US EQUITY OPEN: Indices open mixed amid Alphabet losses while desks await US CPI on Wednesday
OPEN: US indices opened with mild upward bias, as SPX ekes out very marginal gains, while the Russell 2000 (+0.5%) outperforms, and the NDX sees slight losses. Sectors are mixed as Industrials, Materials and Utilities sit atop of the pile, while Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary are the laggards, with the former weighed on by Alphabet weakness. Newsflow has once again been quiet, aside from geopols, in typical summer trading conditions, as desks await US CPI on Wednesday, ahead of CoreWeave (CRWV) and SuperMicro (SMCI) earnings after-hours. Geopolitical headlines have dominated, and the key highlight, which garnered typical risk-on trade was the Pakistani Defence Minister reportedly signalling the US and Iran are close to some agreement and the situation is moving towards peace. As such, the crude complex is lower by c. USD 0.80/bbl. Precious metals are mixed, as spot gold gains a touch, while silver is in the red. In FX, the Dollar is largely flat against G10 peers, despite the Aussie seeing some mild pressure as RBA maintained rates as expected and kept a hawkish tone, but trimmed its CPI forecasts. Treasuries are gaining across the curve, tracking crude prices lower, ahead of the US 3yr note auction.
STOCK SPECIFICS:
- Intel (INTC) sought to increase share sale to ~ USD 20bln from the initial USD 15bln.
- Getty Images (GETY) reported a surprise loss per share and revenue was light.
- Riot Platforms (RIOT) has struck a USD 9.1bln deal with Anthropic for 191MW of AI data centre capacity in Texas.
- Rocket Lab (RKLB) saw a wider than expected quarterly loss, outweighing stronger revenue and above-consensus outlook
- Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) reported a much deeper than expected loss per share and pressure on margins from its shift towards branded weight-loss drugs and international expansion outweighed a raised revenue guide.
- Cardinal Health (CAH) beat on EPS alongside a strong FY profit guide and raised share buyback by USD 5bln.
- On Holding (ONON) gave disappointing results with a weak FY top line outlook.
- Plug Power (PLUG) had a smaller-than-expected loss for Q2.
- ACV Auctions (ACVA) reportedly exploring sale amid takeover interest.
Sessions of this kind, low-volume summer trade ahead of a marquee inflation print, have historically been characterised by shallow ranges and headline-driven drift, with positioning rather than conviction behind the moves. The rotation on display fits the established pre-CPI pattern: small caps and value-tilted sectors outperforming while a single mega-cap, here Alphabet, drags the cap-weighted indices, since Communication Services concentration means one name's weakness dominates the sector tally. The crude move on reported US-Iran diplomatic progress follows the usual sequence for geopolitical de-escalation headlines: the war premium comes out of the front of the oil curve first, with duration in Treasuries tracking energy lower via the inflation-expectations channel rather than any shift in rate policy. The RBA's hold with a hawkish tone but trimmed CPI forecasts is a combination that has tended to leave the currency caught between the two, with the forecast cut ultimately the more durable driver. The next fixed points are the 3yr auction as a read on demand at the front of the curve, the after-hours AI-adjacent earnings as a sentiment check on the data-centre trade, and Wednesday's CPI, which in past episodes has resolved pre-print compression sharply in one direction.