The Day at a Glance | August 6 2024

The Top

Strong figures in the automotive sector from January to July.

• Retail sales in the Eurozone contracted in June, breaking a streak of three consecutive months of expansion.

• The Nikkei 225 surged by +10.24%; however, the exchange rate remained within a range of 19.13 to 19.52 pesos per dollar.

• Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, choosing a proponent of progressive policies and a plainspoken figure from the heart of the US to help win over rural Caucasian voters.

• Japanese officials rushed on Tuesday to allay concerns about sharp swings in the country’s financial markets, with the prime minister urging calm and top finance officials convening an emergency meeting.

• Oil prices held steady on Tuesday, as fears of an escalation in the Middle East conflict and a drop in production in Libya’s largest oil field raised concerns of supply shortages.

Economic Environment

Strong figures in the automotive sector from January to July. In July 2024, 124,761 new cars were sold, logging a 12.6% year-on-year increase, while 302,309 cars were produced, marking a 2.7% rise compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, 271,469 vehicles were exported in July, recording a 1.6% drop compared to July 2023. Thus, in the January-July 2024 period, 833,411 new vehicles were sold, 2,298,445 cars were produced, and 1,986,263 units were exported, representing increases of 12.0%, 4.9%, and 8.4%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2023. Sales figures continue to log positive momentum, suggesting that private consumption remains strong. However, the slight weakness in the export sector could be an early sign of a slowdown in the US.

Retail sales in the Eurozone contracted in June 2024, breaking a streak of three consecutive months of expansion. In June, retail sales decreased by 0.3% year-on-year, following an upward revision of 0.5% year-on-year the previous month. This breaks the three-month streak of moderate expansion. Food sales decreased by 0.7% year-on-year, while non-food stores and gas stations both logged a 0.3% year-on-year increase. On a monthly basis, retail sales fell by 0.3%, following a slight 0.1% increase observed the previous month. Overall, June’s data recorded some weakness in consumption at the end of the second quarter.

Markets and Companies

Stock markets are trading higher after widespread declines caused by the plunge in Japan’s stock market, which occurred after the Asian country’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate and pointed to more rate hikes. Today, the Japanese market took a breather and closed with gains, while in the US, main stock indices are also logging increases.

In the debt market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond stands at 3.82%, rebounding after having retreated to its lowest level since June 2023. Additionally, the Treasury bond yield curve is flattening after having remained inverted for a long time.

In Mexico, the IPC opened higher, standing at 54,958.7 points. The peso-to-dollar exchange rate is at 19.47 after closing at 19.33 yesterday.

In July, passenger traffic at ASUR airports fell by 1.7% year-on-year. By country, the changes were: Mexico -11.1%; Puerto Rico +10.5%; and Colombia +15.4%.

GAP reported that passenger traffic decreased by 5.6% year-on-year in July. Domestic traffic declined by 7.8%, and international traffic dropped by 2.6%.

In July, VOLAR’s passenger traffic recorded a 12.3% year-on-year drop, seat capacity (ASMs) decreased by 15.0%, and demand (RPMs) fell by 13.0%. As a result, the load factor was 89.8%, up from 87.8% in July 2023.

Corporate News

• Palantir Technologies’ shares rose nearly 11% as the company revised its revenue guidance upward.

• Uber reported better-than-expected quarterly results for Q2 2024, with its shares rising around 6%.

• Caterpillar reported quarterly earnings above market expectations, with its shares responding positively to the report.