
S&P 500 and Nasdaq tumble for four straight days, both notch worst weeks since March: Live updates
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slumped Friday{
Stocks fall Friday, S&P and Nasdaq notch worst weeks since March
Stocks finished lower on Friday and notched a losing week.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The S&P 500 shed 0.53% to finish at 4,478.03, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.36% to settle at 13,909.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150.27 points, or 0.43%, to end at 35,065.62.
For the week, the Nasdaq and S&P dropped about 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively, to notch their worst weeks since March. The Dow edged down 1.1%.
— Samantha Subin
Money Report
The S&P 500 shed 0.53% to finish at 4,478.03, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.36% to settle at 13,909.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150.27 points, or 0.43%, to end at 35,065.62.
All the major indexes reversed earlier gains during afternoon trading, and finished the week with losses. The Nasdaq and S&P dropped about 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively, to notch their worst weeks since March. The Dow edged down 1.1%.
"People this week seem more respectful of risk than they were before," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, adding that "lots of bears have been capitulating, which is often a sign that we're closer to the end of a rally than the beginning."
After being lower on the day, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) rose to trade above 16 — pointing to investors adding volatility protection.
Friday marked the final day of what's been the busiest week of second-quarter earnings season. Amazon jumped 8.3% to its highest level in nearly a year after trouncing expectations on profit and offering positive guidance{
Amazon gains nearly 9% on biggest earnings beat since 2020
Shares of Amazon popped nearly 9% in the premarket after the e-commerce company reported its biggest earnings beat since the fourth quarter of 2020 and signaled a return to double-digit revenue growth.
The company reported earnings of 65 cents a share on revenues of $134.4 billion. That came in ahead of the 35 cents and $131.5 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv estimates.
Amazon also issued better-than-expected guidance for the third quarter, saying that it expects sales to range between $138 billion and $143 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting revenue of $138.25 billion.
— Annie Palmer, Samantha Subin
Apple lower revenueIn a sign of the boom in travel and services demand, Booking Holdings gained 7.9% on stronger-than-expected results{
Booking Holdings pops on strong quarterly results
Shares of Booking Holdings popped 9% after the company reported strong second-quarter results as leisure travel shows continued signs of strength.
The online travel company reported adjusted earnings of $37.62 per share, ahead of the $28.90 expected, according to Refinitiv. Revenues also came in at $5.46 billion versus the expected $5.17B.
Booking also reported strong gross bookings. The metric came in at $39.69 billion, ahead of the $38.12 billion expected by Wall Street.
— Samantha Subin
AmgenAmgen gains on earnings, guidance boost
Amgen shares gained more than 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.
The company reported earnings of $5 a share, excluding items, on $6.99 billion in revenues. That came in ahead of the EPS of $4.49 on $6.66 billion in revenues expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Total product sales also grew 6% year over year.
Amgen also boosted its full-year guidance, saying that it now expects revenues to range between $26.6 billion and $27.4 billion. EPS is expected to come at $17.80 to $18.80.
The rise in Amgen shares helped lift the Dow.
— Samantha Subin
Earnings reports this season for the quarter ended in June have continued to surprise some Wall Street analysts as the expected slowdown in profits proves less than feared. About 84% of S&P 500 companies have given results, with 80% surpassing Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.
The 10-year Treasury yield also pulled back from a multimonth high to 4.04%. Its rise in recent sessions had pressured risk assets.
A cooler jobs report
Investors also received more clues into the state of the labor market with Friday's payrolls report. The data showed 187,000 jobs added in July, less than the 200,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate also ticked lower to 3.5% from 3.6%.
Despite the cooler headline numbers, average hourly wages pointed toward more inflation and came in ahead of expectations, rising 0.4% for the month, and 4.4% on an annualized basis. That came in slightly ahead of the 0.3% and 4.2% expected, respectively.
Many on Wall Street had been eagerly awaiting the jobs report and its implications for the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking cycle. About 88% of traders expect the central bank to hold rates steady at its next meeting in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
But next week's consumer price report for July could make an even greater impact on rate expectations, said Wells Fargo's Christopher Harvey.
"A hotter-than-expected print is one of the few things that could really start to change the market's perception of the Fed, and maybe the Fed's perception as well," he said. "But today's job number, I don't think does much of anything. I think it solidifies people's view that the Fed is done at this point."
— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed reporting
Lee este artículo en español aquí.
