US STOCKS: Remain Off Early Highs, Banks & Energy Shares Underperforming

• RES 4: 152.31 High Feb 19 
• RES 3: 151.62 61.8% retracement of the Jan 10 - Apr 22 bear leg 
• RES 2: 151.21 High Mar 28 
• RES 1: 150.92 High Aug 1 
• PRICE: 147.26 @ 16:11 BST Aug 6
• SUP 1: 146.67 1.0% 10-dma envelope
• SUP 2: 146.62 Low Aug 5
• SUP 3: 146.60 50-day EMA
• SUP 4: 145.86 Low Jul 24  

USDJPY reversed sharply from Friday’s intraday high and this is allowing a short-term overbought condition to unwind. While the pullback in prices Friday may have been corrective, the break and close below 147.57, the 20-day EMA, is a concern. A clear break of this support zone would undermine the recent bull theme. A break of last week’s 150.92 high would resume the uptrend.     

• Stocks remain firm late Wednesday, fully recovering from the prior session's sell-off, tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming. Currently, the DJIA trades up 150.26 points (0.34%) at 44263.27, S&P E-Minis up 48.75 points (0.77%) at 6373.75, Nasdaq up 245.7 points (1.2%) at 21162.15.
• Stocks started to pare losses after White House officials said Apple will announce a commitment to invest another $100B on US manufacturing today. Speculation over whether Pres Trump will announce new Russia sanctions or nominees for Fed governor or BLS head, however, tethered risk appetites somewhat.
• A mix of IT, Consumer Staples and Discretionary sector shares continued to lead gainers in the second half: Arista Networks +17.91%, Assurant +11.94%, Match Group +10.17%, Apple +5.75%, Walmart +4.13%, Target +3.69%, Amazon +3.64%, McDonald's +3.42%, Tesla +3.34%, Kroger +2.94%, Ross Stores +2.85% and Costco Wholesale +2.82%.
• A couple notable IT exceptions bucking the move: Super Micro Computer -19.24% after earning outlook disappoints, while Advanced Micro Devices declined -5.81%.
• Leading decliners included Health Care, Materials and Energy sector shares: NRG Energy -14.01%, Mosaic -12.14%, Bio-Techne -10.34%, Charles River Laboratories -8.10%, Rockwell Automation -7.47%, International Flavors & Fragrances -6.54%, Paramount Global -6.17%, Enphase Energy -5.30%, Amgen -5.16% and LyondellBasell Industries -5.06%.
• Companies expected to announce earnings after today's close include: Corteva, McKesson Corp, Occidental Petroleum, AIG, DoorDash, Fortinet, AppLovin, Lyft, Dutch Bros, Airbnb Inc, Zillow Group, Duolingo, MetLife, APA and DraftKings Inc.

Morning Consult notes: “Economic buzz worsens: Friday’s disappointing jobs report, with major downward revisions to the data from May and June, appears to be resonating with Americans. By a 21-point margin, voters were more likely to say they’d heard something negative than positive about the economy in the past week — the largest gap since June.”

• Morning Consult adds: “Similarly, Friday’s jobs report appears to be undermining Americans’ trust in the president's stewardship of the economy. Voters are now 6 points more likely to disapprove than approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, his worst numbers since April.”
• Semafor reports: “Growth and inflation in the country have largely weathered its unpredictable tariffs and economic policies, but essential costs on housing, health care, and education are making up an ever-bigger share of household spending, credit card debt is at an all-time high, and even some higher earners are falling behind on their loan payments.”

Figure 1: US Consumer Confidence

Source: Semafor, Conference Board