A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ahead of the closing bell in New York City on August 5, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
Wall Street sinks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 suffered their sharpest declines in nearly two years, as growing concerns about the U.S. economy rocked global stock markets. The Dow plummeted over 1,000 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3% and 3.4%, respectively. Tech stocks were hit hard, with Nvidia and Tesla losing 6.4% and 4.2%. Apple‘s shares also declined 4.8% after Berkshire Hathaway slashed its stake. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note reached its lowest point since June 2023, while U.S. oil prices slipped to their lowest settle since Feb. 5.
Google monopoly
A federal judge ruled Google holds an illegal monopoly in the search and text advertising markets. The decision focused on Google’s exclusive search arrangements on Android and Apple devices, which the court said reinforced its dominance. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote in the decision. The ruling stems from combined antitrust suits filed by the Department of Justice and several states in 2020.
Emergency rate cut?
Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel urged the Federal Reserve to make an emergency 75-basis-point cut in the federal funds rate following Friday’s disappointing jobs data. He also suggested another 75-basis-point cut at the September meeting. Siegel believes the current fed funds rate “should be somewhere between 3.5% and 4%,” citing the higher-than-expected unemployment rate and declining inflation as reasons for the cuts. “How much have we moved the fed funds rate? Zero,” he said. “That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
Fed will ‘fix it’
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said the central bank would react to signs of weakness in the economy and indicated that interest rates could be too restrictive now. “The Fed’s job is very straightforward: maximize employment, stabilize prices and maintain financial stability. That’s what we’re going to do,” Goolsbee told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’re forward-looking about it. So if the conditions collectively start coming in like that on the through line, there’s deterioration on any of those parts, we’re going to fix it.”
Bitcoin tumbles
Amid global recession fears, cryptocurrencies plummeted with bitcoin experiencing its worst day since June 2022, dropping as much as 15% to a low of $49,111.10 on Monday. Bitcoin has lost nearly 15% since Saturday. “Thirty percent slumps, as scary as they are, are par for the course during bull markets and it’s encouraging bitcoin bounced back above $50,000,” said Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev. “But make no mistake, we are in a choppy, volatile market environment… the moment to turn bullish will be when bitcoin retakes its 200-day moving average, which typically tells us if we are in a bull or bear market, at $61,500.”
[PRO] Don’t panic
Despite a global stock market rout, several investors and strategists advised against panicking at this point. That said, JPMorgan’s top charts analyst thinks this could be the “start of something bigger.” Here’s what top investors are saying.
The bottom line
Monday’s massive sell-off was the result of a perfect storm of factors, including carry trades, U.S. jobs data, recession fears and concerns about the Fed’s slowness in cutting rates. The global rout included $1 trillion in mega tech losses. Despite calls for an emergency rate cut to stabilize the market, not everyone is convinced and this could be a buying opportunity.
Brian Belski, BMO chief equity strategist, considers the market correction to be normal and healthy. He advised investors to pick up high-quality tech stocks.
“You have been provided a gift here the last couple days, in terms of your Amazons, Apples, Googles, Microsofts,” Belski said. “You absolutely, positively have to have exposure to these names.”
“Now these names obviously got too cocky on the upside, with respect to their valuations, and now they have been humbled. Everybody needs a little humility in their life and we’re seeing that in these names. We believe it’s short term and reactionary to be chasing consumer staples and utilities now.”
Main Street Research CIO James Demmert agreed that a “healthy correction” was “overdue” given recent high valuations.
He added, “Market fundamentals have actually improved in recent weeks, particularly the Federal Reserve’s assurance that interest rate cuts are coming.”
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee’s comments that the Fed would “fix it” if economic conditions deteriorate significantly could provide assurance for a jittery market. Wall Street’s fear gauge spiked to as high as 65 during Monday’s pullback, though later slipped to about 38.
If futures are any indication, calmer minds could be taking hold. S&P 500 futures rose 1.3% Monday evening as Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.8%.
“It’s too early to say the low is in,” wrote Keith Lerner, Truist’s co-chief investment officer. “There has been damage done, and the repair process will likely take time. However, the risk/reward appears to be gradually improving as the market’s bar for positive surprises resets lower.”
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, John Melloy, Sarah Min, Jeff Cox, Michelle Fox, Tanaya Macheel and Rohan Goswami contributed to this report.