Stocks fall Friday, S&P and Nasdaq notch worst weeks since March
Stocks finished lower on Friday and notched a losing week.
The S&P 500 shed 0.53% to finish at 4,478.03, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.36% to settle at 13,909.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150.27 points, or 0.43%, to end at 35,065.62.
For the week, the Nasdaq and S&P dropped about 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively, to notch their worst weeks since March. The Dow edged down 1.1%.
— Samantha Subin
Student loan payments are coming back — and that bodes well for these stocks
Federal student loan payments – which were on hold for three years – are about to resume. A slate of retailers are likely to benefit as borrowers tighten their budgets, according to Loop Capital's Anthony Chukumba.
Loop Capital surveyed over 500 U.S. consumers subject to the pause and most said their loan payments had been reduced by less than $500. Just over half of the participants are in a worse financial situation compared to when the payments were first halted in March 2020.
As shoppers trade down to save money, a handful of companies could benefit, Chukumba said.
In particular, he highlighted Dollar General, Dollar Tree and optical retailer National Vision, as all three "are currently trading at valuations that do not reflect our bullish fundamental outlooks."
-Darla Mercado
Longer correction period ahead for the S&P 500, according to Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse says that a deeper and longer consolidation phase is ahead for the S&P 500.
"The S&P 500 remains under pressure as expected following its bearish 'reversal day' from Thursday last week and rejection from the top of the uptrend channel from March this year," analyst David Sneddon wrote in a Friday note.
Sneddon reiterated his tactical negative outlook.
"We look for a deeper setback to support next at 4444/39, then the lower end of the uptrend channel from March, now at 4419/09," said Sneddon.
— Hakyung Kim
Market mentality is changing, Interactive Brokers' Sosnick says
The market rolled over late Friday, erasing sharp gains sparked by new jobs data along with strong earnings from Amazon.
"The risk mentality is changing a bit," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. Rather than chase returns, he noted investors seem to be "clamoring for volatility protection" — pointing to a sharp spike in the Cboe Volatility Index.
The Vix was lower on the day near the 14 level at around 1:50 p.m. ET. It was las higher for the session well above 16.
— Fred Imbert
U.S. Cellular parent almost doubles after putting it under strategic review
Telephone & Data Systems soared 88% to a session high in late day trading Friday after saying premarket it will consider strategic alternatives for its 83%-owned subsidiary U.S. Cellular.
At an intraday high this morning, U.S. Cellular shares soared as much 97%.
TDS retained Citigroup as its financial advisor and U.S. Cellular hired an unidentified advisor as well.
— Scott Schnipper
Bank of America says it still prefers bonds to equities
Equity markets have been boosted by a better-than-expected earnings season and hopes for a soft landing, says Bank of America. The firm added that Chinese equities notably outperformed.
Nonetheless, the firm still prefers bonds over equities.
"Despite the declines in inflation and troughing of leading indicators, the regime model maintains its medium-term horizon bearish tone – preferring bonds to equities. Since last month the model moves overweight credit by reducing the US high yield underweight (and increasing equity shorts) and is underweight across all 3 commodity sub-indices," analyst Alex Saunders said in a Friday note.
— Hakyung Kim
CNBC Pro: Inflation takes center stage in the week ahead
New inflation data set for release in the week ahead could help Wall Street regain its footing.
The latest read on the consumer price index — an inflation gauge that measures what consumers pay for a many goods — is due out Thursday. The July producer price index — which gauges what wholesalers pay for raw goods — is slated for Friday.
If the reports show inflationary pressures are trending toward the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, the market could take it as a signal that the Fed is getting close to wrapping up its rate-hiking campaign that began last year. The June CPI and PPI reports, released mid-July, showed inflation easing.
"If CPI continues to follow the PPI, which it's been, then I would say that probably removes the case for any more Fed tightening," said Jack Ablin, investment chief at Cresset Capital. "And I think that's good news for stocks."
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Sarah Min
Amgen bucks Dow's slide
Amgen has been able to buck the Dow's leg down in Friday trading as investors cheered the biotechnology company's earnings report.
The stock has gained 5.6%, making it the best performer in the 30-stock index. It's on pace to post its best daily performance since Oct. 11, when shares rose 5.7%.
By comparison, Disney, the next best performer, traded up just 1%. The Dow was down about 0.3% in the session, with about two-thirds of members trading below flat.
