Greg Morcroft

2022-08-03 24:57

US :UBER US :KOPN US :RGEN US :MSTR

US stocks fell on Tuesday, their second straight decline, as investors pondered the geopolitical cost-benefit analysis of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan and Fed officials telegraphed continued rising rates.

The S & P 500 fell 0.66%, and The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.2%.

The yields on Treasurys across the curve rose dramatically, highlighting investor sensitivity to any Fed utterance. The bench mark ten-year note, the anchor for most US mortgage rates, sold off and closed with its yield up 0.13 basis points to 2.73%.

In the bond market, prices move inversely to interest rates, and one basis point equals 1/100 of a percentage point.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans told a press briefing Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal, "The kinds of things that would make larger rate increases more important, like in Sept., would be if you thought things weren't improving. I think there's enough time to play out that 50 [basis points] is a reasonable assessment, but 75 could also be OK."

Economic data released Tuesday showed US job openings fell in June to their lowest level in nine months and hiring slowed. The signs of slight ease may bolster investor confidence, hoping it reflects a cooling economy and a harbinger of lower inflation. The Labor Department said there were a seasonally adjusted 10.7 million June job openings in June, down from May's and the lowest reading since September.

Uber (US:UBER) shares jumped on better-than-expected earnings and free cash flow. The stock closed at $29.25, up a whopping 19%.

Creator website Pinterest (US:PINS) rose 11.6%, despite a company report noting a decline in users after activist investor Elliott Management confirmed earlier reports of its company stake and said it's the largest shareholder. Look for changes quickly, as Elliott has publicly backed new CEO Bill Ready.

MicroStrategy (US:MSTR) shares added about one percent Tuesday on word its chief executive and founder Michael Saylor is out of the role. He'll become executive chairman; a new position focused on the company's bitcoin strategy.

Phong Le, the company's president, will take over as CEO.

MicroStrategy's second quarter revenue and loss estimates missed their target after the company took a $917.8 million Bitcoin charge and reported a $918.1 million loss.

Shares of Kopin (US:KOPN), which makes wearable technology, sank 18% after it said it missed estimates for earnings and revenue.

Repligen (US:REGN) shares rose 11.7% to $24.82 on the back of a 27% second quarter revenue jump.

The company, which focuses on bioprocessing technology, now expects $790 million to $810 million in revenue for the year, up from guidance issued in April of $770 million to $800 million in revenue.

The Wall Street Journal reported an interesting tidbit for stock watchers on Monday.

It reported that Bank of America said its clients kept buying stocks for the fifth week and were net buyers of $4 billion across most sectors apart from real estate and industrials.

The bank said most of the money went into large cap stocks. The bank said hedge funds and institutional investors are net sellers for the year.