U.S. data weakens as yields rise and stocks split
U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% in July versus expectations for a 0.1% gain, consumer sentiment dropped to 51, and Treasury yields climbed as small caps held up while tech lagged.
Wall Street’s record run stalled Friday, with the S&P 500 slipping from Thursday’s all-time closing high after retail sales unexpectedly contracted and consumer sentiment fell more than expected. A fresh leg higher in crude, driven by Washington’s escalating pressure campaign on Iran, split the tape: energy stocks rallied while tech eased. 2% increase. 3%.
Treasuries sold off anyway, and the curve steepened. 16%. Rate-hike expectations moved the other way. On Polymarket, the probability that the Fed leaves rates unchanged after its September meeting jumped 5 points to 76%, while odds of a 25-basis-point hike fell 5 points to 24%.
S. equity markets by midday Friday, losses were narrow and concentrated, with small caps and commodity-linked names holding firm against a heavy technology tape. 2% to 7,784. 6% to 29,912.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK ) rallied 7%, extending a powerful weekly rally following its Investor Day. 3% to 3,062 and extending record highs. 77 an ounce, extending a second straight weekly gain.
2%. 3%. 6%. 3%.
9% alongside Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX ). 1% slide in Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY ).
4%. 1% lower. At the industry level, the split was stark. 0%.
8%. Friday’s Movers Applied Optoelectronics Inc. 7 million and third-quarter guidance implying 33% to 51% sequential growth as the company scales toward 650,000 units per month by year-end. Reddit Inc.
1% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company will join the S&P 500 before the open on Aug. 18, replacing AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB ), which is exiting ahead of its all-stock merger with Equity Residential. Reddit becomes only the second pure-play social media name in the benchmark after Meta.
Nu Holdings Ltd. 9 billion, up 39%, a 37% larger credit portfolio and 139 million customers. 02% in the prior quarter. MP Materials Corp.
7%, riding the same rare-earth and hard-asset bid that lifted metal stocks, after its Aug. S. aerospace and defense customer. Almonty Industries Inc.
1%. There was no fresh company-specific headline in Friday’s tape; the move tracks a continued melt-up in European tungsten prices toward $3,075 per metric tonne unit from $453 a year ago and the ongoing ramp at its Sangdong mine in South Korea. 6 million with a $280 million net loss. Duolingo Inc.
2% on no confirmed catalyst Friday. The slide extends a post-earnings de-rating that has drawn a string of analyst cuts this month, including a Bank of America downgrade to Underperform with a $93 price target and a JPMorgan move to Hold with a $95 target, as the company prioritizes daily active user growth over near-term bookings. Doximity Inc. 2% with no confirmed news catalyst in the tape; the stock has now fallen roughly 40% year-to-date since May’s guidance-driven collapse and sits near multi-year lows.
Broadcom Inc. 3% to $395 on no fresh company-specific news, with the move consistent with profit-taking and valuation de-risking ahead of its fiscal third