Market Performance
- **S&P 500**: +0.2%
- **Nasdaq Composite**: +0.2%
- **Dow Jones Industrial Average**: +0.02%
- **Russell 2000**: -0.7%Volume was below average due to light participation ahead of Labor Day. There was a lack of market-moving news and strong buying interest before NVIDIA's (NVDA, Financial) earnings report, contributing to muted market action.Sector Performance
- **Information Technology**: +0.6% - **Financial**: +0.5% - **Energy**: -0.9%Energy was the worst-performing sector amid falling oil prices. WTI crude oil futures slid 2.3% to $75.61/bbl.Notable Stock Performances
- **NVIDIA (NVDA)**: 128.30, +1.84, +1.5% - **Apple (AAPL)**: 228.03, +0.85, +0.4% - **Eli Lilly (LLY)**: 954.48, +3.95, +0.4%Apple (AAPL) traded higher after naming Kevan Parekh as its new CFO. Eli Lilly (LLY) gained on its announcement of a Zepbound savings program for non-covered patients.Index Performance
- **PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX)**: +1.1%, week's loss at 1.4% - **Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK)**: +0.3%, down 0.3% since FridayBond Market
- **2-yr note yield**: Fell three basis points to 3.90% - **10-yr note yield**: Rose one basis point to 3.83%This followed a $69 billion 2-yr note auction, which met solid demand.Economic Releases
- **Consumer Confidence Index**: Improved to 103.5 in August from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July. Consumers are showing more concern about labor market conditions, which could lead to lower consumer spending.Upcoming Economic Data
- **Wednesday**: - MBA Mortgage Applications Index at 7:00 ET - EIA Crude Oil Inventories at 10:30 ETInternational Markets
- **Europe**: - DAX: +0.4% - FTSE: +0.2% - CAC: -0.3% - **Asia**: - Nikkei: +0.7% - Hang Seng: +0.4% - Shanghai: -0.2%Commodities
- **Crude Oil**: -1.81 @ 75.61 - **Natural Gas**: -0.05 @ 2.08 - **Gold**: -1.00 @ 2553.90 - **Silver**: -0.01 @ 29.98 - **Copper**: +0.08 @ 4.30AAPL, NVDA, LLY
Today's News
As investors eagerly await Nvidia's (NVDA, Financial) quarterly report this week, the tech giant's financial performance is under intense scrutiny. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives emphasized that Nvidia's numbers mark the most crucial week of the year for markets. Nvidia has been a significant driver of the bull run in U.S. stocks, and its upcoming earnings will be pivotal in justifying its massive valuation.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI, Financial) shares quickly fell 2.8% following a new short report from Hindenburg Research. The short seller, known for its high-profile calls on companies like Nikola (NKLA) and Lordstown Motors (RIDE), targeted Super Micro, which has already seen its shares nearly double this year. Super Micro is also scheduled to present at the Deutsche Bank 2024 Technology Conference on Wednesday.
Cerebras, an AI startup, launched Cerebras Inference, claiming it to be the fastest AI inference solution globally. The new system delivers significantly higher speeds than Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) GPU-based hyperscale clouds at one-fifth the price, thanks to its third-generation Wafer Scale Engine, which eliminates the memory bandwidth bottleneck by storing the entire model on-chip.
Lip-Bu Tan recently resigned from Intel's (INTC, Financial) board of directors due to disagreements over the company's turnaround strategy. Tan expressed concerns about Intel's risk-averse culture, its workforce size, and its lagging AI strategy. He believed that Intel's middle management was hindering progress in its server and desktop chip divisions.
Both Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) and Hims & Hers (HIMS, Financial) stocks fell 7% following Eli Lilly's (LLY) announcement to slash prices for low-dose formulations of its weight-loss drug Zepbound. The price cuts make Zepbound significantly cheaper than other GLP-1 drugs for obesity on the market, impacting competitors like Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Wegovy.
Meta (META, Financial) CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the company faced pressure from Biden administration officials to censor COVID-19 content. Zuckerberg expressed regret for not pushing back against these demands and emphasized that Meta would not compromise its content standards due to governmental pressure in the future.
Investor attention will be on cannabis-related stocks as the DEA scheduled a public hearing to discuss the U.S. Justice Department's proposal to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Canadian Licensed Producers like Canopy Growth (CGC, Financial), Tilray (TLRY, Financial), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), and SNDL Inc. (SNDL) are already trading lower in the premarket.
Pfizer (PFE, Financial) announced the launch of PfizerForAll, a new platform offering vaccines, medical tests, and medications delivered at home. The service is designed for patients with conditions like migraine, COVID-19, and flu, and aims to provide comprehensive healthcare solutions, including telehealth and at-home delivery options.
Lowe's (LOW, Financial) has decided to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs amid online criticism. The company will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index and will combine its business resource groups into one organization, focusing on community events related to affordable housing, disaster relief, and skilled trades education.
Citi analysts weighed in on the potential legal ramifications for CrowdStrike (CRWD, Financial) following the company's recent outage. They noted that CrowdStrike's financial obligations are likely to be contained, with most liability clauses capped at 2-3x, although Delta Air Lines (DAL) has alleged that the cybersecurity company was responsible for extended flight disruptions.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by French authorities on multiple charges, including complicity in enabling illegal transactions and refusing to communicate necessary information to competent authorities. The arrest follows a judicial investigation initiated by the French prosecutor's office.
Trip.com (TCOM, Financial) shares surged 9% following its Q2 results, which showed a 14% Y/Y increase in revenue and improved adjusted EBITDA margins. The company's domestic and international businesses demonstrated consistent growth, with outbound hotel and air reservations recovering to pre-COVID levels.
Eli Lilly (LLY) slashed prices for the two lowest doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound, making it available at significantly reduced prices on its telehealth platform, LillyDirect. The price cuts aim to meet high demand and broaden access for patients seeking effective obesity treatments.
NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce signed a more than $100 million deal with Amazon's (AMZN) Wondery unit for their podcast New Heights. The deal gives Wondery rights to distribute and sell ads for the podcast, which will remain available across multiple platforms.
Lumen Technologies (LUMN) dropped 18% after Kerrisdale Capital issued a short report on the company. Lumen is scheduled to present at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 9.
GuruFocus Stock Analysis
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