Daily Summary: A sell-off with a spin-off

USA

• Wall Street ends the week in the red, with the main indices down around 1%. Despite the decline and relatively weak sentiment, the market seems to be showing early signs of returning buying strength. Losses of about 2% were reduced during the session to below 1%, mainly following the University of Michigan data.
• The situation in the Persian Gulf remains tense. Exchanges of fire continue on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping activity has again fallen close to zero.

Company News, US: 

• Netflix (NFLX.US): The market was disappointed by Q2 results and an even worse Q3 outlook. The initial valuation drop was reduced from 11% to 7%.
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG.US): The maker of da Vinci surgical robots fell about 13% after Q2 results. Although quarterly results beat expectations, the company did not raise its full-year guidance.
• SpaceX (SPXC.US): The planned “Starship” test flight was canceled shortly before Thursday’s launch due to a failure of one of the rocket’s engines. Shares fell 3%.
• Nebius (NBIS.US): The “Neo Cloud” company issued USD 775 million in secured bonds. An opening loss of -13% turned into an 8% gain by the end of the session.
• Bloomberg reports that Adobe is expected to receive a takeover offer from a “large technology company.”
• The FAA announced it will return the 737 MAX and 787 aircraft to the flight certification process.

US macroeconomic data:

• Building permits showed a larger-than-expected decline. In June, 1.36 million permits were issued versus expectations of 1.4 million.
• US export prices fell 0.6% (a larger drop than expected), while import prices rose 0.3% (well above expectations).
• Industrial production rose 0.1% in June versus expectations of 0.2%.
• The University of Michigan report was strong enough to reverse market sentiment.
  • Consumer sentiment increased well above expectations to 54.4.
  • Short-term inflation expectations fell from 4.6 to 4.2.

Europe

• European stock markets did not manage to catch the reversal after the US macro data release. Most major indices finished lower, mainly under pressure from escalation involving Iran and concerns about energy prices. London’s FTSE 100 fell about 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 about 0.6%, and Germany’s DAX about 0.5%. In Southern Europe, Italy’s FTSE MIB dropped about 1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 lost about 0.3%.

Company News, Europe: 

• The semiconductor sector came under pressure. STMicroelectronics shares fell about 5%, and ASML lost about 3.5%.
• Volvo reported revenue and profit growth driven mainly by the trucks and services segment.
• SAAB gains nearly 10% after earnings. The focus was on a year-on-year increase in the order backlog of over 200%, while maintaining a very rapid growth pace across all operating metrics.
• Burberry Group falls more than 6%. Management indicates the company is feeling pressure from reduced shopping activity in the Middle East.

FOREX

• In the FX market, the New Zealand dollar continues to rise, improving its position on the back of declining US inflation expectations.
• The British pound is falling, reflecting concerns about higher inflation alongside rising oil and gas prices.

Commodities

• In agricultural commodities, cocoa, sugar, soybeans, coffee, and oranges continue to rise. The upcoming El Niño phenomenon still implies weaker harvests and supply pressure.
• Energy commodities are reacting to the escalation of the conflict involving Iran. Oil climbs back above USD 87, and European gas gains as much as 6%.

Crypto

• Risk appetite remains subdued, putting pressure on cryptocurrencies. Most tokens are posting moderate losses. Bitcoin falls back below USD 64,000, Solana loses about 1%, and Ethereum nearly 2%.