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☆ Stocks sink, dollar climbs as risk of hawkish Powell looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. Crude oil found its footing around one-month lows, but remained on course for a second weekly decline amid a firmer dollar and simmering China-centered worries about global growth. "However, there is also no real reason for Powell to strike a dovish tone," he added, "and that could mean an ugly end to the week for stocks, while the dollar shines." Against Japan's currency , the dollar edged back toward last week's nine-month high of 146.545, last trading at 146.15. The Chinese yuan traded slightly weaker in offshore markets , slipping 0.07% to 7.2866 per dollar.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Jackson, Kazuo Ueda, Christine Lagarde, Powell, Matt Simpson, Simpson, Patrick Harker, Brent, Kevin Buckland, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, People's Bank of, Bank, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Nvidia, Advantest, Philadelphia Fed, CNBC, U.S, Treasury, West Texas, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, . U.S, China, People's Bank of China, Asia, Tokyo

☆ Morning Bid: World markets bounce at last
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. The onshore yuan steadied amid supportive action by China's state banks in the swaps market, and Chinese stocks (.CSI300) perked up from the year's lows. Overall, MSCI's all-country index (.MIWD00000PUS) was on course on Tuesday for its first back-to-back daily gains of August so far. There were background concerns about the impact on U.S. banks of this latest hit to bond prices and borrowing rates. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Xi Jinping, MSCI's, Jackson, Jerome Powell's, Moody's, Thomas Barkin, Austan Goolsbee, Michelle Bowman, Cyril Ramaphosa, Christina Fincher Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, P, Activision, Ubisoft Entertainment, Microsoft, Richmond Fed, Philadelphia Fed, Richmond Federal, Chicago Fed, China's, Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: New York City, U.S, Wyoming, Jackson, China, South Africa, Asia, Johannesburg, Pretoria

☆ Zero-day-options, weak technicals and China: Breaking down the market’s August headwinds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"The S & P is not quite there, but we would be very surprised if it doesn't follow the NDX's lead." On top of that, some are worried that another real estate crisis in China may be brewing. "It's been almost two years since China Evergrande Group, once China's largest real estate developer, shocked the financial markets by defaulting on $340 billion in debt. Since then, the Chinese real estate market has been in a serious slump," wrote Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research. Investment in real estate fell 8.5% y/y during the first seven months of this year."

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Scott Rubner, Rubner, 0DTE, Technicals, Wolfe, Rob Ginsberg, Ginsberg, It's, Ed Yardeni, we're, Sarat Sethi, Johnson, Sethi, CNBC's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wolfe Research, Nasdaq, China Evergrande Group, Yardeni, Investment, U.S, JPMorgan Locations: China, U.S, Freeport, McMoRan, Haleon

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The economic picture may not have to change much for the surprise element to disappear for markets - underlining the significance of this summer's sometimes grudging admissions of investment strategy missteps. SURPRISE, SURPRISEExceptional U.S. economic surprisesU.S. surprise gaps the widest in decades, excluding pandemicAlong with market moves themselves and skewed positioning monitors, the simplest take on the unpreparedness of investors can be seen in economic surprise indices. The global surprise index is close to zero, suggesting expectations for the world economy in aggregate are actually coming in on cue. And if that happens, it may just suck the oxygen from the stellar equity outperformance over bonds to date. If true, markets may find the going harder without that element of surprise.

Persons: What's, Schroders, Johanna Kyrklund, hasn't, Kyrklund, Chris Iggo, Mike Dolan Organizations: Federal, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, U.S, Graphics, AXA IM Investment, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Europe, Japan, China, U.S

