Markets struggle with limited gains while gold hovers near its record

Dow finished up 210 to a new record (but off session highs), advancers over decliners 3-2 & NAZ climbed 74.  The MLP index gained 2+ to the 294s & the REIT index went up 1+ to 296.  Junk bond funds were in demand & Treasuries continued to see selling which raised yields.  Oil was off chump change, finishing below 82, & gold was up 5 to 2428 (more on both below).

Dow Jones Industrials 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank will not wait until inflation hits 2% to cut interest rates.  Speaking in DC, Powell referenced the idea that central bank policy works with “long and variable lags” to explain why the Fed wouldn't wait for its target to be hit.  “The implication of that is that if you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you’ve probably waited too long, because the tightening that you’re doing, or the level of tightness that you have, is still having effects which will probably drive inflation below 2%,” Powell added.  Instead, the Fed is looking for “greater confidence” that inflation will return to the 2% level, Powell continued.  “What increases that confidence in that is more good inflation data, and lately here we have been getting some of that,” he said.  Powell also said he thinks a “hard landing” for the US economy was not “a likely scenario.”  This was Powell's first public speaking appearance since the consumer price index report for Jun showed cooling inflation, with prices actually falling month over month. Powell said at the beginning of his appearance that he was not intending to make any signals about when the Fed might start to cut interest rates.  The central bank’s next policy meeting is at the end of Jul.  “People I don’t know will always say, ‘hey, cut rates.’ Somebody said that in the elevator this morning,” Powell said jokingly.

Powell indicates Fed won’t wait until inflation is down to 2% to cut rates

Stop & Shop is shuttering more than 30 underperforming locations throughout the Northeast by early Nov to try to ensure viability.  "Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand," Stop & Shop Pres Gordon Reid said.  All 32 impacted locations will close either on or before Nov 2, the company announced.  In May, the grocery chain first announced its plans to close underperforming stores, though the company said that even with the closures it would still "hold a strong market share position in the Northeast."  After the closures, the company will operate more than 350 stores in 5 states, including 115 stores in Massachusetts, 91 in New York, 81 in Connecticut, 47 in New Jersey & 25 in Rhode Island.

Stop & Shop closing 32 underperforming locations

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk signaled the automaker would take more time to unveil its robotaxi so it can incorporate an important design change to the front of the vehicle and "show off" some other things.  Musk did not disclose when the automaker would hold an event to launch its robotaxi.  A report last week said that the event, originally set to be held on Aug 8, had been delayed to Oct.  "Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things," Musk said on his X social media platform in a reply to a user post discussing the event.  A person familiar with the matter said the robotaxi event has been delayed.  With the road to developing robotaxis & autonomous driving systems facing several engineering & regulatory hurdles, analysts & TSLA investors have noted that a delay in the robotaxi launch would not be a surprise.  Musk had announced the Aug unveiling day after a report on Apr 5 said that TSLA had canceled its long-promised inexpensive car & would continue developing self-driving robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform.  Musk had said in 2022 TSLA expects to mass-produce a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedal by 2024, after missing his targets for self-driving vehicles multiple times.  TSLA stock rose 4.41.

Musk says he requested extra time for design change to robotaxi

Gold prices gained, hovering near a more than 1-month high hit last week, aided by hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve as traders await for more comments from Fed officials to gauge the timing of those cuts.  Spot gold rose nearly 0.5% at $2422 per ounce.  US gold futures were up 0.2% at $2427 & spot gold prices hit a record high of $2449 per ounce on May 20.  The path for both gold prices is going to continue to be sideways to higher.  Weaker-than-expected GDP data from major gold consumer China might be limiting buying interest in the gold market today.  China’s economy grew 4.7% in Apr-Jun, official data showed, missing the forecast of 5.1% growth.  The $ held steady, while long-dated US bond yields rose, as investors weighed whether the assassination attempt on Trump increased his chances of victory.

Gold Hovers Near One-Month Peak as Fed Cut Rate Hopes Lend Support

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed lower in choppy trade with traders wary of increasing political risk following the weekend assassination attempt on Donald Trump.  Weaker than expected 2nd-qtr GDP growth in China also weighed on oil.  WTI crude was closed down 30¢ to settle at $81.91 per barrel, while Sep Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down 11¢ to $84.92.  No consensus has yet emerged on the effects for markets following the attempt on Trump's life at a Sat rally, with oil repeatedly swinging under & above Fri's close.  China, the #1 oil importer, reported 2nd-qtr GDP growth of 4.7%, the lowest in more than a year & well under the estimate for a 5.1% rise.  The weak result comes as the country's ruling Communist Party stages its Third Plenum to come up with solutions to improve an economy beset by slowing consumer demand, a debt crisis in its real-estate sector & high youth unemployment.

WTI Oil Edges Down Following Assassination Attempt on Trump, Weak China GDP Data

Trading was choppy in an unconvincing rally.  Dow is in record territory but the rally in tech stocks & the overall stock market look to be tired.  Comments from Fed officials this week may help.