Amgen beat Wall Street expectations on both lines in its second quarter when reporting on Thursday. The company posted $5 in earnings per share, excluding items, and $6.99 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecasted $4.49 per share and $6.66 billion.
The company also raised its guidance for full-year performance on both lines, while reaffirming expectations for other performance measures like capital expenditures and share repurchasing.
Apple was the worst performer of the 30 Dow stocks, sliding more than 4% in the session. Like Amgen, the move came after the big-technology company reported earnings.
— Alex Harring
Success of "Barbie" move is good news for Five Below, investment firm says
Excitement around Warner Bros. Discovery's "Barbie" movie can boost sales of merchandise related to the iconic doll sold at Five Below, according to investment bank Oppenheimer.
Analyst Brian Nagel said the discount retailer has increased the visibility of its Barbie merchandise in stores around the movie's strong release. And he said it's part of a broader trend of the company using popular culture fluency to ensure the right items are on shelves.
"Over the years, FIVE has defined itself as a master merchant, identifying and capitalizing upon trends popular amongst core teen and tween customers," Nagel said in a note to clients Friday. "We are optimistic that significant 'buzz' now surrounding the Barbie film should serve as a spending catalyst for Barbie products, and related items."
Want to read more about the "Barbie" movie's impact on stocks? Here are recent stories on the topic available exclusively to CNBC Pro subscribers:
- Barbie is everywhere this summer. Here are the stocks that can benefit from the highly anticipated film
- The 'Barbenheimer' box office success can help a range of stocks, analysts say. Here are some of them
- After the big 'Barbenheimer' weekend, Wells Fargo thinks this Hollywood stock can rally nearly 50%
— Alex Harring
Yield curve still points to strong recession chance, NY Fed indicator shows
Though the economic data of late suggests otherwise, market pricing still indicates the U.S. is heading for recession, according to a New York Federal Reserve gauge.
The central bank compares the difference in yields between 3-month Treasurys and the 10-year note. When that curve inverts, it has been a tell-late recession sign, according to data going back to 1969.
An update Friday morning taking the yield spread at the end of July puts the recession probability in the next 12 months at 66%. The inversion at the end of the month was near 1.5 percentage points.
While the recession probability is down from the peak of 70.8% in May, it still is a strong market indicator that a contraction is coming.
—Jeff Cox
Evercore ISI downgrades PayPal
Evercore ISI is taking a breather on PayPal after its recent quarterly print, downgrading shares to in line from an outperform rating due to rising competition and margin pressure.
Analyst David Togut cited concerns related to the company's consumer account loss in the period, which, "combined with nearly 300 basis point of transaction margin pressure create increasing headwinds to revenue and earnings growth."
"Without a clear path to year-over-year transaction margin expansion, we see limited scope for earnings outperformance," he said.
The analyst also trimmed his price target to $65 from $85 a share, reflecting limited upside from Thursday's close. The stock's tumbled 11% this year and 14.5% since the start of the week.
— Samantha Subin
How earnings are faring as the busiest week comes to a close
The busiest week of second-quarter earnings season comes to a close Friday.
So far, 84% of the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with 79% topping earnings expectations and 64% beating revenue estimates, according to Refinitiv.
Across the board, Wall Street is bracing for a 4.2% decline in earnings from a year ago.
— Samantha Subin, Robert Hum
Energy sector headed for biggest weekly gain
The S&P 500's energy sector is up 2.4% week to date and on track to notch the biggest gain out of the 11 broad-based index sectors.
APA Corp is set for the biggest gain of the week, with shares up nearly 6%. Marathon Petroleum, Pioneer Natural Resources and Targa Resources have gained more than 5% each. Other top gainers include Halliburton and Exxon Mobil, up 4% each.
The sector was last up about 1.3% on the day.
— Samantha Subin
Data center servicer Vertiv is a buy, says Bank of America
Bank of America upgraded Vertiv's shares to buy from underperform, citing the company's potential tailwinds from artificial intelligence.
"We view Vertiv as benefiting near-term from a margin recovery, and improving [free cash flow] generation. Artificial intelligence adoption within data centers adds incremental demand for Vertiv's thermal management products," Obin wrote in a Wednesday note.
Shares rose 5% Friday, reaching a new 52-week high.
More about the upgrade can be found here.
— Hakyung Kim
Booking Holdings pops on strong quarterly results
Shares of Booking Holdings popped 9% after the company reported strong second-quarter results as leisure travel shows continued signs of strength.
