This is the web version of Bull Sheet, a no-nonsense daily newsletter on what’s happening in the markets. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
Good evening, Bull Sheeters. You know the drill by now: It’s finance reporter Anne Sraders here, filling in for Bernhard.
Stocks were mixed on Thursday, with the major S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes closing in the red, while the Dow was the lone index to post gains. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield also sank below 1.3% during the day amid more Fed testimony. Stocks in Asia were mixed, but it was a risk-off day in Europe with indexes in the red. Bitcoin and Ethereum, meanwhile, traded off.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell addressed Congress for the second time this week, remaining dovish but adding that there is “a shock going through the system associated with the reopening of the economy and it’s driven inflation well above 2%, and of course we’re not comfortable with that.”
But now, let’s see what happened in the markets today.
Markets update
Asia
- Asia was mixed, with the Hang Seng up nearly 0.8%, the Nikkei down 1.2%, and the Shanghai Composite 1% higher.
- China‘s GDP grew by 7.9% in the second quarter compared to last year—in line with economists’ estimates, but a big drop-off from its stunning first quarter year-over-year growth of 18.3%.
- The World Bank lowered growth expectations for the year for East Asia and the Pacific, as the regions continue to struggle with the pandemic.
- And in Hong Kong, police arrested four men tied to suspected money laundering involving some HK$1.2 billion ($155 million) worth of cryptocurrency.
Europe
- The European bourses were off, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down nearly 1%, as was France’s CAC 40. London’s FTSE closed more than 1.1% lower and the DAX in Germany was down 1%.
- European governments aren’t happy with President Biden‘s decision to keep pandemic-related travel rules in place for Europeans—restrictions that were instituted by former President Trump.
U.S.
- U.S. stocks were mostly lower, with the S&P 500 closing down over 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 0.7% lower. The Dow was the lone index to post gains, up almost 0.2%.
- Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. came in at 360,000, on par with expectations. That marks the lowest weekly level since the pandemic began.
- Another round…of stimulus: The newly-expanded Child Tax Credit started paying out today, July 15. For the first time in the credit’s history, eligible parents are able to get monthly payments of up to $300 per young child (and up to $250 for children aged six to 17).
Elsewhere
- Gold is up, trading just under $1,830.
- The dollar is up.
- Crude is down, with Brent trading around $73/barrel.
- Crypto is back in the red, with Bitcoin trading below $32,000 as of Thursday afternoon, while Ethereum and Dogecoin are also trading lower.
- Speaking of crypto, ICYMI: “After years of studying it, I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity.” That’s joke crypto Dogecoin‘s creator Jackson Palmer on what he really thinks about crypto. Yikes.
***
Buzzworthy
4,300
Goldman Sachs’s year-end S&P 500 estimate remains at 4,300, per a Wednesday report, even though the bellwether index is already trading above that level. Something to keep an eye on…
Path of yields?
Bond yields are still slumping, but some prognosticators are estimating long-duration yields, like the 10-year Treasury, could pick up as the recovery continues.
Getting in the game
(Potentially) bad news for GameStop fans: Netflix is planning to get into gaming, and investors haven’t been too keen on the original meme stock lately. Take a gander at GameStop’s 5-day chart:
Making the rounds
It seems everyone on FinTwit (and beyond) is making their own version of this meme born out of one star-studded photo from the 2021 Cannes Film Festival—and I’m sorry, but they’re all so good. What would your captions be?
That’s all for now. Read on for more news below.
***
Anne Sraders
@AnneSraders
Anne.Sraders@Fortune.com
As always, you can write to bullsheet@fortune.com or reply to this email with suggestions and feedback.
Today's reads
Reddit and credit. Traders on messaging-board site Reddit didn't just shake up the broader market with their bets on "meme stocks" like AMC this year: They're also shaking up the business of credit investing. Bloomberg's Eliza Ronalds-Hannon reports that distressed funds, whose managers primarily focus on bonds and other debt securities, are having trouble using equity markets as a hedge for their bets in recent months due to the meme stock craze. Dig in here.
A post-election bet. Plenty of investors were looking to make stock market moves based on the election of President Biden last November. Their ranks may have included Securities and Exchange Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw, a Democrat appointed by former President Trump. My FOIA-filing colleague Jessica Mathews writes: "On Nov. 9, the first trading day after the Associated Press declared Biden the winner, Crenshaw invested somewhere between $395,008 and $950,000 into eight exchange traded funds that track stock and bond indices." Coincidence or not, dig into Jessica's story here.
Some of these stories require a subscription to access. There is a discount offer for our loyal readers if you use this link to sign up. Thank you for supporting our journalism.
Market candy
“We will have several more months of rapid inflation."
That's what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC's Closing Bell on Thursday, weighing in on the inflation debate. She added that "over the medium term, we’ll see inflation decline back toward normal levels. But, of course, we have to keep a careful eye on it." Sounds pretty familiar...