☆ Morning Bid: Tech splits, banks merge and Fed decides
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Unlucky for some perhaps, but a 13th today would make it the longest winning streak for the Dow since 1987. Meta Platforms (META.O) is up next after Wednesday's closing bell and its share rose 2%. Wells Fargo (WFC.N), meantime, climbed 2.8% after the bank's board authorized a new $30 billion share buyback program. The Fed decision comes in the wake of another set of forecast-beating U.S. consumer confidence readings for July. Elsewhere, the European earnings season was in full swing too, with banks dominating the diary and the European Central Bank meeting tomorrow.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Dow Jones, Wells Fargo, Kazuo Ueda, Jerome Powell, Molina, Rollins, Edwards, John Stonestreet Organizations: Microsoft, Dow, Netflix, Google, Federal Trade Commission, European Central Bank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Japan, HK, . Federal, eBay, Boeing, General Dynamics, Seagate, Union Pacific, CME, Hilton Worldwide, Lam Research, Water Works, United Rentals, Otis, Treasury, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wall, Nasdaq, California, Lam, Everest

☆ Morning Bid: Big Tech litmus test as Fed gather
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The wider blue-chip CSI 300 Index (.CSI300) snapped a six-day losing streak to pop 3% and buying from state banks propped the yuan. Both oil and Treasury yields gave back some of those gains again today, however, with year-on-year crude price declines still tracking more than 21%. There was little ostensible reaction to the formal rebalancing of the Nasdaq 100 (.NDX) index that pared weightings of several of the big caps to reduce "over-concentration". The approach of Wednesday's Fed decision may limit market moves until then. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Dolan, sagged, Dow Jones bluechips, Alphabet's, Clark, Chubb, Paccar, Sherwin, Williams, Archer, Ed Osmond Organizations: Big Tech, Microsoft, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, ebbing, Nasdaq, Google, Texas, NextEra Energy, Visa, GE, GM, Dow, Verizon, Universal Health, Daniels, Richmond Fed, Philadelphia Fed, Federal, Market, Monetary Fund, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Hong, Europe, China, Danaher, Corning, Kimberly, Biogen, Dover, Nucor, Midland

Investors are awaiting Microsoft (MSFT.O), Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta Platforms (META.O) earnings this week, which will show whether their stocks justify sky-high valuations. The Nasdaq (.NDX) lagged other indexes as investors looked to non-tech stocks for bargains, lifting sectors from energy to banks. Helping the Dow (.DJI) notch its longest winning streak since February 2017, Chevron (CVX.N) gained almost 2% as the oil giant posted upbeat preliminary quarterly earnings over the weekend. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a gain in energy stocks (.SPNY). The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 97 new lows.

Persons: Barbie, Randy Frederick, You've, Carol Schleif, Toymaker Mattel, AMC's, decliners, Carolina Mandl, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shounak Dasgupta, Anil D'Silva, Richard Chang Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Mattel, Chevron, Dow Jones, Federal Reserve, Schwab Center, Financial Research, Microsoft, Google, Investors, BMO Family Office, Reuters, AMC Entertainment, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York, Bengaluru

Investors are awaiting Microsoft (MSFT.O), Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta Platforms (META.O) earnings this week, which will show whether their stocks justify sky-high valuations. The Nasdaq (.NDX) lost steam during the session as investors looked to non-tech stocks for bargains, lifting sectors from energy to banks. Barclays' head of U.S. equity strategy Venu Krishna said in a note to clients that investors are differentiating between tech companies. A few Big Tech names are driving all of the earnings upside, while the outlook for the "Rest of the Tech" is deteriorating, he said. Helping the Dow (.DJI) notch its longest winning streak since February 2017, Chevron (CVX.N) gained as the oil giant posted upbeat preliminary quarterly earnings over the weekend.

Persons: Barbie, Randy Frederick, Venu Krishna, You've, Carol Schleif, Toymaker Mattel, AMC's, Carolina Mandl, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shounak Dasgupta, Anil D'Silva, Richard Chang Organizations: Chevron, Dow, Dow Jones, Federal Reserve, Schwab Center, Financial Research, Microsoft, Google, Nasdaq, Barclays, Big Tech, Tech, Investors, BMO Family Office, Reuters, AMC Entertainment, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, Bengaluru

The S&P 500 climbed 0.03% to end at 4,536.34 points. For the week, the S&P 500 added 0.7%, the Nasdaq fell 0.6% and the Dow rose 2.1%. American Express (AXP.N) fell 3.9% after the credit card giant missed quarterly revenue estimates and affirmed its full-year profit forecast. SLB (SLB.N) declined 2.2% after the top oilfield services firm missed quarterly revenue expectations due to moderating drilling activity in North America. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 1.5-to-one ratio.