The online travel company reported adjusted earnings of $37.62 per share, ahead of the $28.90 expected, according to Refinitiv. Revenues also came in at $5.46 billion versus the expected $5.17B.
Booking also reported strong gross bookings. The metric came in at $39.69 billion, ahead of the $38.12 billion expected by Wall Street.
— Samantha Subin
See the stocks making big moves in Friday's session
These are some of the stocks making the biggest midday moves:
- Amazon — The e-commerce giant surged 10% after delivering a massive profit beat and positive guidance.
- Apple — The big tech stock slipped 3%. Apple reported earnings per share for the fiscal third quarter of $1.26, 7 cents more than expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue was also above Wall Street's consensus forecast but down on a year-over-year basis.
- Tupperware Brands — The stock popped 44.1% during midday trading after the container maker announced a finalized debt restructuring deal.
- Block — The fintech company's shares plunged 13% despite a strong quarterly report. Block Chairman Jack Dorsey also said the company is focused on reducing costs, including pulling back on the pace of hiring.
— Alex Harring
TD Cowen downgrades Moderna
TD Cowen downgraded Moderna stock on Friday, citing uncertainty over the winter season's demand for Covid-19 vaccines.
"We don't yet know where the COVID-19 vaccines business will settle out, and this fall/ winter season will be crucial for determining that," analyst Tyler Van Buren said.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Brian Evans
Analysts are upbeat on Amazon stock after exceptional quarterly results
Amazon's recent better-than-expected quarterly results has left analysts optimistic.
Amazon reported its strongest earnings beat since the fourth quarter of 2020, and issued strong forward guidance on e-commerce and Amazon Web Services growth. The stock gained nearly 11% on Friday.
"Our bull thesis on AMZN has been AWS stabilizing while Retail sees accelerating growth and meaningful margin expansion which, combined with a decline in overall AMZN capex, should drive meaningful FCF inflection in 2023," JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth said. "We believe 2Q results and the 3Q guide suggest that thesis is playing out and AMZN estimates should move meaningfully higher."
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Brian Evans
Amgen gains on earnings, guidance boost
Amgen shares gained more than 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.
The company reported earnings of $5 a share, excluding items, on $6.99 billion in revenues. That came in ahead of the EPS of $4.49 on $6.66 billion in revenues expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Total product sales also grew 6% year over year.
Amgen also boosted its full-year guidance, saying that it now expects revenues to range between $26.6 billion and $27.4 billion. EPS is expected to come at $17.80 to $18.80.
The rise in Amgen shares helped lift the Dow.
— Samantha Subin
Truist upgrades Generac Holdings
Investment firm Truist upgrade Generac Holdings stock on Friday after a selloff.
Analyst Jordan Levy says the recent slump in Generac stock after an earnings miss presents investors a strong entry opportunity.
"We're upgrading shares of GNRC to Buy following a ~30% post-earnings sell-off that we see creating an attractive entry for investors to gain exposure to a well established name in home/ commercial backup power w/upside potential from a recovering Clean Energy segment," Levy said.
Shares rose 2%.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Brian Evans
Carl Icahn’s company stock drops again
Shares of Carl Icahn's conglomerate Icahn Enterprises experienced a sharp sell-off Friday after the firm slashed quarterly dividend in half amid notable short seller Hindenburg Research's campaign.
IEP announced Friday it issued a $1 per depositary unit distribution, which represents a 12% annualized yield. That compared to a $2 dividend in the previous quarter. The stock tanked a whopping 30% following the news.
Hindenburg had taken issue with IEP's high dividend yield, saying it's "unsupported" by the company's cash flow and investment performance.
— Yun Li
Analysts are sticking with Apple stock after quarterly results but note some looming headwinds
Apple beat analyst expectations for quarterly earnings on Thursday, but comments from management on forward guidance left some analysts uneasy.
"Where we largely got the September quarter guide wrong was over-estimating iPad and Mac revenue, both of which face challenging Y/Y compares in the September quarter, in addition to continued postCOVID demand digestion. Otherwise, the September quarter guide was solid, as Apple continues to see strength in the right places," Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said in a Friday note.
Bank of America's Wamsi Mohan, however, wondered of Apple could recover iPhone sales next quarter..
"The guidance suggests typical launch timing for iPhones but with the backdrop of a weak US smartphone market we think it's unlikely that iPhone rev significantly re-accelerates," Mohan said. "iPads and Macs continue to suffer from post-COVID spending normalization."
