(Boursier.com) — Wall Street will try to end the week in style and sign a fourth positive weekly performance in a row (for the S&P500). Highly anticipated, the inflation data released on Wednesday and Thursday held two good surprises for investors with, firstly, the announcement of a weaker increase than expected in consumer prices over one year in July and then , the next day, the publication of an unexpected drop of 0.5% in producer prices compared to the previous month.
Enough to suggest that the inflationary peak is behind us and allay fears of a third 75 basis point rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its next meeting. “The fact that we’re starting to see energy prices come down could be a sign of what’s to come for other inflation indicators,” iCapital strategist Anastasia Amoroso told ‘Yahoo Finance Live’ . “We’re starting to get rid of this inflation problem, and that’s a big catalyst for the markets.”
However, the proliferation of cautious comments from Fed officials has calmed the prevailing euphoria. Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco regional branch, for example, acknowledged that the assumption of a half-point increase in September “makes sense” but she did not rule out a 75-point increase. points. “The macroeconomic environment may be starting to improve a bit, with a spike in the US CPI calling into question the need for aggressive rate hikes,” Rand Merchant Bank economists say. ‘Bloomberg’. “Inflation is still high and the Fed will have to raise rates again, but the situation is not as bad as many feared.”
In a less alarming sign, investors bought $7.1 billion worth of stocks in the week ending Wednesday, with U.S. growth stocks posting their largest weekly inflows since December…
On the economic agenda of the day, the first estimate of the American consumer confidence index established by the University of Michigan will be particularly followed at 4 p.m. The barometer should confirm its beginning of a rebound after the all-time low hit in June.
On the bond market, rates continued to ease with a 10-year US yield which fell by 3.6 basis points to 2.851%. The two-year rate, which is more sensitive to changes in the Fed’s rate, dropped 2.8 bp to 3.19%. This inversion of the curves is generally the harbinger of a recession… The dollar rises by 0.4% against a basket of currencies. Bitcoin drops 3.5% over 24 hours to $23,690 on Coindesk.
The barrel of WTI crude for September delivery lost some ground after its sharp rise, down 1.6% to $92.8 on the Nymex. An ounce of gold gained 0.1% to $1,790.
Values
* Rivian retreated last night on Wall Street after its quarterly publication. While the electric car designer widened its losses in the second quarter, investors nevertheless appreciated the fact that management maintained its production guidance for the full year despite the problems in the supply chain. The Californian firm unveiled an adjusted loss per share of $1.62 for the quarter ended at the end of June, against $1.61 expected by analysts, for revenues of $364 million against an estimated $335.7 million. Rivian, which makes the R1T pickup and R1S sport utility vehicle as well as electric delivery vans, still plans to make 25,000 electric vehicles this year. However, the company lowered its adjusted earnings forecast. It now expects a $5.45 billion loss for the year, citing increased production rates and rising input costs due to raw material inflation. So far, it was aiming for a negative result of $4.75 billion.
Rivian also said its pre-order backlog as of June 30 was around 98,000 units, down from 90,000 at the end of the first quarter. “The supply chain continues to be the limiting factor in our production; however, through close partnership with our suppliers, we are making progress,” the company said. “We expect to be able to add a second team for vehicle assembly towards the end of the third quarter.” The company, which ended the quarter with approximately $15.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, recently announced it would cut 6% of its workforce as changing market conditions impact its ability to raise capital. Rivian currently employs 14,000 people at its various sites.
* Johnson & Johnson announced that it will stop selling its talc worldwide in 2023, more than two years after it stopped selling it in the United States and Canada following thousands of accusations that the product caused cancers in its users.
* Apple will be monitored while according to ‘Bloomberg’ the American giant expects to maintain its iPhone sales in 2022 at the level of those of last year despite the global slowdown in the market. The company expects to assemble about 220 million iPhones in total this year, according to the agency, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple’s sales and production expectations are generally a closely guarded secret. The global smartphone market, which fell 9% in the June quarter, is expected to decline 3.5% in 2022, according to IDC forecasts.
* Illuminated fall in pre-trade as the company specializing in genetic sequencing unveiled quarterly profit and revenue below expectations. It also released an outlook well below analysts’ estimates. Illumina said a tough economic environment is offsetting the growth in usage of its platform.