S&P 500, Nasdaq Dip as Nvidia is Most-Shorted Among Mag 7 Peers | Wall Street Today

by Luzi Ann Santos | moomoo News

U.S. stock indices retreated as Nvidia gave back some of its recent gains ahead of the quarter-end rebalancing of investors' portfolio that could further drive volatility.

The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ slipped 0.2% to 5464.62, while the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ fell 0.2% to 17689.36 . The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ managed to hold on to gains, even as it closed little changed at 39150.33.

The stock market rally is starting to lose some steam as indicators signal continued resilience for the U.S. economy, weakening the case for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates. Policy makers have been aiming for a soft landing that would allow them to ease monetary policy without the economy going into recession.

In June, U.S. business activity grew at the fastest pace in 26 months, data from S&P Global's provisional Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed. A gauge of selling prices fell amid slowing input cost growth, signaling inflationary pressures are easing, the report showed.

The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 in June, a second straight month of improving business conditions within the goods-producing sector, according to the report. A gauge of U.S. services advanced to 55.1, a 26-month high, data showed. Numbers above 50 signal expansion.

Treasury yields rose as business activity growth accelerated, weakening the case for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The $U.S. 2-Year Treasury Notes Yield(US2Y.BD)$

Higher yields are also making gold less competitive, given that the asset doesn't offer its holders any income. The precious metal also fell as stronger economic data curbed demand for haven. $Gold Futures(AUG4)(GCmain.US)$

$NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$ shares fell as its recent record-breaking rally attracted short interest, which S3 Partners now estimates to reach $39.4 billion. That makes Nvidia the most-shorted stock among its Magnificent Seven peers in dollar terms. That compares with $Microsoft(MSFT.US)$'s $24.3 billion short interest, $Apple(AAPL.US)$'s $23.7 billion and $Tesla(TSLA.US)$'s $18.8 billion, Benzinga reported, citing CNBC's interview with Ihor Dusaniwsky, S3 Partners managing director of predictive analytics.

$Apple(AAPL.US)$ shares slip amid a wider stock market decline. The iPhone maker said it likely won't roll out the artificial intelligence features to millions of customers in Europe this year due to concerns over the EU's technology industry regulations, Wall Street Journal reported.

$Hertz Global(HTZ.US)$ shares rallied after the car rental company boosted its bond offering to $1 billion to accelerate its fleet rotation. Hertz is looking to rotate out more expensive vehicles with high capital costs and rotate in lower-cost vehicles, WSJ reported, citing a filing on Thursday.

$Asana(ASAN.US)$ shares advanced after the work-management platform unveiled plans to buy as much as $150 million of its own stock back over the next year.

$Sarepta Therapeutics(SRPT.US)$ soared after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an expansion to indications for the company's treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. William Blair analysts led by Tim Lugo, who rated the stock as "outperform," said the development is the "best-case scenario" for the company, Barron's reported.