The delta variant of the coronavirus continues to infect and kill across the globe with no end in sight. There are close to 700,000 confirmed new infections and 10,000 fatalities each day. For a world that never agreed on how to respond to the challenges posed by Covid-19, the mutation has spelled accelerating misery and sorrow. New Zealand extended its lockdown, as did Sydney, while U.S. states that repudiated precautions, such as Florida and Texas, are using more than 90% of their intensive care capacity as more of the unvaccinated—and a small number of vaccinated—are sickened. Meanwhile, Apple told its employees not to return to the office until next year. Stocks were down on fears of new Covid case rise worldwide:
- S&P 500 was down 0.017% last week
- Dow jones industrial average was down 0.42%
- Nasdaq Composite gained 0.07%
Winners last Week:
- Health Care Sector (ETF: XLV) up 1.84%
- Utilities Sector (ETF: XLU) up 1.82%
- Real Estate Sector (ETF: XLRE) up 0.66%
Lossers last week:
- Energy Sector (ETF: XLE) down 5.77%
- Materials Sector (ETF: XLB) down 2.51%
- Industrials Sector (ETF: XLI) down 2.05%
Top News:
Nvidia reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $2.4 billion, which amounts to 94 cents a share, compared with a profit of $622 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for stock compensation, among other things, earnings were $1.04 a share. Revenue rose 68% to $6.5 billion.
Nvidia slightly topped expectations for its data center and videogame businesses. Data-center revenue rose 35% to $2.4 billion, from a year ago, and videogame revenue grew 85% to $3.1 billion; analysts had expected revenue of $2.3 billion, and $3 billion respectively. The company’s closely watched quarterly cryptocurrency mining-chip sales arrived well below the company forecast.
- Buffet’s Berkshire added 10.7 million shares of Kroger in the spring quarter, increasing its holding by 21%. Kroger stock was up 8.61% last week
- Macy’s stock soared Thursday after the department store operator crushed expectations for July quarter earnings, raised its full-year outlook, and reinstated its dividend. Stock was up 20.77% last week.
Dividend check
Stocks that pay higher dividends are catching more attention from investors once again.
The three stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average with the highest dividend yield are Chevron (CVX) 5.68%, IBM (IBM) 4.75% and Dow (DOW) 4.62%, while the three stocks in the S&P 500 Index with the highest dividend yield are Lumen Technologies (LUMN) 8.82%, ONEOK (OKE) 7.59% and AT&T (T) 7.56%.
The Calendar
About a dozen S&P 500 companies release their latest results this next, most of them retailers.
- Monday, August 23rd: JD.com (JD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW).
- Tuesday, August 24th: Best Buy (BBY), Intuit (INTU), Nordstrom (JWN), Toll Brothers (TOL).
- Wednesday, August 25th: Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Box (BOX), Salesforce.com (CRM), Autodesk (ADSK) and Snowflake (SNOW).
- Thursday, August 26th: Dollar General (DG), Dollar Tree (DLTR), HP Inc. (HPQ), Workday (WDAY), Dell Technologies (DELL), Hello Group (MOMO), Marvell (MRVL), VMware (VMW), Gap (GPS) and Peloton Interactive (PTON).
- Friday, August 27th: Big Lots (BIG) and Hibbett (HIBB).
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's annual Economic Policy Symposium, usually held in Jackson Hole, Wyo., kicks off virtually on Friday. The gathering's theme this year is “Macro¬economic Policy in an Uneven Economy.” It runs through next Saturday.
For more watch video in GEO
