In this week’s Recap, Marcello tells us that Wednesday marked the worst day for the stock market since 2020, with a major sell-off wiping out $1.1 trillion from the US stock market. Major tech stocks took a significant hit, with many experiencing double-digit declines in a large tech rout. In political news, President Biden has officially ended his bid for a second term, endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He intends to remain in office and serve out the rest of his term, which ends in January 2025. Additionally, Paris is facing a blackout crisis just ahead of the Olympic Games, adding to the global turmoil.
Although coffee futures fell Wednesday to 2 wk lows, both the high-end arabica beans favored by coffee chains like Starbucks & the more budget-friendly robusta variety have surged in price, thanks to major supply disruptions from Brazil to Vietnam. Up & down the supply chain, sellers have been raising prices & eliminating discounts to protect margins & many warn of further price increases. Coffee prices will keep rising until the middle of 2025, w/European consumers set to pay even more, as new deforestation regulations kick in. Expectations of another production shortfall in Vietnam, world’s top producer of robusta, is fueling a surge in prices for the bean variety used in blends & espressos.
Oil prices fell on Friday by over -1% in a 3rd weekly decline, as investor concerns over demand in China, the world’s largest importer, outweighed the stronger economic growth in the U.S. Oil imports to China were down -11% in 2024 & -10.7% y/y in June & refined product imports fell -32% during the same period, according to Chinese customs data.
U.S. home prices hit a new high in June for the 2nd straight month, with the median existing U.S. home sale price jumping to $426,900, a +4.1% increase from the same time last year, in the latest sign that the housing market remains unaffordable to millions of Americans. Low inventory of homes for sale in much of the country is pushing prices higher. The spring home-buying season, usually the busiest time of year for the housing market, was flat this year. Home sales declined in June for the 4th straight time on a monthly basis. The combination of high prices & elevated mortgage rates has made homeownership less attractive to renters & deterred current homeowners from moving.
On Tuesday CEO Elon Musk stated humanoid robots will be in production within the company next year causing Tesla shares to rise earlier in the week. On Wednesday the stock plunged -12.33% to $215.99 in the general U.S. market downturn & after the company’s earnings for Q2 came in weaker than expected. Tesla did beat expectations on revenue, however, posting $25.5B compared to the consensus estimate of $24.77B. Shares are still up +26.92% in the past 3 months, but still down -13.08% in 2024 & -15.53% year on year with a market cap of $785.75B.
U.S. shares of Spotify Technology surged +11.96% on Tuesday at $330.79, after the Swedish based music streaming company posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings. Gross margin & operating income also surpassed expectations. Analysts remain cautiously optimistic, despite softness in monthly active user counts, pointing to strong margin performance & the company’s focus on premium subscribers & bundles.
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