US STOCKS: Late Equities Roundup: Holding Near Record Highs, Late Profit Taking
- Stocks continue to drift near new record highs set earlier Thursday - following this morning's better than expected weekly jobless claims and carry-over support from Wednesday's rate cut spurring expectations for more before year end.
- Currently, the DJIA trades up 115.13 points (0.25%) at 46131.34 vs. 46317.52 record high, S&P E-Minis up 38 points (0.57%) at 6696.75 vs. 6719.75 record high, Nasdaq up 234.2 points (1.1%) at 22494.41 vs. 22540.93 record high.
- Information Technology sector shares continued to lead gainers in the second half, namely semiconductor makers after Intel surged nearly 30% earlier to a new 52-wk highs of 32.37 after Nvidia (+3.56% - recovering from Wednesday's decline) announced a $5B investment and AI infrastructure collaboration.
- Other chipmakers benefitting from the news included: Synopsys +12.27%, KLA +6.12%, Applied Materials +6.04%, Palantir Technologies +5.47% and Micron Technology +5.41%.
- Meanwhile, a mix of Industrial and Utility sector shares followed: Quanta Services +3.89%, Cummins +3.75%, Caterpillar +3.19%, AES Corp +3.32%, Vistra Corp +1.95% and Constellation Energy +1.24%.
- Leading decliners in the second half included Consumer Staples and Energy sector shares: Philip Morris Int -2.43%, Monster Beverage -1.77%, Altria Group -1.66% and Procter & Gamble -1.59% weighed on the former, while the Energy sector was weighed down by APA Corp -1.78%, EQT Corp -1.66%, Devon Energy -1.52% and Phillips 66 -1.37%.
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USDJPY TECHS: Outlook Remains Bearish
- RES 4: 151.62 61.8% retracement of the Jan 10 - Apr 22 bear leg
- RES 3: 151.21 High Mar 28
- RES 2: 150.92 High Aug 1 and a key resistance
- RES 1: 148.52 High Aug 12
- PRICE: 147.73 @ 16:30 BST Aug 19
- SUP 1: 146.21 Low Aug 14
- SUP 2: 145.86 Low Jul 24
- SUP 3: 145.51 100-dma
- SUP 4: 145.40 50% retracement Apr - Aug Upleg
USDJPY is in consolidation mode. A bearish threat remains present and the pair is trading closer to its recent lows. Sights are on support at 145.86, the Jul 24 low. Clearance of this level would highlight a stronger reversal and strengthen the bearish engulfing signal from Aug 1. This would open 144.63, a trendline drawn from the Apr 22 low. Initial firm resistance to watch is 148.52, the Aug 12 high. A breach of it would be viewed as a S/T bull signal.
US: CORRECTION FED Reverse Repo Operation
RRP usage retreats to $22.344B this afternoon (lowest since April 5, 2021) from $38.240B yesterday, total number of counterparties at 29.
EURGBP TECHS: Has Breached Support
- RES 4: 0.8769 High Jul 28
- RES 3: 0.8744 High Aug 7
- RES 2: 0.8682 High Aug 8
- RES 1: 0.8652 20-day EMA
- PRICE: 0.8648 @ 15:57 BST Aug 19
- SUP 1: 0.8597 Low Aug 14
- SUP 2: 0.8562 50.0% retracement May 29 - Jul 28 upleg
- SUP 3: 0.8540 Low Jun 30
- SUP 4: 0.8514 61.8% retracement May 29 - Jul 28 upleg
Recent weakness in EURGBP resulted in a breach of key support at 0.8611, the Jul 31 low, and pierced the 50-day EMA, at 0.8616. A continuation lower would strengthen a bearish threat and highlight a stronger reversal of the uptrend between May 29 and Jul 28. This would open 0.8562, a Fibonacci retracement point. For bulls, a reversal higher would instead refocus attention on key resistance and the bull trigger at 0.8769, the Jul 28 high.
