The main US stock market indices have opened Friday’s session amid mixed sentiment, following Thursday’s new all-time high set by the S&P 500. Early trading has seen the S&P 500 rise slightly by 0.03 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 by 0.18 per cent, whilst the Dow Jones is down by around 0.1 per cent. The main factor driving today’s markets is the deeply disappointing US retail sales data for July. This indicator fell unexpectedly by 0.6 per cent month-on-month, against a forecast of a 0.1 per cent rise, raising legitimate concerns amongst investors about the actual state of the US consumer. In addition, the markets continue to be affected by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This is due to the US’s announcement of unprecedented economic isolation of Iran and the indefinite continuation of the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

By sector, the Dow Jones index is led by the communications services sector, up 0.97 per cent, and the energy sector, up 0.57 per cent. The discretionary goods sector is performing the worst, with a fall of 0.73 per cent, whilst industrial companies and those in the healthcare sector are also seeing relatively modest declines.

Company information

• Reddit’s shares are up 12% following the news that the company will join the prestigious S&P 500 index on 18 August, replacing AvalonBay Communities.
• Applied Materials is down by more than 3 per cent, as the company’s quarterly results in its key semiconductor systems division fell short of investors’ high expectations.
• Meanwhile, Fox Corporation shares are up by around 4% following an upgrade in their rating by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, against the backdrop of the momentum surrounding the acquisition of the Roku platform.
• SanDisk is also continuing to post strong gains (+4.27%), following an upgrade to ‘overweight’ by JPMorgan due to the massive demand for NAND flash memory driven by the growth of AI.
• SpaceX is also making headlines in the tech sector, having finalised a massive $60 billion takeover of the start-up Cursor in order to compete more effectively with the giants in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence sector.