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Brian Evans
Stocks open higher Friday
Stocks opened higher on Friday following a deluge of major technology earnings and July's jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 125 points, or 0.37%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
— Samantha Subin
July jobs report shows smallest increase since December 2020
The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, up from 185,000 in June. That market the smallest increase in nonfarm payrolls since December 2020.
The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.5% from 3.6% in June and showed the second consecutive month decline and lowest level since April, when unemployment hovered at 3.4%.
The labor force participation rate for prime-age workers fell to 83.4% in July after hitting the highest level since May 2002 in June.
— Gina Francolla, Samantha Subin
Jobs data confirms Fed's 'wait and see' approach, says Key Private Bank's Mateyo
The mixed July jobs report adds further validation to the Federal Reserve's "wait and see" approach, according to George Mateyo.
"The Fed will view this report as further confirmation that their stance to 'wait and see' is appropriate as they collect and analyze more data prior to their next meeting in September," he said.
— Samantha Subin
Stocks making the biggest premarket moves
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell on Friday:
- Tupperware Brands — The stock popped 57% before the bell on news that the container maker finalized a debt restructuring deal, which it expects will help reduce or reallocate about $150 million of cash interest and fees. The deal would also give Tupperware immediate access to a revolving borrowing capacity of about $21 million, the company said Thursday.
- Block — Shares of the payments tech company slid more than 6% in premarket trading even after the firm reported second-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations. The company formerly known as Square reported earnings of 39 cents per share, beating expectations by 3 cents, according to Refinitiv. Revenue of $5.53 billion also came in higher than the expectation of $5.10 billion.
Read here to see which other companies are making moves before the open.
— Pia Singh
U.S. economy added less jobs than expected in July
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 187,000 in July, coming in lower than the Dow Jones estimate for 200,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, against a consensus estimate that the jobless level would remain steady at 3.6%.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in July.
— Hakyung Kim
Apple falls 2% after earnings
Apple's stock fell 2% despite posting better-than-expected results as the iPhone maker predicted another quarter of declining sales.
The company posted earnings of $1.26 per share, ahead of the $1.19 estimates by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $81.8 billion, ahead of the $81.69 billion expected, but sales fell year over year.
While the company does not provide official guidance, its chief financial officer said it's expected revenue to decline during the September quarter
Apple also reported iPhone revenues that fell short of the expected $39.91 billion.
— Kif Leswing, Samantha Subin
Amazon gains nearly 9% on biggest earnings beat since 2020
Shares of Amazon popped nearly 9% in the premarket after the e-commerce company reported its biggest earnings beat since the fourth quarter of 2020 and signaled a return to double-digit revenue growth.
The company reported earnings of 65 cents a share on revenues of $134.4 billion. That came in ahead of the 35 cents and $131.5 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv estimates.
Amazon also issued better-than-expected guidance for the third quarter, saying that it expects sales to range between $138 billion and $143 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting revenue of $138.25 billion.
— Annie Palmer, Samantha Subin
KKR in talks to buy publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global, reports say
Multiple reports indicated private equity firm KKR is in talks to buy publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global for more than $1 billion. The sale would come after the media giant's sale of Simon & Schuster was blocked by a judge.
Paramount shares rose 2% in the premarket. The company declined to comment on the reports.
— Fred Imbert
Falling inflation is now a headwind, Morgan Stanley says
Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson warned that, while investors have been cheering data showing easing inflation, disinflationary pressures are now turning into a headwind for the market.
"Falling inflation will cause a downside surprise on top-line revenues as pricing power is diminished, especially for the goods economy," wrote Wilson, the bank's chief U.S. equity strategist.
— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom
Treasury yields hold steady ahead of key jobs report
U.S. Treasury yields held steady on Friday as investors awaited key labor market data that will give fresh insights into the state of the economy and could affect the Federal Reserve's next policy moves.
At 4:08 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by less than one basis point to 4.1797% as it continued to hover near levels last seen in November 2022, which it had jumped to earlier in the week. The 2-year Treasury was up by over one basis point to 4.9127%.
