Kyle Rodgers

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded 4% higher as the technology company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal 2019 third quarter ended 29th June and its revenue advanced as well after two consecutive down quarters. The results beat the consensus estimates, meaning the demand for Apple products increased as the company is entering a crucial second half of the year. Apple reported earnings per share of $2.18 on revenue of $53.8bn, beating the estimated EPS of $2.10 on revenue of $53.39bn. “We’re very excited to report a return to growth for the quarter, and it’s a record revenue for Q3 as well, best we’ve ever had,” said Apple's chief executive Tim Cook. “Great services quarter, unbelievable wearables quarter, significant progress on iPhone, and off-the-charts significant progress on China, compared to where we were the previous quarter,” he added. Earlier this month, Apple acquired Intel’s modem unit for $1bn, which is Apple’s second-largest acquisition by dollars and the largest-ever by employees count.

Today, Huawei Technologies reported revenue growth of 23.2% for the first half of the year, faster than the same period last year, amid extraordinary tensions with the US which ultimately resulted in a trade ban. The Chinese technology giant said the revenue in the first half climbed to 401.3 billion yuan ($58.28bn), compared with the 325.7 billion in the year-ago period, as smartphone shipments advanced 24% hitting 118 million units. “Revenue grew fast up through May,” said Huawei Chairman Liang Hua. “Given the foundation, we laid in the first half of the year, we continue to see the growth even after we were added to the entity list. That’s not to say we don’t have difficulties ahead. We do, and they may affect the pace of our growth in the short term.” However, the company said that the impact of the blacklisting was worse than expected, with analysts saying that good sales performance in China and new 5G carrier contracts have overshadowed the impact.

The pound tumbled to a new three-year low this morning as investors got concerned about the escalation of the no-deal rhetoric by Boris Johnson’s government regarding Brexit. Sterling dropped to lows of $1.21 against the US dollar, and below €1.09 against the EUR on the market today, as cabinet ministers have been meeting and making preparations for a no-deal outcome. Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the main person responsible for no-deal Brexit preparations, said the British Government is "working on the assumption" of the no-deal outcome. Gove said he still wants to reach an agreement with Brussels, but in an interview with the Sunday Times, he added: "No deal is now a very real prospect." Petr Krpata, an FX strategist at ING Group, believes that an early election might happen and in that case, the pound will plummet as low as €1.05 against the euro and $1.18 against the dollar.

US equity futures tumbled today as investors made preparations for a challenging week on Wall Street which includes over 150 quarterly earnings reports, a July jobs report and a long-awaited Federal Reserve rate resolution that might make a big impact on the market outlook for the second half of 2019. The meeting will take place tomorrow in Washington with the controversial background of plus 2% GDP growth, the strongest job market in decades, close to record highs for all three US equity benchmarks and the almost inevitable interest rate cut from Fed watchers. “While the Fed cutting rates by a quarter-point will hardly be a surprise to financial market participants – as it has been well advertised and is priced in with a relatively high probability – the broader question will be how the Fed telegraphs its intentions regarding additional easing,” said Carl Riccadonna, chief US economist at Bloomberg Economics.