Dow dropped 150, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ was off 50. The MLP index lost 1+ to the 237s & the REIT index dropped 3+ to the 369s. Junk bond funds went higher & Treasuries had heavy buying, ending the yield rally. Oil rose 1 to the 82s & gold added 8 to 1977 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Amazon (AMZN) shares rallied after the company reported blowout Q2 earnings & issued upbeat guidance. The e-retailer easily beat on the top line, reporting EPS of 65¢ versus an estimate of 35¢. AMZN notched its biggest profit beat since 2020, boosted by CEO Andy Jassy's aggressive cost-cutting efforts. Revenue
surged 11% year over year to $134.4B, better than the
single-digit revenue expansion it had been mired in recently. The forecast expected revenue of $131.5B. For Q3,
AMZN expects sales of $138-143B,
topping consensus estimates of $138.2B. “Amazon fired on all cylinders: AWS finally stabilizing and now a
coiled spring; Retail performance hanging in with weakened consumer; N.
American retail margins are back to pre-pandemic levels and accelerating
alongside compressing fulfillment windows — impressive; and aggregate
operating profits are up and to the right,” said Bernstein analysts, who
maintain an outperform rating the stock. “Was this a sneak peek of a Jassy-led growth era? Or was 2Q23 a
peak unlikely to repeat? We’ll take the former thank you very much.” Analysts
were also encouraged by the execs' commentary about growing
efficiencies in its retail business. The company has taken steps to trim
expenses in its fulfillment network by shifting to a regional model
instead of a national “hub-and-spoke” strategy. AMZN has
sped up deliveries, while also saving costs. The stock jumped 10+ (8%).
If you would like to learn more about AMZN, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AMZN_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7
Amazon stock rockets 11%, on pace for best day since November after blowout quarter
The US economy saw the smallest jobs increase in Jul since Dec 2020, but Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said the number reflects what experts increasingly believe see as a “soft landing” for the US economy. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 187K last month, slightly below expectations & the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.5%. “This is an example of what slow and steady growth looks like,” Su said. “This is still less than 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s,” Su said of the unemployment rate, which has remained low for the past 18 months. She also touted the “very high labor force participation rate, especially among prime-age workers aged 25 to 54.” The percentage of women in the labor force rose to 49.9% in Jul, a rate seen only twice before in public data: Dec. 2019, just before the pandemic & 2009, when it rose as a result of the high number of men who lost jobs in the last recession.
Biden labor secretary sees ‘slow and steady’ growth in July jobs report
Pfizer (PFE) is limiting the distribution of some drugs manufactured at its plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, after the facility was struck by a tornado last month, the company said in a letter to hospitals. The
letter listed 12 injection products that PFE will only distribute
through emergency orders “due to their high medical need,” effective
“immediately and until further notice.” Some injections on the list were already in short supply as of late last month, according to a database from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. That includes a type of sodium chloride injection, which is used to replenish water & salt lost as a result of certain conditions. It also includes an injection used to treat metabolic acidosis, or the buildup of excess acid in the body due to ailments like kidney failure. But
the list also includes drugs that did not have supply issues as of last
month, such as certain versions of heart failure injection dobutamine & dopamine, which is used to treat shock & low blood pressure caused by heart attack, infections or surgery. PFE urged hospitals to check the availability of the 12 products
with wholesalers or distributors & seek out alternatives before
placing emergency orders. The company added that all other
products manufactured at the plant not included on the list are
available in the distribution chain. The stock was off 3¢.
If you would like to learn more about PFE, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/PFE_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6aeoso5b6f7
Pfizer limits distribution of some drugs from North Carolina plant damaged by tornado
The most-active gold futures contract settled higher, snapping its 3-day losing streak after the Jul jobs report showed the US economy gained just 187K jobs last month, slightly below the estimate of 200K & pointing to a still-solid hiring in the labor market. Gold futures for Dec rose $7 (0.4%) to settle at $1976 per ounce, with prices down 1.2% for the week. Below consensus job growth, combined with higher average hourly earnings signals that more progress is needed to reduce the jobs-workers gap, slow wage growth, & ultimately lower inflation. The Fed has likely ended its most aggressive tightening campaign in generations, with a reasonable path to a soft landing. The ICE US Dollar, a closely watched gauge of the $'s value against other major currencies, dropped by 0.6% at 101.93. Treasury yields pulled back from near 10-month highs with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note off 12 basis points, at 4.068%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond declined by 9 basis points, at 4.216%.
US crude futures finish at their highest since Apr 12, rising 1.6% to
end at $82.82 a barrel while notching a 6th consecutive weekly gain,
the longest winning streak in more than a year. The latest price support is largely coming from the Saudis' announcement
that it's extending 1-M-barrel-a-day production cuts thru
Sep. Overall OPEC production is
now seeing the biggest reduction since the group & its allies slashed
supplies during the depths of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile US production is stagnating at 12.2M barrels a day.
Brent crude also climbed to a 16-week-high near $86.
WTI Oil Ends at Highest in 16 Weeks
Buying in early trading ended in midday. The US debt downgrade by Fitch continues to weigh on market sentiment along with the burden of high interest rates. Dow finished the week down 400 but finished above 35K.
Dow Jones Industrials
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