US stock markets pivoted back towards quality on Monday with the Nasdaq moving 0.9% higher behind a 3% increase in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) following the Fed’s non-decision over the weekend.
The US 1o-year bond rate remains below 1.3% which is supporting long-term growth companies but particularly tech and consumer discretionary.
On the other hand, the energy and insurance sectors were weaker as Tropical Storm Ida spread across the Southern States.
In bad news for the economic recovery, Europe is set to ban non-essential travel from the US as COVID-19 cases surge.
Robinhood & Zoom whacked, Affirm rockets
Shares in Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) fell around 7% after the SEC suggested they ban the profitable Payment for Order Flow revenue source that has been key to the low-cost trading platform.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) closed 47% higher after specifics of its BNPL deal with Amazon were released whilst Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) is down close to 10% in after-market trade on signs of slowing growth.
Zoom’s revenue and earnings came in ahead of expectations, with revenue jumping 54% year-on-year to hit US$1 billion in the second quarter. However, in the previous quarter, the company delivered 191% revenue growth. And next quarter, Zoom is guiding to 31% growth.
US stock market movers
These US stocks were some of the biggest movers on Monday:
- Global-e (NASDAQ: GLBE) up 11.6%
- Monday.com (NASDAQ: MNDY) up 7.2%
- PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) up 3.6%
- Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) down 4.1%
- Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) down 4.5%
- DLocal (NASDAQ: DLO) down 7.5%
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to follow US markets higher at the open on Tuesday as ASX reporting season draws to a close.
Expect a flurry of companies trying to hand in their reports, especially ASX small-caps. Some of the bigger names set to report are PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL).
