Article published at 9:15 a.m. CT
JJ Kinahan is Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products at Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe).
Key Takeaways:
- Crude oil prices drop on hopes of peace pact
- Tech stocks pressure Nasdaq early on
- Earnings out from Sherwin-Williams, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson
The markets are mixed again in early trading with the Nasdaq Composite under pressure after yesterday’s chip maker fallout that also pushed down tech shares in South Korea and Europe. In fact, it was the third worst day in Soth Korea’s KOSPI index history.
Crude oil prices are also dropping as hopes of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran grow after the two paused strikes in recent days. WTI Crude Oil prices were off by 1.8% to the lower $81 range. Yesterday, WTI crude saw its largest one-day drop in two months, ending the session at $81.77, down 8.5%.
The Nasdaq Composite is heading lower by nearly 0.59% and the S&P 500 Index is floating just above the flat line. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is edging up at 0.93%.
Yesterday’s trading was a mishmash. Out of the gate, stocks were turning higher only to finish close to the flat line and even a smidge below. The Dow finished up 0.51%, helped by crude oil’s fall while the Nasdaq backtracked by 0.18, hurt by chip makers. In the meantime, the S&P barely budged, off 0.02% at the close.
The tech retraction also hit South Korean semiconductor shares of SK Hynix, falling 14%, and Samsung Electronics tumbling 13%. Among the U.S.-based tech stocks, Micron Technology was treading lower by 6.8% in early trading while Nvidia shares were off 0.50%. Broadcom shares backtracked by 2.1% and Taiwan Semiconductor were off by 3.5%.
Sherwin-Williams shares were helping boost both the S&P and the Dow after the paint maker reported earnings and revenues that beat Wall Street expectations, thanks somewhat to a successful 8% higher price point in its paint stores group to help offset inflation. The company also touted acquisitions and new orders and raised its forward guidance. Shares were higher by 6.6%.
Coca-Cola shares are up nearly 2.5% in early trading after the beverage and snacks maker turned in second-quarter profits and revenues that outstripped Wall Street’s estimates. The results were driven by an uptick in beverage sales, particularly zero-sugar drinks and the fairlife milk brand, coupled with higher prices. Coca-Cola also noted that global consumption grew during the FIFA World Cup.
Boeing reported a wider-than-expected loss, but revenues were better than Wall Street’s expectations. The airplane maker took a one-time charge of $280 million for Air Force One development, which has rung up a number of cost overruns on what has become a $4 billion project. What also caught investor’s interest was that free cash flow of $631 million was far ahead of the outlook of a negative number. Boeing also confirmed its full-year guidance of free cash flow in the $1 billion to $3 billion range. Shares fell early on but were moving to the upside by about 1.4% in recent action.
Johnson & Johnson shares were headed to the upside by nearly 2% after the drug maker agreed to pay $5.5 billion to settle the remaining talc lawsuits. The lawsuits claiming that talc products caused ovarian cancer first began 15 years ago with one lawsuit that led to a landslide of others. The settlement is conditioned on at 95% of the remaining claimants accept it.
UPS’s years-long realignment is paying off after the delivery giant raised its full-year outlook after reporting earnings that were below the year-ago results but outpaced Wall Street’s expectations. The company touted its fourth straight quarter of better-than-expected results.
The Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting starts today with an interest rate decision set for tomorrow afternoon. The CME’s FedWatch tool is projecting a 31.5% probability of a rate hike.
Keep an eye out for Visa’s earnings after the bell. The global payment tech firm is expected to post robust earnings and revenues supported by a “FIFA bump.” Last week Visa reported that its status as the exclusive payment services sponsor of the FIFA World Cup drove a 20% boost across cross-border payments, particularly in host cities such as Boston and New York. There’s a 3.5% implied stock movement in either direction after the results are posted.
As noted above, Nvidia shares are falling again today following yesterday’s 5% tumble to $196.51. The pullback was prompted by reports that it will finance some $250 billion to OpenAI. That follows Friday’s announcement that it is in a $500 billion partnership with SK Hynix to codevelop AI factory construction for next-generation AI memory supply.
The $750 billion worth of partnerships is raising concerns about “circular” financing in which suppliers are major investors in their customers. If the program goes through – and it’s still not secured – Nvidia would allow the ChatGPT maker to borrow at reduced rates.
Nvidia’s selling, coupled with Apple’s record-high closing at $336.91, had the two switching places as the most valuable publicly held company. Apple – on pace for its best month in four years – closed just shy of $5 trillion market capitalization at $4.948 trillion. Nvidia dropped to second place with market cap at $4.760 trillion. The next top three market cap leaders are Alphabet at $3.994 trillion, Microsoft at $2.890 trillion and Amazon at $2.489 trillion.
Apple, which doesn’t have an integrated AI program, also hit a fresh intraday peak at $339.57. Apple shares rose nearly 20% in the last month and is up 58% in the last year. In early trading, shares were heading higher by 0.74%
Happy trading!
2026 Cboe Exchange, Inc. All rights reserved.
The information provided is for general education and information purposes only. No statement provided should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell a security, future, financial instrument, investment fund, or other investment product (collectively, a “financial product”), or to provide investment advice.
