STOCKS HIT ALL-TIME HIGHS: Here's what you need to know
First, let's head to the scoreboard:
- Dow: 18,347.26
- S&P 500: 2,145.25
- Nasdaq: 4,569.12
- WTI crude oil: $46.77
- 10-year Treasury yield: 1.513
1. US stocks are at all-time highs... The Down Jones Industrial Average rose above its previous closing and intra-day peaks in early trading on Tuesday - just one day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high. Indexes had previously approached all-time highs right ahead of the UK vote's to leave the European Union, but then cratered amid investor uncertainty.
2. ...and here's what one strategist thinks is going on, and what might happen next. In a note on Tuesday, Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 FX Strategy at Deutsche Bank, identified six issues that investors had about the economy that seem to be correlated with the stock surge, including June's strong jobs report and the fact that the People's Bank of China's "stealth devaluation" of the yuan did not result in a crazy market shake up. But in the same note, he wonders how long this can last. "Something has to give - either the risk rally is hopelessly misplaced or Fed rate expectations are," Ruskin said, reports Business Insider's Akin Oyedele.
3. Job openings unexpectedly fell in May. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that the number of job openings in the US fell to 5.5 million in May, down from a record 5.845 million openings in the prior month, which were revised higher in Tuesday's report. The quits and hires rates were unchanged from the prior month, at 2% and 3.5% respectively.
4. Italy isn't the only European country with a "systemic banking crisis." Portugal's banks are loaded with debts and are starved for capital. Moreover, the country has excessive public and private sector leverage, and the government's medium-term fiscal plan might not be enough to meet its targets. "This brings into question whether Portugal can address all of these issues without the help of another programme," a Barclays team led by Antonio Garcia Pascual wondered in a note to clients.
5. JPMorgan is giving 18,000 employees a raise because "wages for many Americans have gone nowhere for too long." The firm will be raising its minimum pay for 18,000 overtime-eligible US employees from $10.15 an hour to a range of $12 to $16.50 per hour, depending on market factors, over the next three years. "A pay increase is the right thing to do," CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in an op-ed article in The New York Times on Tuesday. "Wages for many Americans have gone nowhere for too long."
6. Hard drive maker Seagate said it's firing 6,500 employees and the stock rose 20%. Data storage company Seagate announced its preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and in addition to higher than expected revenue guidance, the firm said it was cutting 14% of its workforce. The move is a continuation of Seagate's plan to slim down the costs of its business and provide significant savings for the firm. It was the second round of announced layoffs in a few weeks.
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