— Sophie Kiderlin
European markets open slightly higher
European markets opened slightly higher to close off a downbeat week, as investors digest the Bank of England rate hike Thursday and more company earnings.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2% in the first few minutes of trading, with sectors spread across positive and negative territory. Banking stocks led minor gains, up 0.6%, while media stocks dropped 0.4%.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
China lifts tariffs on Australian barley imports after 3 years, Canberra eyes wine next
China announced on Friday it will lift tariffs on Australian barley imports starting Aug. 5, a move that points to improving bilateral relations and would alleviate supply concerns after Russia suspended a humanitarian corridor to deliver key Ukrainian grains to global markets.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce "has ruled that it is no longer necessary to continue to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on imports of barley originating in Australia in view of changes in the Chinese barley market," it said in a statement Friday. No further details on these changes were provided.
Australia's trade, foreign and agriculture ministers said they "welcome this outcome" and expect a similar process to follow for the removal of duties on Australian wine. In March 2021, China introduced a crushing five-year tariff of up to 218% on Australian wine.
For more, please read here.
— Clement Tan
Australia central bank cuts growth outlook for 2023
Australia's central bank has cut the growth outlook for the country to 1% for 2023, down from its previous estimate of 1.25%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia said in its quarterly monetary policy statement that "growth in economic activity in Australia is forecast to remain subdued over the rest of the year, as cost-of-living pressures and the rise in interest rates continue to weigh on domestic demand."
Still, the RBA noted inflation was "heading in the right direction," cutting its inflation rate forecasts to 4.25% from 4.5%. The bank noted that inflation has been declining in the June quarter, but says it still remains "too high."
It expects inflation to continue to decline, hitting 3.75% at the end of 2024 and back within the 2–3% target range in late 2025.
— Lim Hui Jie
Hang Seng leads gains in Asia as property stocks surge
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index led gains in Asia on Friday, powered mainly by property and basic materials stocks.
The index climbed 1.61%, with top gainers on the HSI being property stocks like Longfor Group, which saw a 6.88% rise in its shares.
This was followed by Country Garden Holdings, which rose 4.14% and China Resources Land, which climbed 3.84%.
— Lim Hui Jie
Small-cap benchmark is still shy of a 52-week high
It's been a hot summer for the Russell 2000, but the small-cap index remains short of eclipsing its 52-week high.
Over the past three months, the index has gained 12.7% – outperforming the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average in that period. All three of the major averages have notched fresh 52-week highs over the summer, with the 30-stock Dow registering this achievement earlier this week.
The Russell 2000 is about 3.5% away from its 52-week high level of 2,030.05, which it hit on Aug. 16, 2022.

-Darla Mercado, Gina Francolla
Individual investor bullishness jumps again in latest AAII survey
Bullishness among individual investors that stocks prices will rise over the next six months surged again, to 49.0% from 44.9% last week, and stayed above the historic average of 37.5% for a ninth straight week, according to the latest survey from the American Association of Individual Investors.
The last time bullishness was above average for this long was from February-May, 2021.
That's good for contrarians who want to bet against the market. Rising bullishness is usually tied to increased risk, and can suggest that much of the desired buying has already happened.
Bearish sentiment, that prices will drop in the next six months, fell to 21.3% among retail investors, from 24.1% last week, and was below average (31.0%) for a ninth week — the longest since February-June, 2021.
Neutral sentiment, that prices won't change much over the next six months, eased to 29.7% from 31.0% against an historical average of 31.5%.
— Scott Schnipper
Stocks poised for losing week
With just Friday's session left in the trading week, the three major indexes are on pace for losses.
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 have lost 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively, since the week began. Both are on track to post their worst weekly performances since March.
The Dow, meanwhile, has slid 0.7% on a week-to-date basis.
— Alex Harring
Berkshire Class A shares hit a new record high
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway finished Thursday's session at a record high on a closing basis. Class A shares climbed 1.4% to close at an all-time high of $541,000, exceeding the conglomerate's previous record of $539,180 reached on March 22, 2022.
The Omaha-based conglomerate reports second-quarter earnings this Saturday. The stock has gained more than 15% this year.

— Yun Li
See the stocks making the biggest after-hour moves
These are some of the stocks making the biggest after-hour moves:
- Amazon — The e-commerce giant popped more than 7% in extended trading after posting strong second-quarter results and issuing upbeat revenue guidance for the current period.
- Apple — The big technology stock slid 1% as traders parsed the company's latest financial report.
- Booking Holdings — Shares of the online travel company advanced 9% in extended trading after earnings came in better than Wall Street expected.
— Alex Harring
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures were only modestly off flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET.
Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all little changed, within 0.1% of their flatlines.
— Alex Harring