Dow records worst weekly performance since March

Stocks closed Friday's session with weekly losses, as Wall Street's August struggles continue.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 25.83 points, and was roughly 0.07 per cent higher to close at 34,500.66. The S&P 500 was lower by 0.01 per cent, finishing at 4,369.71. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 per cent, ending the session at 13,290.78.

Keysight Technologies shares lost nearly 14 per cent on the back of a disappointing earnings report. Deere and Estee Lauder also fell about 5.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively, after announcing their earnings. Shares of major tech comp anies, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet continued their decline for the week.

Nvidia is the highlight on the earnings calendar for the week. The stock has gained almost 200 per cent year-to-date, outpacing the SOX's 35 per cent+ gain, and its notable rally of nearly 25 per cent on May 25 followed impressive Q1 results and exceptionally strong Q2 guidance. The company reports after Wednesdays market close.

Overall, the Dow ended the week lower by 2.2 per cent, its worst since March. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 2.1 per cent and registered a third straight week of losses, a streak that hasn't happened since February. The Nasdaq Composite shed about 2.6 per cent, tumbling for a third consecutive losing week – a first since December.

The 10-year US Treasury yield on Thursday rose to its highest level since October 2022. The upward movement came a day following the release of the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes, which suggested further interest rate hikes could be ahead as inflation concerns remain.

However, yields eased from their highs on Friday, with the rate on the 10-year Treasury roughly 5 basis points lower at 4.25 per cent.

Investors have key developments looming this week, including commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the central bank's Jackson Hole annual symposium.

The recent surge in trading of short-term US stock market options, particularly zero-day options that let traders strategically position themselves around events, has raised concerns among analysts about potential market sell-offs due to heightened activity, with zero-day options on the S&P 500 now constituting 43 per cent of its total options volume compared to 6 per cent in 2017.

Turning to US sectors, Energy was the best performer on Friday, whilst Communication Services were the worst.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:20 AM was buying 64.10 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.07 per cent. Silver rose 0.08 per cent. Copper gained 0.29 per cent. Oil added 1.07 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.65 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.65 per cent, and Paris closed 0.38 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.55 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.05 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.00 per cent lower.

On Friday, the Australian sharemarket closed flat at 7148

Ex-dividends

Bailador Technology Investments (ASX:BTI) is paying 3.2 cents fully franked
Ryder Capital (ASX:RYD) is paying 4.25 cents fully franked
Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) is paying 9 cents fully franked
US Student Housing REIT (ASX:USQ) is paying 1.16 cents unfranked
Vicinity Centres (ASX:VCX) is paying 6.25 cents unfranked

Dividends payable

Metcash (ASX:MTS)
Transurban Group (ASX:TCL)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

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