Stocks wobble as Wall Street looks to end volatile week on high note

US stocks were little changed in afternoon trading Friday as Wall Street looked to end a turbulent week with some calm. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was at the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed about 0.2%.

Markets are nearing the end of the most volatile week of the 2024 campaign. Monday saw the worst rout of the year, and Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX), soared to its highest levels since the throes of the pandemic.

By Thursday, a reassuring look at the labor market, in the form of the normally routine report on weekly jobless claims, gave investors reason to buy back in. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rallied over 2%, with the S&P posting its best day since late 2022 — a remarkable feat, considering the breadth of 2024’s rally overall.

In the end, with a modest rally on Friday, the major indexes could end the week near where they started it. After Thursday’s session, the benchmark S&P 500 was down about 0.5% from last Friday’s close. All the more reason, as many strategists told Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman in the Morning Brief newsletter, to stay calm amid the chaos.

Friday is a quiet day, with no notable economic releases or earnings on the docket. In individual movers, Nvidia (NVDA) is again a market focus after wild swings of its own this week. Its stock fell slightly in afternoon trading, as investors look for another catalyst in the AI trade. Nvidia, whose earnings are scheduled to arrive at the end of the month, is the last of the Magnificent Seven companies to report. Meanwhile, Paramount (PARA) stock rose 0.5% after it announced its first-ever streaming profit and said it planned layoffs over the coming year.

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Fri, August 9, 2024 at 4:45 PM GMT+1

Stocks trending in morning trading

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during morning trading on Friday:

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Shares of the chipmaker rose 0.8% Friday morning after the company revealed sales rose 45% year-over-year in July as demand for AI chips continues to flourish. The company is a supplier for Nvidia (NVDA), which has also seen its shares move slightly higher Friday.

Unity Software (U): The software developer rose nearly 13% after the company posted revenue that beat expectations and a smaller than expected quarterly loss.

Expedia (EXPE): Shares of the travel booking site rose nearly 9% Friday morning after posting second quarter results beat expectations on both the top and bottom line with an adjusted earnings per share of $3.51 against an expected $3.12. CEO Ariane Gorin issued a warning, however, saying in the release that “in July, we have seen a more challenging macro environment and a softening in travel demand.” As a result, the company was adjusting its expectations for the rest of the year.”

e.l.f. beauty (ELF): The cometics brand shed 15% on Friday morning, despite its Q1 results beating expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Investors instead focused on the company’s full-year guidance, which warned that transportation costs could be a headwind for the company.
Fri, August 9, 2024 at 4:18 PM GMT+1

Fed’s Collins sees rate cuts ‘coon’ if inflation continues to fall

If inflation readings continue to show encouraging results the Fed may soon cut interest rates, said Boston Fed President Susan Collins in an interview with the Providence Journal.

“If the data continue the way that I expect, I do believe that it will be appropriate soon to begin adjusting policy and easing how restrictive the policy is,” Collins said. “My outlook is for continued gradual reduction back to our 2% target amid a healthy labor market.”

Collins’ remarks come amid strong expectations from market observers that the Fed will lower rates at the next policy meeting in mid-September.

According to CME FedWatch, the majority of traders are pricing in a cut of 50 basis points.

The recent urgency to cut rates comes amid a weakening jobs market and a sense that the Fed may have waited too long to back off from its tightening policy decisions. The latest jobs figures came in weaker than expected, prompting many to call for more forceful cuts.

The July jobs report showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the highest level in years. And the recent market turmoil also heightened calls for the Fed to act sooner rather than later, to avoid a potential worsening of the labor market.
Fri, August 9, 2024 at 3:15 PM GMT+1

Donald Trump wants a ‘say’ in setting interest rates

Former President Donald Trump said he would like a “say” in setting interest rates if he is reelected, further raising the prospect that the Republican nominee could seek to reduce the independence of the Federal Reserve if he wins in November.

“I feel the president should have at least say in there, yeah, I feel that strongly,” the presidential candidate said Thursday in response to a question about the US central bank interest rate policy and the prospects of a soft landing for the US economy.

Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports that Trump’s comments were the strongest indication yet that Trump does, in fact, want some direct involvement with the central bank operations if he were to reach the Oval Office again.

The remarks came after allies of the former president have floated a series of ideas in recent months that could undercut an independent Federal Reserve, ranging from firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to a plan first reported in the Wall Street Journal that would have the president himself playing a role in setting interest rates.

Trump has previously said he thinks he has the authority to fire the Federal Reserve chair, though some legal experts disagree.
Fri, August 9, 2024 at 2:32 PM GMT+1

Stocks edge lower in morning trading

Wall Street was poised to end the week in the red after opening trades on Friday sent stocks slightly lower, capping a series of sessions that suffered through the worst rout of the year, and when Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) — soared to its highest levels since the throes of the pandemic. US stocks wavered at the opening bell Friday as Wall Street looked to end a volatile week on a high note.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) sank 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slumped 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged lower by 0.2%.