U.S. stock indices are moving mixed at the start of trading on August 6, with the S&P500 (+0.01%) near flat and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.59%) in positive territory.
While the Dow-30 (-0.23%) remains in negative territory, the technology sector continues to strengthen. Sandisk shares continue to rebound from the session lows after another strong earnings report, which confirms favorable trends in the NAND segment. Sandisk’s outlook for the current quarter was not strong enough; however, the company maintained an optimistic assessment of its business prospects. Meanwhile, Western Digital is slipping as its quarterly results trail those of rival Seagate Technology.
Another weak spot today was software developers’ stocks. Atlassian, Salesforce, Adobe, and Zscaler declined following earnings reports from several companies in the sector. The rest of the market, meanwhile, is mostly rising: nine of the 11 sectors in the S&P500 index are in the green. The top gainers were the energy, consumer staples, and healthcare sectors. SpaceX is holding its ground despite the unlocking of insider shares worth about $100 billion.
On the economic data front, U.S. nonfarm labor productivity rose 1.4% in Q2 (consensus forecast 0.7%) after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase (from 0.3%) in Q1. Unit labor costs increased by 1.3% (consensus forecast 1.7%). Thus, productivity growth helped restrain the rise in labor costs.
Initial jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 199,000, reflecting a situation in which employers are still not rushing to cut staff.