Wall Street Today | Falling Gas Prices Fuel Expectations for Record Holiday Travel

Activity among U.S. goods producers contracted again in June, reflecting companies' efforts to pare down outputs as optimism about the second half of 2023 weakens.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of U.S. manufacturing activity slipped to 46.0 in June from 46.9 in May, indicating that demand eased again as just one of the six biggest manufacturing industries--Transportation Equipment--registered growth.

The reading was just below economists' consensus forecast of 47.3 in a poll by The Wall Street Journal.

For much of last year, Bridgewater Associates was on the verge of historic outperformance, betting that the fastest pace of rate hikes in decades would soon tip the US economy into recession. Then, as bond yields began to tumble and stocks rose towards the end of last year, it fumbled at the finish line.

Still Greg Jensen, the co-chief investment officer of the world's biggest hedge fund, says markets are getting it wrong. In the latest episode of the Odd Lots podcast, he argues that investors are still too optimistic about the prospects for economic growth and the ability of the Federal Reserve to permanently stamp out inflation and return to its 2% target.

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas stood at $3.49 on Saturday, according to GasBuddy data, $1.34 lower than a year earlier and about 30% below the record of $5.03 set in mid-June of last year. Prices have fallen below the national average in about 30 states.

Contributing to the decline is a slide in oil prices fueled by worries that a global recession will hurt demand, analysts said. U.S. crude has dropped by around one-third since this time last year.

AAA forecasts a record 43.2 million Americans will travel by car. That is about 4% higher than the previous all-time high of 41.5 million in 2019.

Oil edged lower, erasing short-lived gains stemming from Saudi Arabia's pledge to extend its voluntary output cuts by another month.

West Texas Intermediate settled below $70 a barrel in a low-volume session, slipping after data showed US factory activity shrunk by the most in three years. Oil traded higher overnight after Riyadh said its already slashing an additional 1 million barrels a day of supply, and will continue that reduction into August. Shortly afterward, Moscow announced a 500,000-barrel-a-day cut to crude exports next month.

Tesla and BYD set sales records in the second quarter, likely widening their lead as the world's top electric-car makers.

Elon Musk-led Tesla delivered 466,140 cars worldwide, beating Wall Street estimates. BYD, China's leading auto brand, posted its best-ever quarter, selling 700,244 fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Rivian Automotive said its electric-vehicle deliveries topped expectations in the recently completed quarter, sending shares higher.

The Irvine, Calif.-based electric vehicle maker said Monday that it delivered 12,640 vehicles in the quarter ended June 30, more than the 11,000 deliveries expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

The US Federal Trade Commission informed Monster and Bang's parent Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. that it's granting early termination of its merger review process, according to a spokesperson for Monster.