*Please note that the post-US session version of the Market Brief report will be on hiatus until next week given upcoming travel.*
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- Overnight headlines about the US potentially removing the September round of tariffs in order to secure a Phase One trade deal with China boosted risk appetite in early trade, though that optimism had generally faded by the close.
- US data: The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI report printed at 54.7, above expectations for a 53.5 reading. The Employment component also improved over last month to hit 53.7.
- FX: The Australian dollar was the strongest major currency today, while the safe haven Japanese yen and Swiss franc brought up the rear. In a sign of optimism over a potential US-China trade deal, USD/CNH slipped below 7.00.
- Commodities: Gold shed nearly -2% to trade back below the $1500 level, while oil tacked on more than 1% today.
- US indices closed narrowly mixed on the day after trading higher in the early afternoon.
- Financials (XLF) were the strongest sector on the day; REITs (XLRE) were the weakest.
- Stocks on the move:
- Uber (UBER) shed -10% after announcing another quarterly loss. Analysts have noted that the insiders’ “lock up” periods on selling the stock expire tomorrow, potentially opening the door for another leg lower.
- Peloton (PTON), another recent IPO, fell -8% in the wake of its first earnings report which showed a loss of -$1.29, far below -$0.40 expected.
- Chesapeake Energy (CHK) dropped -18% after reporting worse-than-expected loss and revenue figures.
- Shake Shack (SHAK) announced it would temporarily close some locations for remodeling, dragging the stock down -21% on the day.
