Dow Continues Its September Slide

Despite an afternoon rally, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Dow Jones Industrial Average finished𓄧 lower by about 69 points, or 0.2%. The index has lost more than 3% of its value so far this month.

Intel (INTC) shares surged 2.3% alongside other Dow tech components Cisco Systems (CSCO), up 1%, and Microsoft (MSFT), up 0.2%. Salesforce (CRM) shares crept up 0.1%.

Chevron (CVX) shares rose 1.8% on a big jump in oil prices. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:WTI crude futures climbed almost 4% afterꦏ data showed U.S. crude oil inventory fell last week to a more than 30-year low.

Verizon (VZ) slumped 1.8% to lead the Dow 30 lower. 

Merck & Co. (MRK) fell 1.3% two days after a study showed its Covid antiviral pill can cause mutations to the virus that are able to spread to other people. Shares have fallen for seven consecutive sessions, their longest losing streak since June 2🌟021. 

Shares of Apple (AAPL) fell 0.9%. Nike (NKE) shares declined 0.8% the day befoꦉre the shoemaker’s quarterly earnings report.

Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) slipped 0.2% after it and other studios officially reached a deal with the Hollywood writers’ union, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:ending a five-month writers’ strike.

-Terry Lane

10-Year Treasury Yield Passes 4.6%

ও The yield on 10-year Treasurys continued to climb Wednesday, passing 4.6% for the first time since 2007. 

30-year yields topped 4.💟7% for the first time since November 2011. 

Gold Prices Nosedive To Lowest Since Regioﷺnal Banking Crisis

Gold futures prices sank 1.5% ♏Wednesday to their lowest in over 6 months. 

Gold traded around $1,891, dipping below $1,900 for the first time since March 10, the day federal regulators took control of Siꦿlicon Valley Bank and the reality of this year’sܫ regional banking crisis began to set in.

Conventional wisdom says the price of gold is inversely correlated with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:real interest rates—dollars flow out of gold and into money market funds and bonds, which are made more attractive by higher rates. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:That relationship hasn’t al♔ways held true, but it appears to be today. 

Gold plummeted 🌱as the yield on 10-year Treasurys climbed above 4.6% for the first time since 2007 and the 30-year yield passed 4.7% for the first time since 2011.

Oil Jum🅰ps to 1-Year Hi꧟gh as Crude Creeps Toward $100 a Barrel

Oil futures jumped Wednesday, adding to a months-long surge in oil prices spurred by 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:OPEC+ production cuts. 

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures, the benchmark for U.S. oil, rose more than 3% to as high as $93.95, their highest level since August 2022. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Brent crude contracts, the European standard, rose 2% to trade around $94.80, their highest level since last November. ✃

Prices surged after data revealed U.S. crude inventories sank to their lowest level since 1985 last w♐eek.

Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma—the delivery location for WTI futures contracts—are at their lowest levels since June 2022. Oil stock at Cushing totaled just under 22 million barrels at the end of last week. As recently as June, there were more than 43 million barrels at Cushing.

The rising price of oil was one of the main reasons 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:U.S. inflation picked up in August after ꦜmonths of declines. Oil at $100 a barrel could♌ put even more pressure on prices, complicating the Fed's task of bringing inflation back down to its 2% target.

Costco Shares Rise After Beating Earnings Ex🐟pectatioౠns Despite a Spending Slowdown

Costco (COST) 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:shares rose more than 1% Wednesday after b🦩eating earnings expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter as the wholesaler benefitted from rising memberships but felt the impact of lower discretionary sales and purchase volumes amid a spending slowdown.

The company benefitted from rising memberships, which totaled 71 million at the end of the quarter and were up almost 8% from a year ago. Costco refrained from hiking membership fees, contrary to expectations.

The company faced weakness in other areas, particularly in sales of big-ticket, discretionary goods. Cash-strapped consumers ha🔴ve pulled back spending on items like furniture, electronics, and apparel.

With Wednesday's gains, Costco shares were up 24% year-to-date.

-Mack Wilowski

Midday Market Movers

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Sharesꦉ of the software and data analytics firm climbed 6% after it was awarded a $250 million contract by the U.S. Army to research artificial intelligence.

Cloudflare Inc. (NET): The clo💫ud-based cybersecurity solutions p🤡rovider’s shares rose more than 5% after it unveiled several new artificial intelligence products.

ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (CHPT): Shares of t𝐆he electric vehicle charging equipment provider gained more than 3% after UBS initiated coverage of the stock with a “buy” rating, saying the company stands to benefit from widespread EV adoption.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE): Shares of the renewable energy company fell more than 6% after it said it had agreed to sell its Florida City Gas, its only natural gas distribution subsidiary, to Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) for $923 m🌟illion. Chesapeake shares rose 3%🐷. 

