US Open: semiconductor sector leads decline on US500 📌

• US indices open lower on the last day of the week
• Semiconductor sector leads the declines
• USDIDX gained in the first part of the day
• US bond yields trade lower

The cash session in the US opened slightly lower. However, declines accelerated after much better preliminary PMI data for June. The investors' reaction was short-lived, and the indices began to pare initial losses shortly thereafter. At the time of publication, the US500 is down by 0.25%, and the US100 is trading 0.50% lower.

02:45 PM BST, United States - PMI Data for Jun:

• S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI: actual 51.7; forecast 51.0; previous 51.3;
• S&P Global Services PMI: actual 55.1; forecast 53.4; previous 54.8;
• S&P Global Composite PMI: actual 54.6; previous 54.5;

On one hand, the good mood from the PMI data suggests a solid condition of the US economy. On the other hand, it indicates to the Fed that the high interest rates have not yet fully impacted the entire economy. The same conclusions can be drawn by analyzing recent hard macroeconomic data, such as retail sales or industrial production.

The clear leaders of today's session are once again the biggest technology companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Here, we observe the most significant market gains. On the other side, there are companies from the AI and semiconductor sectors. Nvidia, for example, is losing over 4.00% at the time of publication, falling below the market cap of Apple and Microsoft. Alongside Nvidia, companies like Micron, Broadcom, AMD, and TSM are also losing.

Source: xStation 5

US500

At the time of publication, the US500 index is down 0.25% to 5530 points. After marking a local peak at around 5585 points yesterday following the rollover of contracts, today we observe a slight correction. In recent days, we have experienced almost parabolic increases. However, in case of a correction, the area worth noting is around the last consolidation starting at about 5330 points.

Source: xStation 5

Company news

Asana (ASAN.US) gains 14% after reaffirming its revenue forecasts for Q2 and fiscal year 2024, and announcing a new $150 million share repurchase program set to run until June 30, 2025. The company expects quarterly revenues to be between $177 million and $178 million, closely mirroring the consensus estimate of $177.7 million, and forecasts annual revenues in the range of $719 million to $724 million, closely aligning with the expected $722 million.

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.US) witnessed a robust 40% increase in its stock price following the FDA’s dual approvals—accelerated for non-ambulatory patients and traditional for ambulatory patients—of its Elevidys treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The company has initiated the ENVISION Phase 3 post-marketing trial to validate Elevidys’ effectiveness in non-ambulatory and older ambulatory patients.

Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI.US) experienced a roughly 13% decline in its stock despite surpassing expectations in its fourth fiscal quarter earnings. The drop was attributed to a conservative outlook, with the company predicting a 10% decline in both unit and dollar sales year-over-year in the first quarter. This projected downturn is partly due to fewer handgun sales, although somewhat offset by increased sales of long guns. Additionally, Smith & Wesson foresees a 3% to 5% increase in operating costs for the year driven by wage inflation, a competitive market, and greater investment in research and development.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR.US) dips more than 4.70% after an analyst downgrade by Monness, Crespi, Hardt from Neutral to Sell with a price target of $20. The downgrade was prompted by generally disappointing results in the enterprise software industry, and the analyst highlighted that the expected revenue surge from generative artificial intelligence in this sector has so far proved to be an illusion this year.