Persons: AmEx, Jake Dollarhide, Noel Randewich, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shinjini Ganguli, Richard Chang Organizations: Nasdaq, Dow, Dow Jones, Procter & Gamble, Chevron, Longbow, Management, Nvidia, Netflix, American Express, Thomson Locations: Tulsa , Oklahoma, North America, Oakland, Bengaluru

☆ Global shares slip, dollar soars vs yen on BoJ policy expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. The yen weakened 1.19% to 141.77 per dollar, while the dollar index , a measure of the greenback against major trading currencies, rose 0.31%. "None of them are happening with massive severity, but the longer we go on with higher rates, more and more that's going to come through," he said. BOJ policymakers prefer to scrutinize more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising before changing yield control policy, five sources familiar with the matter said. "Markets were building up expectations which now look unlikely to play out," said Guillaume Paillat, a multi-asset manager at Aviva Investors.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BoJ, Dow, Garrett Melson, Mullarkey, Patrick Spencer, Guillaume Paillat, Brent, Herbert Lash, Naomi Rovnick, Stella Qiu, Conor Humphries, David Holmes, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Fed, ECB, Reuters, Bank of Japan, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Nasdaq, Investment, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, SLC Management, Baird, Microsoft, Apple, NYSE, Aviva Investors, Treasury, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Boston, London, MSCI's U.S, Europe, China, Sydney

☆ Wall Street heavyweights mixed ahead of Nasdaq 100 rebalance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Shares of Wall Street's most valuable companies were mixed on Friday ahead of a rebalance of the Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) to address the benchmark's "overconcentration." Before trading begins on Monday, exchange operator Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) will trim the weight of a handful of companies that make up close to half of the Nasdaq 100. Broadcom (AVGO.O), which will likely see its weight increase in the Nasdaq 100 following the rebalance, rose 1.6%. That has helped the Nasdaq 100 surge 42% in 2023, compared to a 25% increase in the Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index (.NDXE). The Nasdaq 100 was near flat on Friday.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Noel Randewich, Chris Reese Organizations: Nasdaq, Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: U.S

Gold prices slipped as the dollar rebounded to its highest level in more than a week as investors prepare for next week's big central bank policy meetings, including the BoJ, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The yen weakened 1.13% to 141.68 per dollar, while the dollar index , a measure of the greenback against major trading currencies, rose 0.36%. BoJ policymakers prefer to scrutinize more data to ensure wages and inflation keep rising before changing yield control policy, five sources familiar with the matter said. The report added there was no consensus within the central bank and the decision could still be a close call. As Japanese inflation has stayed above the BoJ's target, traders have bet on the central bank ditching its yield curve control program, a move likely to cause the yen to strengthen.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BoJ, Garrett Melson, Patrick Spencer, Spencer, you've, Guillaume Paillat, Brent, Herbert Lash, Naomi Rovnick, Stella Qiu, Conor Humphries, David Holmes, Marguerita Choy Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Fed, ECB, Reuters, Bank of Japan, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Investment, Nasdaq, Baird, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, NYSE, Aviva Investors, Treasury, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Boston, Europe, China, London

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) lagged in the previous session as earnings reports from Tesla (TSLA.O) and Netflix (NFLX.O) failed to dazzle. The megacap electric automaker recovered 1.1% in premarket trading on Friday, while the streaming video company edged higher. The NYSE FANG+TM index (.NYFANG) that houses the megacap growth names also closed 4.6% lower in the previous session, notching its worst day so far in 2023. ET, Dow e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 73.75 points, or 0.47%. Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Johnson, Powell, David Mericle, Goldman Sachs, Toymaker Mattel's, Morgan Stanley, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shinjini Organizations: Mattel, Dow, Nasdaq, Johnson, Tesla, Netflix, NYSE, Dow e, American Express, Investors, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

The tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) lagged Wall Street peers in the previous session as earnings reports from Tesla (TSLA.O) and Netflix (NFLX.O) failed to dazzle. The NYSE FANG+TM index (.NYFANG), that houses the megacap growth names, rose 0.5 on Friday, after falling 4.6% in the previous session and posting its worst day in 2023. American Express (AXP.N) fell 5.0% after the credit card giant missed quarterly revenue expectations and kept its forecast for full-year profit unchanged, which unnerved investors. SLB (SLB.N) shed 2.3% as the top oilfield services firm missed quarterly revenue expectations due to moderating drilling activity in North America. The S&P index recorded 26 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 51 new highs and 22 new lows.

Persons: AmEx, Dow, Johnson, Hogan, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shinjini Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Johnson, Riley, Tesla, Netflix, NYSE, Dow Jones, American Express, Investors, Thomson Locations: North America, Bengaluru

☆ Sirius XM shares pull back after 'wild' gains with short squeeze in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Sinéad Carew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 21 (Reuters) - Shares in Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI.O) were down 10.5% on Friday, erasing some of their dramatic gains in the previous day's session with analysts attributing the volatility to a short squeeze, as well as a rebalance of the Nasdaq 100 (.NDX). U.S. satellite and online radio company, Sirius XM, which is majority owned by Liberty Media (FWONA.O), last traded at $6.99 after closing up 42% at $7.81 on Thursday for its biggest one-day percentage gain since March 2009. A short squeeze is when these investors are forced to quickly cover their bets to limit losses if a stock gains ground instead of falling. "However, the large number of shares held short along with a relatively small float provided fertile ground for a short squeeze as seen on July 20," wrote Macker who estimates a $7.50 fair value for the stock. Evercore analyst Vijay Jayant said the upcoming rebalance of the Nasdaq 100, of which Sirius is a member, was also a factor for the short squeeze as well as related options trading.

Persons: Neil Macker, Macker, Vijay Jayant, Jayant, David Joyce, Joyce, Sinéad Carew, Medha Singh, Lance Tupper, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Sirius XM Holdings, Nasdaq, Sirius XM, Liberty Media, Atlanta Braves, Sirius, Liberty's, Research Partners, Thomson

☆ Morning Bid: Bland China data leaves market hungry for stimulus
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Q2 GDP number of +0.8% q/q just pipped forecasts, but y/y undershot at 6.3% suggesting revisions somewhere to the past. The market reaction was disgruntled with Chinese shares down and the yuan easing. The data underlined the need for much more serious fiscal spending but Beijing seems in no hurry to satiate market wishes this time. The central bank left one-year rates unchanged on Monday, and analysts seem resigned to wait for a Politburo meeting later this month for fresh steps. Goldman Sachs says passive funds that track NDX will rebalance their portfolios but the 2011 special rebalance experience suggests the stock-level impact will be limited.

Persons: Wayne Cole, BofA, Goldman Sachs, Fabio Panetta, Christine Lagarde, Frank Elderson, Philip R, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Investors, Aussie, Tesla, Nasdaq, Microsoft, Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors, ECB, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Manufacturing Survey, Thomson Locations: Wayne, China, Beijing, 4ppt, Gandhinagar, India, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ A breakdown of the changes to the Nasdaq-100 and what it means for mega-cap tech stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The biggest stocks in the market will soon get taken down a peg or two, at least on paper. The seven largest stocks in the Nasdaq-100 will be diluted down to 44% of the index from the current 56%. The changes mean the Invesco QQQ Trust and other funds that closely follow the index will need to sell some of the biggest stocks in the market this week. "Nasdaq slashed the NDX weight of AAPL from 20% to 12%, but this change had no clear negative effect on the stock's performance. The rebalance comes as the increased concentration of large-cap tech stocks has raised concerns the current market rally is unsustainable.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Kostin, Kostin, Lori Calvasina, Bram Kaplan, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Nasdaq, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Broadcom, RBC Capital Markets, JPMorgan

