Manufacturing and jobs data made investors wary
While Americans celebrated Independence Day, Wall Street was in trouble. Before markets closed early on Monday and all of Tuesday to observe the holiday, investors unpacked lower-than-expected ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data. Traders came back from their break to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) register a triple-digit loss and snap a three-day win streak alongside the S&P 500 Index (SPX), amid news that some Federal Reserve officials were in favor of an interest rate hike last month.
Those losses deepened after the biggest private sector jobs increase since July 2022, with the Dow seeing its worst single-session drop since May 2 as Treasury yields and the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) pivoted higher. All three major benchmarks were on track for weekly losses at the time of this writing, despite a narrower-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, with the Dow also eyeing its third-straight daily drop.
Tech Headlines of Note
Over in the tech realm, Wolfspeed (WOLF) was in focus after signing a 10-year deal worth about $2 billion to supply semiconductor name Renesas Electronics with silicon carbide bare and epitaxial wafers. ON Semiconductor (ON) also made headlines, after Schaeffer's Weekend Trader subscribers used it to double their money with calls.
Elsewhere, Meta Platforms (META) rolled out Threads, an extension of its Instagram service that is meant to rival Twitter (TWTR), while cloud concern Snowflake (SNOW) looked ready to bounce off a historically bullish trendline after its recent pullback.
The Latest in Clean Energy
Electric vehicle (EV) stocks had a big week, with Tesla (TSLA) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN) sharing upbeat delivery results for the second quarter. In fact, Tesla stock surged to a 2023 high after reporting 466,140 deliveries, while RIVN drew upgrades after seeing a 59% jump in deliveries from last quarter. Still within the clean energy sector, Citigroup praised Plug Power (PLUG), noting the company could become one of the biggest global green hydrogen suppliers.
Earnings Docket Heats Up Next Week
With the second half of 2023 and new quarter underway, traders are gearing up for another earnings season, with big bank names including Citigroup (CITI), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Wells Fargo (WFC) stepping into the confessional next week. Key inflation data is also on tap, with both the consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) due out. Before then, keep tabs on these technical pressure levels as we move further into July.