Micron Technology Inc. (MU): The semiconductor company’s shares slipped 1% as investors awaite💟𒁃d its latest quarterly earnings report, due after the bell. 

🐻Retailers Lost More൲ than $112 Billion in 2022 to Crime

Retail crime went up in 2022, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:costi🅺ng businesseꦓs more than $112 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF). The average shrink rate—losses, primarily because of theft, as a percent of total inventory—was 1.6% in 2022, up from 1.4% a year ago when th🌊e𒀰 losses totaled 93.9 billion.

Los Angeles, San Francisco,🐼 Oakland, Houston, New ❀York, and Seattle were listed as the cities most affected by organized retail cri me in 2022, according to the NRF.

Target (TGT) on Tuesday announced the closure of nine stores across New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland starting Oct. 21, citing safety issues for guests and employees.

-Kevin George

Writers Guild Leaders Vote to End Strike Ahead🅺 of Union Vote

Leaders of the Writers Guild of America voted late Tuesday to end a nearly five-month writers’ strike after approving a new contract and🐟 sending it to union members for ratification. 

The three-year contract guarantees most writers a 5% pay raise upon signing, followed by a 4% raise in 2024 and a 3.5% raise in 2025. It also boosts streaming residuals and establishes a viewership-based streaming bonus. 

The contract also places guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence in TV and film production, a key concern for writers wo🌃rried about job security amid corporate America’s huge investments in AI. The contract establishes that artificial intelligence can’t write or rewrite literary material and that AI-generated text can’t be considered source material, pro𝓀tecting writers’ credits.

Uni♌on members, who can officially return to wo♛rk Wednesday, have until Oct. 9 to vote on the contract.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will now turn its attention to negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the actors union that has been on strike since July. Actors, like writers, are seekin꧂g AI protections and improved streaming residuals. 

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gains:

• MillerKnoll Inc. (MLKN): Shares of the furniture maker surged 18% after it beat analysts’ revenue and earnings expectations in its fiscal 2024 first quarter. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $1.85 to $2.15 a share.
• Immunovant Inc. (IMVT): The biopharmaceutical company’s shares added 5% to yesterday’s 97% surge after it reported positive results from a Phase I clinical trial of its autoimmune antibody.
• Sea Ltd. (SE): The e-commerce company’s shares gained more than 2% after Indonesia said it would increase regulations on e-commerce, including barring transactions on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram.

Losses:

• UBS Group AG (UBS): Shares of the Swiss bank fell more than 3% after reports the Justice Department was looking into Russian sanctions violation by Credit Suisse. UBS, having bought its failed competitor in March, would now be responsible for paying any fines.
• Civitas Resources Inc. (CIVI): Shares of the oil and gas producer lost 2% after S&P Global said it would move the stock to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:S&P MidCap 400 from the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:S&P SmallCap 600. Stocks often move when companies are added and removed from indexes as investors anticipate indexed funds to buy or sell to stock to reflect the reindexing. Hayward Holdings (HAYW), the stock replacing Civitas in the small-cap index, gained 7% on the news.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST): Shares of the discount retailer lost about 2% after it beat revenue and earnings expectations, but warned shoppers are spending less on discretionary items. It also said it would not raise its membership fee, a revenue boost analysts were expecting to see this year.

5 Things to Know Before Markets Open

Here's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:what investors need to know to start their day:

1. Shares of media companies moved higher after the 澳✤洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Writers Guild of America agreed to a𒉰 deal with Hollywood studios, formally ending the five-month writers' strike.
2. Shares of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Costco Wholesale (COST) fell nearly 2% in premarket trading after the retailer kept its membership fee steady following better-than-projected results, where analysts were anticipating a fee increase.
3. Shares of furniture maker MillerKnoll (MLKN) surged more than 17% in premarket trading after it reported better-than-expected results as more companies enforced return-to-office policies that improved its market conditions.
4. Peloton (PTON) shares gained 0.6% in the pre-market after the company announced that its co-founder and chief product officer, Tom Cortese, would leave the company and be replaced by Silicon Valley veteran Nick Caldwell.
5. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Durable goods orders unexpectedly increased 0.2% month-over-month in August according to Census Bureau data. However, last month's print was revised down to -5.6% from -5.2%.

-Terry Lane

Stock Future Rebound Slightly from Tuesday's Sell-Off

Futures contracts connected to the Dow were ✨up 0.3% in premarket trading Wednesday.

S&P 500 futures contracts were also 🅰up 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures also gained 0.3%.