Markets
Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

US stocks end July on a soft note


The S&P 500 opened 1% higher after last night’s blockbuster earnings from Microsoft and Meta lit a fire under the entire AI complex. Unfortunately, the day only got worse from there.

US stocks slid throughout the session, ending near their lows. The S&P 500 gave back 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%, and the Russell 2000 underperformed with a 0.9% decline.

This ends July as the S&P 500’s first month without a daily gain or loss of at least 1% since two years ago, in July 2023.

Healthcare was far and away the worst-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, with drugmakers including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novo Nordisk falling after President Trump sent a letter to 17 pharma CEOs demanding they cut US drug prices within 60 days.

On the positive side, eBay soared 18%, touching an all-time high a day after the online marketplace posted strong Q2 results and analysts issued a pair of price target hikes. Declines were led by Align Technology, which sank a massive 36% after the Invisalign maker missed both top- and bottom-line Q2 estimates.

Elsewhere…

Meta shares jumped another 11% after the social media and AI behemoth topped Q2 estimates Wednesday. Ad revenue — which makes up the majority of its total — leapt 21%.

Microsoft shares rose another 4% after the company’s blowout fiscal Q4 earnings, pushing its valuation above $4 trillion for the first time.

Norwegian Cruise Line sailed up 9% after the cruise operator reaffirmed full-year guidance despite so-so Q2 results, citing a rebound in bookings.

Roblox jumped 10% after the gaming platform beat estimates, with total bookings climbing to $1.4 billion.

CVS Health climbed as much as 6% before closing flat after the pharmacy retailer topped Q2 estimates and raised its full-year outlook.

SoFi Technologies bounced up 3%, marking its third straight day of big moves after Deutsche Bank and Mizuho hiked their price targets on the stock.

Comcast shares closed up 2.2% after the media and cable giant delivered a strong Q2 earnings beat, fueled in part by the debut of its Epic Universe park and hit Peacock shows.

AB InBev fell 13% as the world’s largest brewer continued to report declining sales volume with each passing quarter.

Cigna shares dropped 10%, despite the healthcare insurer beating Q2 estimates and showing solid cost control during the quarter.

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Retail traders are “skipping the dip” this time

Here’s one noteworthy feature of the recent market downturn that has the S&P 500 poised for its worst week since reciprocal tariffs were announced in early April: retail traders seemingly aren’t eager to buy the weakness in single stocks the way they used to be.

JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain has flagged that retail traders instead appear to be “skipping the dip.”

“In contrast to the behavior observed during the post-Liberation Day selloff, retail investors did not seize the opportunity to buy-the-dip on Tuesday, with a few exceptions such as META,” he wrote of the day where the benchmark US stock index fell 1.2%. “In fact, they scaled back their ETF purchases and turned net sellers in single stocks.”

Then on Thursday, when the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, Jain projected that retail traders sold $261 million in single stocks. Through noon ET on Friday, his daily outflow estimate stands at $851 million.

With that intel, it’s little wonder why the carnage this week has been particularly intense in more speculative single stocks that had been favored by the retail community, including IREN, IonQ, Rigetti, Cipher Mining, Bloom Energy, and Oklo.

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Archer Aviation plunges on $650 million share sale following its third-quarter results

Air taxi maker Archer Aviation is deep in the red on Friday morning after reporting its third-quarter results after the bell Thursday. The stock is down more than 12%.

Investors don’t appear to be thrilled about the company’s $650 million direct stock offering, announced alongside its results.

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

Archer Aviation sinks after reporting better-than-expected Q3 loss, announces it will acquire LA’s Hawthorne Airport

The move marks at least the third major equity raise, and dilution, for Archer this year. The company raised $300 million from a new stock sale in February, and sold $850 million worth of shares in June.

On Archer’s earnings call Thursday, interim CFO Priya Gupta said the company came to the decision after “substantial inbound interest.” According to Gupta, the company has heard from government and commercial partners that liquidity is a “key driver to their decisions of who to partner with.” With its latest share sale, Archer said its total liquidity is more than $2 billion.

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