged investors to hedge ahead of the upcoming CPI release as its sentiment gauge flashes a rare “sell” signal. The indicator, now at its highest bearish reading since 2018, historically precedes a 2% S&P 500 pullback over three months. The bank sees inflation data and Jackson Hole remarks as key catalysts.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, MT Newswires, Tiger Newspress, public market data Disclaimer: This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.
