Stop Making Sense
People, what are we doing here?
So, Nvidia $NVDA crushed it, again, and the stock surged nearly 12 percent intraday to a new all-time high.But then investors, traders, and speculators heard that initial jobless claims are at a nine-month low.
And, shortly thereafter, they saw the fastest expansion of business activity in two years in the S&P Global flash PMI survey data for May
It was enough for them to push their forecast for a Federal Reserve rate cut from November to December.
And that sent the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 down 0.39 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a 600-point tailspin.
Both the Nasdaq and the S&P hit new highs early in the trading day. But it was the Dow’s worst day of the year from the opening bell.
That’s the story from 35,000 feet.
What made the Dow’s day different was Boeing $BA, No. 15 among the 30 components in a price-weighted index.
BA shed nearly 8 percent on Thursday after management revised downward its guidance for full-year cash flow.
That’s the highest reading since April 2022 for the index, which tracks both the manufacturing and the services sectors. The final reading last month was 51.3.
The flash services print was 54.8, up from 51.3 in April to its highest level in a year, while manufacturing came in at 50.9, up from 50.0 last month.
Sure, S&P Global Market Intelligence chief business economist Chris Williamson said companies are still wary of “the economic outlook amid uncertainty over the future path of inflation and interest rates.”
And, yes, he said “managers “continue to cite worries over geopolitical instabilities and the presidential election.”
But he also said this: “Business confidence has lifted higher to signal brighter prospects for the year ahead.”
And that’s probably the best reflection on this particular set of incoming data.