☆ Morning Bid: Banks lob earnings into giddy markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But there's likely to be a scattering of the herd in terms of performance during that three months. For universal banks such as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo that serve retail consumers and firms, earnings per share are expected to have jumped more than 40% over the previous year. Overall, the U.S. earnings season is expected to show S&P500 profits down 6.4% from the same period a year earlier - with revenue down a more modest 0.8%, according to Refinitiv research. Stock markets around the world and S&P500 futures held most of their outsize weekly gains, however, and were mostly flat into the open. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Wells, behemoths Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Christopher Waller, that's, Toby Chopra Organizations: Federal Reserve, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank, Export, Stock, Nasdaq, Bank of Japan, University of Michigan, European Union, Brussels Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, China, Brussels

SummaryCompanies JPMorgan gains on Jefferies' upgrade ahead of earningsMegacaps recover after dip ahead of Nasdaq 100 rebalanceFutures up: Dow 0.02%, S&P 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.16%July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Tuesday ahead of key inflation data that could support a sooner-than-expected end to the Federal Reserve's rapid interest-rate hikes. "The big-cap Nasdaq index is going to adjust weightings vs. a full addition or deletion. Also, far more money tracks the S&P 500, which is why S&P 500 component changes get a lot more attention than Nasdaq 100 moves." The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) has shed 9% so far this year in the aftermath of the biggest crisis since 2008 that pummeled regional lenders. The sub-index is underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX), which has notched a 14.9% gain.

Persons: Joshua Warner, Hogan, Jefferies, Johann M Cherian, Shinjini Ganguli, Arun Koyyur Organizations: JPMorgan, Jefferies, Nasdaq, Dow, Federal, Fed, Index, Treasury, Nasdaq Inc, Riley, Dow e, JPMorgan Chase, Zions Bancorp, Truist, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

That compares with a 14.8% gain for the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX). Microsoft (MSFT.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Nvidia (NVDA.O), Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O) combined account for 43.8% weight in the index, according to Refinitiv data as of Monday's close. The special rebalancing may be conducted at any time if the aggregate weight of companies, each having more than 4.5% weight in the index, tops 48%, according to Nasdaq. COULD THE S&P 500 FOLLOW SUIT? Apple and Microsoft are the only two firms with weight over 4.5% in the S&P 500.

Persons: Hogan, Cameron Lilja, Dow, Wells, Sam Stovall, Sruthi Shankar, Medha Singh, Bansari, David Randall, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Nasdaq, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Riley, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Dow Jones, Tesla, Booking Holdings, Gilead Sciences, Devices, CFRA, Thomson Locations: Wells, Gilead, Bengaluru, New York

The bullish view Just four of the 15 strategists expect the S & P 500 to end the year higher than current levels, albeit very slightly. He expects the S & P 500 to end the year at 4,500 — up 2.3% from its current level. Instead, Peng said the S & P 500 's performance will likely broaden over the second half of this year. She expects the S & P 500 to remain flat by the end of the year at 4,300. UBS expects the S & P 500 to end the year at 4,100 — a drop of 7% from current levels.

Persons: Stocks, BlackRock Karim Chedid, Jerome Powell, Karim Chedid, Chedid, Chadha, Charles Schwab Liz Ann Sonders, Ken Peng, Peng, Savita Subramanian, Andreas Bruckner, Liz Ann Sonders, Charles Schwab, Matt Rowe, Mark Haefele, Christian Abuide, Sameer Samana, Rowe, Wouter Sturkenboom, Sturkenboom Organizations: CNBC Pro, Investment, iShares EMEA, BlackRock, Reserve, Deutsche Bank, Citi Global Wealth Investments, Big Tech, Bank of, Equity, Nomura, UBS Global Wealth Management, Federal Reserve, UBS, Lombard, RBC Wealth Management, U.S, Global Market, Wells, Wells Fargo Investment, Nomura Private Capital, EMEA, APAC, Northern Trust, Wells Fargo Investment Institute Locations: U.S, Asia, Europe, Wells Fargo, Northern, Samana

