Markets bounce back as earnings season winds down

Dow soared 407, advancers over decliners 3-2 & NAZ went up 85.  The MLP index added 1+ to the 236s & the REIT index gained 4+ to the 374s,  Junk bond funds edged higher & Treasuries had limited selling, raising yields slightly.  Oil slid lower in the 82s & gold was off 4 to 1971 (more on both below). 

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Free Apple Analysis!

Bring Your Portfolio Into The 21st Century

Four Days, Four Trades, +40% Average Returns
Learn to trade options with MarketClub!

Apple's (AAPL), a Dow & NAZ stock, next-generation iPhone 15 is slated for sales launch around Sep 22.  When the company unveils a new iPhone model, the hype-filled events are typically watched simultaneously by Ms of viewers online.  Analysts focus on next-generation product launches as a way to gauge consumer spending; consumers themselves usually have a raft of new features to look forward to.  The sale date will be preceded by an AAPL event the week prior, either on Sep 12 or 13.  In the company's fiscal 3rd-qtr earnings, it reported that iPhone sales fell 2% to $39.7B.  “The smartphone industry is tough in the U.S. right now,” CEO Tim Cook said.  The current-generation iPhone 14 was hit hard by Covid-related production issues at Foxconn plants in China, which stifled 2022 holiday sales.  AAPL is reportedly working to diversify its supply chain throughout Southeast Asia.  The stock fell 2.24.
If you would like to learn more about AAPL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AAPL_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7 

Apple’s iPhone 15 is reportedly set for mid-September launch

Oil prices surged to the highest level in months after Saudi Arabia extended production cuts for another month, threatening to keep inflation in the US abnormally high.  West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, hovered around $82 a barrel, the highest level since mid-Apr, when prices rose to more than $83.  Brent crude, the intl benchmark, was up to about $85.30 a barrel, a 3% increase from the start of the year.  The spike in prices follows major supply cuts by the coalition of oil-producing countries led by Russia & Saudi Arabia, known collectively as OPEC+.  The group already had in place oil output cuts of about 3.66M barrels per day when Saudi Arabia announced that it would extend the cuts into Sep, further constraining supply.  Gas prices have already started to march higher as a result.  The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was about $3.89 today, up more than 8% from the same time one month ago.  That is the highest level since Oct 2022, although prices remain below the record high of $5.01 notched in Jun 2022.  More expensive oil, & gasoline, threaten to exacerbate stubborn inflation that is still running about 2 times higher than the pre-pandemic average.  It could also complicate the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame price pressures within the economy while also trying to achieve a soft landing.  The Fed approved an 11th interest rate increase at the end of Jul, bringing the key benchmark federal funds rate to the highest level since 2001.

Oil prices surge again, sparking inflation reboot fears

Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, a treatment proven to slow the clinical aspects of the progressive disease, could soon be available at several major US health care systems.  The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval last month to the Alzheimer's drug, produced by Japanese drugmaker Eisai & Biogen (BIIB), making it widely accessible & covered by Medicare.  It is administered every 2 weeks by infusion.  Northwestern Medicine, which has 11 hospitals in Illinois, said that qualifying patients will gradually start the treatment within the next 1-2 months.  The rollout will start at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago & eventually expand system-wide.  The Cleveland Clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health's locations in Cleveland & Las Vegas will start offering the treatment to current qualifying patients.  It will roll out in the next few months, but did not offer specifics on the exact timing.  The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said plans to start offering the drug "on a limited basis to patients who meet the clinical trial criteria on a case-by-case basis later this fall."  The Mayo Clinics in Florida & Arizona are also planning to offer the drug "in the future."  Eisai first received conditional approval from the FDA in Jan based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease.  According to the phase 3 clinical trial, the drug slowed the rate of cognitive decline in patients by 27% after 18 months when compared to a placebo.  Dr Sharon Cohen, a behavioral neurologist & clinical trial investigator for the Clarity AD study, said this is the first time the FDA has approved a drug that has been shown to "slow down the clinical aspects of Alzheimer's disease, meaning people will lose memory at a slower rate & lose their functional abilities at a slower rate."  Eisai priced the treatment at $26,500 annually per patient.  The stock rose 2.24.
If you would like to learn more about BIIB, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BIIB_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7

Groundbreaking Alzheimer's drug could be available in next few months

Gold prices closed lower, following robust gains during Fri's session, as bond yields edged higher, put pressure on the yellow metal.  Gold futures for Dec fell by $6 to $1970 per ounce.  Gold prices fell today as bond yields edged higher & investors focused on the chances for another rate hike from the Federal Reserve. The $ was little changed at 102.0 against a basket of rival currencies.  Bond yields were also higher after last week's jump in Treasury yields helped pull stocks lower.

Gold prices end lower as bond yields edge higher, with focus on Fed’s rate path

Oil dropped as traders shrugged off the risk commodity ships in the Black Sea until disruptions materialized.  West Texas Intermediate settled below $82 a barrel at the start of the week after rising more than 4% over the previous 2 sessions.  In recent days, sea drones hit a Russian oil tanker & naval vessel, highlighting the threat to fuel flows on a key route to global markets.  Still, exports are continuing from the region at a time when the market is relatively well supplied.  The crude market has a poor record of anticipating the impacts of supply disruptions & oil traders are hesitant to make assumptions until supplies are off the market.  Saudi Arabia has plenty of spare capacity in the short term is also helping buffer any supply related reaction.  With the elevated risks in the Black Sea doing little to propel prices, there were instead headwinds from wider markets today.  A selloff in gov bonds accelerated, spurred by the threat of further rate hikes.  WTI for Sep fell 88¢ to settle at $81.94 a barrel & Brent for Oct dropped 90¢ to settle at $85.34.

Oil Falls as Black Sea Risk Dismissed Until Supply Halts Arrive

Stocks were in demand today.  The Dow closed near session highs but the advance/decline ratio continues to be sluggish.  The CPI inflation report will be announced on Thurs.  It should show modest data, but inflation remains high & consumers are adjusting to higher level of prices for about everything.

Dow Jones Industrials