KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia's key index closed at an intraday high today, supported by continued buying interest even as renewed geopolitical tensions and a weaker overnight lead from Wall Street following the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to stand pat on interest rates weighed on broader sentiment. The Fed has decided to hold rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting, with the Federal Funds Rate unchanged between 3.50 per cent and 3.75 per cent. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.84 points to 1,720.40 from yesterday’s close of 1,715.56. The benchmark index, which opened 1.14 points lower at 1,714.42, hit its lowest level of 1,710.69 in early trade before gaining momentum for the rest of the day. However, the broader market was negative with losers outpacing gainers 581 to 411, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,173 untraded, and 87 suspended. Turnover declined to 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion from ...
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended at multi-week lows on Wednesday, with the S&P snapping one of its longest streaks without a daily decline of more than 2%. Lackluster earnings from Alphabet and Tesla undermined investor confidence in megacap stocks, leading to significant market declines.
Key Points for Investors:
Market Performance:
- S&P 500: Dropped 2.3%, its worst one-day performance since December 2022, breaking a 356-session streak without a decline of more than 2%.
- Nasdaq Composite: Fell 3.64%, its largest single-day percentage decline since October 2022, closing at its lowest point since June 10.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: Declined 1.25%, closing below 40,000 points for the first time in two weeks.
Earnings Impact:
- Tesla: Slumped 12.3%, its worst single-day fall since September 2020, after reporting its lowest profit margin in over five years and missing second-quarter earnings estimates.
- Alphabet: Dropped 5% despite a second-quarter earnings beat, due to concerns over slowing advertising growth and high capital expenses.
Sector Performance:
- Consumer Discretionary: Fell 3.9%, its largest single-day decline since September 2022.
- Communication Services: Dropped 3.8%.
- Information Technology: Declined 4.1%, its largest daily drop since October 2022.
Broader Market Reaction:
- The downward momentum in tech stocks spread across other sectors, with megacap stocks like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia all closing down between 2.9% and 6.8%.
- Volatility Index: The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, closed at 18.04, the highest since April 19.
Individual Stock Movements:
- Visa: Fell 4% after third-quarter revenue growth missed expectations.
- AT&T: Gained 5.2% after beating forecasts for wireless subscriber additions.
- Enphase Energy: Jumped 12.8% following a second-quarter operating profit beat.
- Roper Technologies: Dropped 7.4% after signaling third-quarter profit would fall below estimates.
- Boston Scientific: Traded down 1.1% despite lifting its 2024 profit target and beating second-quarter earnings estimates.
Market Volume:
- Volume on US exchanges was 12.94 billion shares, higher than the 11.48-billion average for the last 20 trading days.
Conclusion: The disappointing earnings from key megacap stocks like Tesla and Alphabet triggered significant declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, highlighting investor sensitivity to high valuations and performance expectations. The widespread market impact underscores the influence of these stocks and raises concerns about broader market volatility and sentiment. Investors should remain cautious and closely monitor upcoming earnings reports and economic indicators to navigate this turbulent period.
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