Activist investor is driving Starbucks stock
"Abwarten" is the watchword of US investors at the start of the week. Important inflation and economic data are due in the coming days, and no one wants to make bold predictions before that. Among the winners of the day are Starbucks and Nvidia.
After the recent rollercoaster ride, investors on Wall Street started the new trading week with caution ahead of important economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue-chip stocks closed Monday 0.3 percent lower at 39,357 points, while the broader S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 5344 points. Only the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index continued its recovery, gaining 0.2 percent to 16,780 points.
After significant losses in Japan and a disappointing US jobs report for July, last week began with a sell-off before indices recovered going into the weekend. Traders now expect a muted trading week as investors await US inflation data on Wednesday, from which they hope to gain clues about the Federal Reserve's future interest rate moves.
Traders are also keeping an eye on US retail sales data on Thursday. Private consumption is the main driver of the world's largest economy. Experts expect a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month. They also expect the upcoming earnings reports from Walmart and Home Depot to provide insights into US consumer spending behavior. Home Depot shares slipped ahead of the earnings report, despite the retailer beating or meeting expectations in six of the past eight quarters. Meanwhile, Walmart shares rose 1.5 percent.
Starbucks boosted by activist investor report
Among individual stocks, Starbucks shares surged as much as 4.4 percent on a report by the Wall Street Journal that activist investor Starboard Value is pushing for a boost in the coffee chain's stock price. The stock has fallen 22 percent this year, while the S&P 500 has risen 12 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of US regional bank KeyCorp briefly surged nearly 17 percent after Canadian bank Scotiabank acquired a 14.9 percent stake in the regional lender for $2.8 billion. As growth in the domestic banking sector slows, Canadian lenders are looking for acquisition opportunities in the US.
Leading AI chipmaker Nvidia benefited from a positive analyst note and gained more than 5 percent after recent losses. UBS analysts said they expect Nvidia's earnings to continue to rise through 2026.
The CBOE Volatility Index, or "fear gauge" of the Wall Street, briefly dipped below the crucial 20-point mark after hitting a peak of 65.73 last week. The US Treasury market showed stability in the slow trading month of August. The yield on the 10-year benchmark note rose 1.1 basis points to 3.953 percent, after climbing 15 basis points last week.
Read more about today's market developments here.
Investors on Wall Street maintained caution due to upcoming economic data, carefully monitoring the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indices. Amidst this watchfulness, Starbucks experienced a surge in its share price, fueled by an activist investor's push for a higher stock price on Wall Street.
