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Yiwen Lu

US stocks slip; Treasuries gain following lackluster job data


The S&P 500 closed down 0.2% on Wednesday after oscillating between positive and negative territory, as did the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000.

Earlier in the day, the July Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed a decline in job openings and more layoffs. This made traders anxious about the labor market, and they briefly priced in a 50 basis point cut for September’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Oil extended losses. Treasury yields tumbled. The 10-year Treasury yield declined eight basis points to 3.76%. Earlier, the 10-year Treasury yield was briefly above the two-year one, turning the so-called 2s10s yield curve back to a normal or “uninverted” shape. 

S&P sector ETFs were mixed. Utilities led with a 0.9% gain. Conversely, energy retreated 1.4%, the most among all sectors, as all but one energy stocks were down.

Dollar Tree plunged a whopping 22.2% to its lowest price since November 2014 after the discount retailer cut its full-year outlook to reflect softer sales. Last week, rival Dollar General also reported worse-than-expected earnings and slashed its outlook, sending the stock tumbling by more than 25%.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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