Morgans AM: Wednesday, 10 August 2022

Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets weaker ahead of the release of key inflation figures tonight, and with semiconductor stocks under fresh pressure - Dow eased -58-points or -0.18%, The broader S&P500 lost -0.42%, Consumer Discretionary (down -1.54%), Information Technology (-1.00%) and Communication Services (-0.72%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (up +1.77%) and Utilities (+1.06%) both rose over >1%. The Nasdaq fell -1.19%. Micron Technology Inc fell -3.74% the memory-chip maker cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast and warned of a negative free cash flow in the following quarter as demand for chips used in personal computers and smartphones drop. Heavyweight peers Nvidia Corp (down -3.49%) and Advanced Micro Devices (-4.53%) shed ~4% apiece, extending sharp losses from the previous session following a revenue warning from Nvidia. The broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (down -4.57%) has declined ~7% in the last three sessions. Separately, President Joe Biden signed a landmark bill – the bipartisan Chips and Science Act - to provide US$52.7B in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research and to boost efforts to make the United States more competitive with China's science and technology efforts. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.46%. U.S. vaccine maker Novavax Inc slumped -29.64% after it halved its annual revenue forecast as it does not expect further sales of its COVID-19 shot this year in the US amid a global supply glut and soft demand.