** S&P 500 .SPX gains 0.6 pct as investors navigate corporate results amid geopolitical headwinds This as the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC tries to catch its breadth and a Nasdaq volatility measure remains less than cooperative The SPX and DJI .DJI no longer have a pothole to fill or gap to mind That said, the DJI is still at risk of dying on the vine Majority of sectors advance; consumer staples, utilities and industrials head north, while energy and materials lose their way
** Consumer Staples .SPLRCS surge 3.2 pct. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) WMT.N soars after posting biggest domestic sales growth in a decade Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) STZ.N is sole sector loser as Corona beer maker pumps $4 bln more into weed cultivator Canopy Growth WEED.TO Industrials .SPLRCI up 1.4 pct. Nielsen NLSN.N best SPX stock up 19 pct as activist hedge fund Elliott Management takes stake, urges sale Deere DE.N shares reverse course Fri on bullish view of U.S. farm economy Tech .SPLRCT dips 0.2 pct. Grim forecasts from Applied Materials AMAT.O and Nvidia NVDA.O wham chip stocks Trumps Cisco's CSCO.O solid beat and raise report Semiconductor index .SOX slides 2.3 pct
** Consumer Discretionary .SPLRCD slips 0.2 pct. Group's biggest loser Macy's (NYSE:M) M.N tumbles ~10 pct as margin worries overshadow profit beat On flip side, Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) JWN.N jumps ~13 pct on strong same store sales, rosy outlook Materials .SPLRCM sag 0.5 pct. Gold/Silver miners index .XAU still melting on the charts Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) NEM.N sinks 10 pct
** Energy .SPNY slumps 3.6 pct. Strong dollar, emerging market concerns, trade row with China whack sector SPX sector YTD performance through Thurs: https://reut.rs/2L8D25i
** Meanwhile, BofA-ML says aging U.S. bull can still run even as billionaire Soros doubled down on bet against Wall Street SP 500 thru Aug 17
https://reut.rs/2L8D25i
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