DJIA continues to rise
US equity markets recorded another day of gains on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average setting a new 15-month high.
US equity markets
US equity markets recorded another day of gains on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average setting a new 15-month high. Overnight in Asia, it was a mixed session.
Australian unemployment
In Australia, the unemployment rate stood at 3.5% in June, below market expectations of 3.6%. Full-time employment climbed by 39.300, while part-time employment decreased by 6.700 thousand. The balance of 32.600 easily surpassed market forecasts of 15,000. This persisting strength of the labour market lifted the AUD.
BHP Group
BHP Group said overnight that its iron ore production from Western Australia reached 72.7 million metric tonnes, a touch lower than the 73 million metric tonnes anticipated. Like Rio Tinto on Tuesday, BHP warns of rising costs.
In the UK, easyJet returned to profit in Q3 with a profit before tax of £203 million. The airline said that revenue per seat rose 23% year-on-year (YoY). Dunelm and Premier Foods also released trading statements.
Netflix
Netflix shares fell as much as 9% in extended trading on Wednesday. Even though earnings per share came in at $3.29, better than the $2.834 anticipated, and even though the streaming giant added 5.9 million subscribers between April and June, investors were a lot more interested in the top line.
Revenue rose to $8.19 billion but missed expectations of $8.27 billion. Revenue forecasts were also disappointing. Netflix forecast that third-quarter revenue would hit $8.5 billion. Wall Street had been forecasting $8.7 billion.
Tesla
Tesla shares fell almost 5% in extended trading but not at the release of earnings. These were better than expected for both earnings and sales. Earnings came in at 91 cents per share on revenue of $24.93 billion. The Street had anticipated earnings per share (EPS) of 79 cents and revenue of $24.29 billion. There was hardly any reaction at that point on the stock.
It was only later, when Elon Musk commented on Tesla's past quarter, that its share tumbled. Musk said he would cut prices again, even after Tesla's margins had already been squeezed. IBM, Alcoa, and United Airlines also reported on Wednesday evening.
Later on Thursday, the market awaits quarterly earnings from American Airlines and Johnson & Johnson.
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