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Major U.S. equities indexes saw significant gains on the final day of a volatile trading week after the latest Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data revealed price increases ticked downward in June.

The PCE is a preferred gauge of inflation monitored by the Federal Reserve, so the continuing cooldown in price pressures supports the expectation that the central bank will cut interest rates in the coming months.

The S&P advanced 1.1% in Friday's session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 1.0%, while the Dow jumped 1.6%, boosted by outsized gains from industrial conglomerate 3M (MMM).

In addition to notching the top performance among the 30 components of the Dow, 3M shares led the way for the S&P 500, skyrocketing 23.0% to reach their highest level since 2022. The leap higher for the stock came after the maker of Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite, and other well-known brands reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit and sales while boosting its forecasts for the full year. CEO William Brown, who took the reigns of 3M at the beginning of May, said the conglomerate is focused on organic revenue growth following the settlement of class-action lawsuits and the spinoff of its health care unit Solventum (SOLV).

Shares of Mohawk Industries (MHK) soared 19.5% after the residential and commercial flooring manufacturer beat earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for the second quarter and guided third-quarter earnings above consensus estimates. Following the strong quarterly results, Bank of America upgraded Mohawk stock from "underperform" to "buy" while significantly hiking its price target. Analysts expressed confidence in Mohawk's ability to continue expanding its margins even as it navigates a difficult macroeconomic environment.

Cable and internet provider Charter Communications (CHTR) also outperformed top- and bottom-line expectations in its second-quarter earnings release, and its shares jumped 16.6%. Although Charter reported a decline in broadband subscribers amid stiff competition, the company achieved growth in rural markets, driven by its expansion in mobile phones as well as government programs aiming to improve internet access in more remote areas.

Dexcom (DXCM) shares suffered the steepest losses of any S&P 500 stock, plummeting 40.7% after the maker of glucose monitoring devices for patients managing diabetes missed second-quarter revenue estimates and cut its sales guidance for the current quarter and the full year. According to the company, a reshuffling of its sales team, slower-than-expected new customer additions and lower revenue per user contributed to the weak results and a more restrained outlook.

Biogen (BIIB) shares sank 7.2% after regulators in Europe rejected the Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi developed by the biotechnology firm in coordination with Japan-based pharmaceutical company Eisai (ESAIY). Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Leqembi last year, the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee did not recommend granting marketing authorization for the drug, arguing that the risk of serious side effects outweighs the treatment's potential benefits. Eisai's American depositary receipts (ADRs) dropped 12.9% on the day.

Shares of aerospace and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies (LHX) fell 5.7%. Although the company beat second-quarter profit estimates and boosted its full-year guidance, citing strong weapons demand amid elevated global tensions, Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to "hold," pointing to a high valuation following year-to-date gains heading into Friday's session.

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Operatives of the FCT Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have arrested two suspects while attempting to snatch a black Prado Jeep from the owner around Capital Hub in Jahi District of Abuja.

The suspects, who were part of a group of four armed men, were arrested on July 22 at about 10:45pm, while the operatives were on patrol.

This was disclosed by the command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Friday, July 26.

“On sighting the police operatives, the hoodlums opened fire, which resulted in a g¥n duel, but were over powered by the police, as two suspects, Joshua Godfrey A.K.A. Dogo 44 years and Abdulsalam Mamuda, 29 both of Mabushi village were arrested, while two others were neutralized by the police.

The two arrested suspects subsequently led police operatives to the recovery of another red Toyota Corolla car with Reg. No. RBC 743 AH, which must have been snatched from an innocent resident.

Exhibits such as arms, cutlass, dagger, scissors, and mobile phones were recovered from them,” the statement reads.

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The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has urged Nigerians to jettison the proposed planned nationwide protest against hardship in the country.

The Islamic group in a statement issued on Friday by its Secretary General, Prof. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, said Nigerians, should instead, pray to Allah for divine intervention.

According to the statement, “Arising from the recent calls and counter-calls for protest in Nigeria, occasioned by food insecurity, inflation, abject poverty and escalating national security challenges, it becomes very worrying and requires immediate attention.

Therefore, JNI under the leadership of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, with all sense of responsibility appeals to the protest conveners, their covert and overt benefactors, as well as other critical stakeholders and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to urgently engage in critical and realistic dialogue before the situation degenerate or snowballs into an uncontrollable scenario.

Nigerians no doubt are passing through difficult challenges, but protest might not be the panacea.

The global landscape is replete with sordid tales of repercussions of protests in Libya, Syria, Iraq, US (Capitol Hill), Ukraine, Tunisia, Sudan, Russia, among others did not yield desired results, rather they rendered most of these countries either ungovernable or partly d£§troyed.

A glance through the events in Kenya gives some glimpses of what might envelop our dear nation Nigeria, which is struggling to survive the multiple challenges that dot the landscape of the country. Undoubtedly, protest in Nigeria could mar our efforts at addressing these challenges…(continue reading on next slide.)

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Bitcoin, which traded near $65,000 yesterday, was recently back above $67,000 as the Bitcoin 2024 conference continues in Nashville.

Thursday was relatively quiet for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with $31.1 million of inflows, according to Farside Investors. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announced on X that the city's pension fund will soon invest in bitcoin ETFs, pointing to a potential 2% allocation. The State of Michigan Retirement System reported owning $6.6 million of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) in an SEC filing Friday morning.

In the spot ether ETF market Thursday, another $346.2 million flowed out of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), according to Farside Investors. That took the ETF's three-day total outflows to $1.15 billion, with $7.4 billion worth of assets still under management.

Total net outflows for the spot ether ETF market as a whole now stand at $179.1 million. Ether is up about 2.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data.

Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) was up 5% following the announcement of three new board members, One of them, Clement & Murphy Partner Paul Clement, will advise Coinbase on its ongoing battle with the SEC.

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Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) beat expectations on the top and bottom lines with its second-quarter results Friday, sending its shares toward record highs.

The consumer products company, know for its toothpaste, deodorant, soap and other brands, posted net sales of $5.06 billion, up nearly 5% year-over-year and above the Visible Alpha consensus expectation. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at 89 cents, topping expectations of 87 cents. 

Colgate-Palmolive cited a “healthy balance" of volume growth and higher prices, saying that all its operating divisions generated volume growth in the period. 

The company raised its full-year projection for organic sales growth — sales not counting currency effects, acquisitions or divestments — to a range of 6% to 8%, up from 5% to 7%. Net sales are still expected to rise 2% to 5%. It also lifted its guidance for gross margins.

The stock was recently up about 4%, leaving it up more than 25% this year. The rise helped the S&P 500's consumer staples sector, which was up about 0.8% in Friday trading.

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The Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation cooled slightly in June, paving the way for the central bank to rate cuts, likely in September. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index rose 2.5% from the year before, down from 2.6% in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Friday’s PCE measure of inflation in June mirrors the trend shown by the Consumer Price Index earlier this month and was in line with economists' expectations.

The PCE measure of inflation is especially significant because it is the measure central bankers put the most stock in when setting the nation’s monetary policy. The Fed has held its influential fed funds rate at a 23-year high since last July in an effort to push inflation down to its 2% annual goal. 

Economists and traders expect the Fed will leave its key inflation rate at its current level when the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee meets next week. However, the central bank is widely expected to start cutting rates in September.

"The second quarter’s encouraging inflation data has set the stage for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates," wrote Moody's Analytics Economist Matt Colyar.

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