☆ US retail investors add equities, while hedge funds trim exposure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Retail investors bought roughly $7 billion of equities last week, showing a near record appetite for shares since 2016, while U.S. hedge funds trimmed their exposure to global equities, Morgan Stanley said in a note to institutional investors seen by Reuters. The Wall Street bank said retail investors net bought mainly exchanged traded funds (ETF), although individuals also added shares across sectors except for communications, consumer staples and utilities. Contrary to retail, U.S.-based long/short hedge funds reduced their exposure to global equities last week. The bank tracks hedge funds it has as clients of its prime brokerage to show how they positioned during the week. Morgan Stanley estimated U.S. long/short hedge funds went down roughly 1% last week through Thursday.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Hedge, Dow Jones, Carolina Mandl, Chris Reese Organizations: YORK, Retail, Reuters, Nasdaq, Carolina, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, Japan, New York

☆ Market heavyweights dip ahead of Nasdaq 100 rebalance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 10 (Reuters) - Shares of Apple (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and other heavyweight companies dipped on Monday after Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) said it would rebalance its Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) to address the benchmark's "overconcentration." Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) fell over 2%, while Microsoft and Tesla (TSLA.O) each slid more than 1%. Wall Street's most valuable stocks declined after Nasdaq said late on Friday it would carry out a "Special Rebalance" of the index to "address overconcentration in the index by redistributing the weights." The Nasdaq 100 includes 100 of the largest companies that trade on the Nasdaq exchange, and changes to the index will force investment funds that track it to adjust their portfolios and sell shares of companies that have their weight in the index reduced. Wall Street's most valuable companies have been among the biggest winners in the U.S. stock market's recovery this year, further increasing their weight in the Nasdaq 100, and also in the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) and S&P 500 (.SPX).

Persons: Tesla, Noel Randewich, Richard Chang Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Nasdaq Inc, Tesla, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: U.S

It helped that Treasury yields fell in response to cooling inflation, said Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group in Dallas, Texas. The Fed might have a better-than-we-thought shot of threading the needle and cooling inflation without killing the economy in the process," said McKinney. The Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) of top technology stocks boasted its biggest first half gain on record, adding around 39%. For the week, the S&P 500 added 2.35% while the Nasdaq added 2.20% and the Dow climbed 2.02%. For the quarter, the S&P 500 added 8.3% while the Nasdaq climbed 12.8% and the Dow rose 3.4%.

Persons: Burns McKinney, McKinney, Brendan McDermid, Dow, Russell, Hawkish, Jerome Powell, Jefferies, Sinéad Carew, Sruthi Shankar, Johann M Cherian, Shashwat Chauhan, Shinjini Ganguli, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Apple, Nasdaq, Dow, Apple Inc, Investors, Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, April's, NFJ Investment, Dow Jones, Reuters Graphics Traders, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Microsoft, Nvidia, Nike Inc, Carnival Corp, Thomson Locations: Dallas , Texas, New York City, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

Investors perked up on signs of cooling U.S. inflation from measures that are closely watched by the Federal Reserve. Excluding volatile food and energy, the core PCE index gained 0.3%, down from 0.4% in the previous month. It helped that Treasury yields fell in response to cooling inflation, said Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group in Dallas, Texas. The Fed might have a better-than-we-thought shot of threading the needle and cooling inflation without killing the economy in the process," said McKinney. The CBOE Market Volatility Index (.VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, earlier slipped to a one-week low at 12.96 points.

Persons: Apple, Burns McKinney, McKinney, Russell, Hawkish, Jerome Powell, Jefferies, Sinéad Carew, Sruthi Shankar, Johann M Cherian, Shashwat Chauhan, Shinjini Ganguli, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Nasdaq, Apple Inc, Investors, Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, April's, NFJ Investment, Dow Jones, Reuters, Microsoft, Nvidia, Nike Inc, Carnival Corp, Thomson Locations: Dallas , Texas, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

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