The lower-than-expected GDP reading did not cause any turmoil on markets, perhaps because investors were focused on the many strong corporate results. Or perhaps bad news is good news in this case, since the Fed has repeated that it wants the U.S. economy to be fully recovered before acting on rates. The US GDP rose by 6.5% in annualized terms, which is a big jump, but lower than the 8.5% expected.

The horizon is less clear for US inflation, however. Tensions in supply chains continue to be felt in prices. The Core PCE Price Index, which excludes certain components such as energy due to its seasonal nature, rose by 6.4% at an annual rate in the second quarter, which is above what economists were hoping for.

On the corporate front, earnings reports continue today with nearly 100 companies with a market capitalization of more than $10 billion worldwide, including Berkshire Hathaway, Exxon Mobil, and BNP Paribas to name a few.

Wall Street did not welcome Robinhood, the trading platform that almost transforms investment into a casino game, with open arms. Despite an introductory price set at $ 38, the low end of the indicative range, the stock fell 8% yesterday on the Nasdaq.

Amazon missed markets expectations. The giant's strong growth is starting to show signs of slowing down, leading it to anticipate a deceleration of its sales in the third quarter.  The analysts' consensus was more ambitious, the share price is down 7% after the close of Wall Street.

 

Today's economic highlights:

Several second quarter GDPs are published today, notably in France and in the euro zone. In the US, the core price index and household income and spending, the Chicago PMI and the University of Michigan consumer confidence index are on the agenda.

The dollar fell to EUR 0.8417. The ounce of gold is trading at USD 1823. Oil is flat with Brent crude at USD 75 and WTI at USD 73.5. US government bonds are yielding 1.26% over 10 years. Bitcoin is retreating on the USD 38700.

 

On markets:

* Caterpillar on Friday reported an increase in second-quarter adjusted profit, buoyed by demand for construction equipment amid a global economic recovery. The stock is down 2.2% in premarket trading, however, as the construction equipment maker said it expects moderate quarter-over-quarter margin growth.

* Chevron reported its highest quarterly profit in six quarters on Friday thanks to a rebound in oil prices and announced a $2 billion to $3 billion share buyback program. The stock gained 1.6% in premarket trading.

* Procter & Gamble on Friday reported better-than-expected sales for its fourth-quarter off-year period, but the company issued a cost warning due to raw material and transportation costs that will cut $1.9 billion from its earnings in fiscal 2021-2022. The stock is up 1.5% in pre-market trading.

* Exxon Mobil on Friday reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings per share, excluding special items, thanks to a rebound in demand for oil, gas and chemicals. The stock was up just under 1% in premarket trading.

* AbbVie raised its full-year profit forecast on Friday, helped by a jump in demand for its anti-wrinkle product Botox. However, the stock is down 1.9% in pre-market trading.

* Amazon announced on Thursday that it expects its sales to slow down in the July-September period, as consumers go to stores more often with the easing of health restrictions, heralding a difficult start for Andy Jassy at the head of the group. The stock plunged 6.3% in pre-market trading.

* Gilead Science posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit, thanks to strong demand for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, but sales of its flagship HIV drugs lagged. The stock was down 2% in pre-market trading.

* T-Mobile US lost 1.4% in premarket trading despite a stronger-than-expected increase in new subscribers in the second quarter.

* Pinterest on Thursday reported sales that beat Wall Street expectations as advertiser spending picked up amid a rebounding economy. However, the stock fell 19.8% in pre-market trading, a victim of the lowering of the price target of at least six intermediaries, who note a slowdown in the growth of the number of users of the social network. J.P. Morgan lowered its advice to "neutral".

* Tesla - A fire broke out Friday at the automaker's energy storage facility in Australia's Victoria state during testing of a project led by French company Neoen, emergency officials said. The cause of the fire is unknown, but there were no casualties.

 

Analyst recommendations: 

  • Amazon.com: Jefferies is positive on the stock with a Buy rating. The target price is still set at USD 4200
  • Barclays: Independent Research upgrades to buy from hold. PT up 13 % to 200 pence
  • Comcast : Pivotal Research adjusts  price target to $72 from $70; buy rating kept
  • Croda: Barclays upgrades to equal-weight from underweight. PT up 1.5% to 8,400 pence
  • Diageo: RBC is neutral and changes its target to GBp 2800 from GBp 2700.
  • ExlService : Wedbush raises price target to $120 from $90, keeps neutral rating
  • Facebook : Truist Securities adjusts price target to $425 from $400, reiterates buy rating
  • Lancashire: HSBC downgrades to hold from buy. PT 14% up to 750 pence
  • Lam Research: KGI Securities upgrades to neutral and lowers target to USD 640 from USD 770
  • Lundin Mining: Canaccord Genuity cuts to hold from buy. PT up 4.3% to C$12
  • Moody's: UBS upgrades from buy to neutral but raises target from USD 383 to USD 392.
  • Next: Credit Suisse raised the recommendation to neutral from underperform. PT up 3.1% to 8,025 pence
  • Pfizer : Morgan Stanley adjusts price target to $45 from $42, maintains equal-weight rating
  • Taylor Morrison Home : Wedbush  hikes pt to $46 from $38, maintains outperform rating
  • T-Mobile US: Berstein is long and has raised its target to USD 175 from USD 172. 
  • Univest Financial: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrades to outperform from market perform, adjusts pt to $32 from $29