US benchmarks end week in green as tech stocks rise

All major US stock markets closed the week on a positive note on Friday, July 23, as the mega-cap technology and consumer stocks rallied, lifting the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite to record closes.

The S&P 500 was up 1.01% to 4,411.79. The Dow Jones rose 0.68% to 35,061.55. The NASDAQ Composite gained 1.04% to 14,836.99, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was up 0.46% to 2,209.65.

Investors appeared enthused by the solid Q2 earnings of the companies. The robust earnings of some technology and financial services companies dominated the talk on Wall Street. The gains come as the US private sector firms continued to make progress amid covid disruptions. The companies have been facing significant labor and supply shortage in recent times.

Technology, communication, and consumer stocks lead the S&P 500, with nine of the 11 critical segments in the green. The energy stocks were the bottom movers.

In technology stocks, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) was up 3.85% a day after it reported a 74% YoY jump in revenue to US$1.19 billion in the second quarter. Its EPS of US$0.20 beat analyst's expectations.

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Snap Inc. (SNAP) stock soared more than 24% a day after it reported a 116% increase in its second-quarter revenue to US$982 million and earnings per share of US$0.10. The better-than-expected Q2 results of the social media companies have had a positive impact on Facebook Inc. (FB). The FB stock soared 5.89% in Friday’s session. It is expected to present its Q2 earnings report next week.

Shares of Intel Corp. (INTC) fell 6.36% after CEO Pat Gelsinger forecast subdued growth this year due to the chip shortage, which is expected to continue till 2023.

Other technology stocks like Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 1.03%, Microsoft Corp rose 1.12%, and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) gained 3.03%. ASML Holdings (ASML) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) advanced 2.47% and 1.07%, respectively. These companies are expected to report Q2 results next week.

In consumer discretionary stocks, Walmart Inc. (WMT) gained 0.82%, Procter & Gamble (PG) rose 1.38%, and Coca-Cola (KO) ticked up 1.16%. Unilever PLC (UL) and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) advanced 2.54% and 1.38%, respectively.

In the energy sector, PetroChina Company Limited (PTR) declined 2.43%, TotalEnergies SE (TTE) fell 0.65%, and ConocoPhillips (COP) dropped 1.41%.

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Top Gainers

Top performers on S&P 500 included Moderna Inc (7.84%), Robert Half International Inc (7.36%), Facebook Inc (5.30%), D R Horton Inc (4.36%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Nanovibronix Inc (248.14%), NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc (50.58%), Socket Mobile Inc (43.97%), Xenetic Biosciences Inc (35.48%). On Dow Jones, Visa Inc (2.00%), Home Depot Inc (1.89%), Mcdonald's Corp (1.80%), Nike Inc (1.64%) were the leaders.

Top Losers

Top laggards on S&P 500 included Intel Corp (-5.29%), Verisign Inc (-4.71%), Organon & Co (-3.62%), Wynn Resorts Ltd (-3.57%). On NASDAQ, Sentage Holdings Inc (-43.72%), Rise Education Cayman Ltd (-40.53%), 17 Education & Technology Group Inc (-38.70%), Moxian Inc (-37.04%). On Dow Jones, Intel Corp (-5.29%), Honeywell International Inc (-1.47%), Dow Inc (-0.61%), JPMorgan Chase & Co (-0.19%) were the laggards.

Volume Movers

Top volume movers were Intel Corp (16.73M), Apple Inc (13.17M), Bank of America Corp (12.61M), Facebook Inc (8.53M), General Electric Co (7.60M), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (6.83M), Nanovibronix Inc (26.52M), Xenetic Biosciences Inc (26.48M), Medigus Ltd (13.99M), Socket Mobile Inc (9.72M).

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Futures & Commodities

Gold futures were down 0.19% to US$1,802.05 per ounce. Silver decreased 0.53% to US$25.247 per ounce, while copper rose 2.72% to US$4.4553.

Brent oil increased 0.49% to US$74.15 per barrel and WTI crude was up 0.24% to US$72.08.

Bond Market

The 30-year Treasury bond yields was up 1.08% to 1.924, while the 10-year bond yields increased 1.13% to 1.281.

US Dollar Futures Index increased 0.09% to US$92.915.