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After July's stumble by the Magnificent Seven mega-capitalization tech stocks that accounted for most of the market's first-half gains, investors may be itching to branch out from the group. For that, they may want to consider the “S&P 493," according to Bank of America Securities.

That in effect means the equal-weighted S&P 500, in which the Magnificent Seven have much less influence over the index. Measured that way, the index trades near its steepest discount relative to the capitalization-weighted index since the height of the tech bubble in the early 2000s.

The equal-weighted index’s forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 80% that of the cap-weighted standard, according to a Wednesday BofA research note. The discount would be even larger if tech mega-caps hadn’t led the market pullback throughout July and early August.

The gap is in part due to rebounding corporate earnings. Excluding the Mag Seven, the S&P 500 was, as of Wednesday, on track to grow second-quarter earnings by 8%, its first quarter of growth since 2022. 

Earnings growth accounted for about 10 percentage points of the S&P 500’s 12% year-to-date return, according to BofA analysts in the Wednesday note. Multiple expansion, by their estimate, has added just 2 percentage points. 

Meanwhile, the small-cap S&P 600 hasn’t grown earnings since the end of 2022 and isn’t expected to do so this quarter. Plus, the analysts added, “rising recession concerns hit small-caps harder if history is a guide.”

The Russell 2000 earlier this month surged 10% in a week after a soft inflation report boosted confidence the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the fall, sparking a rotation out of mega-cap tech stocks into rate-sensitive small caps. Those gains were erased in early August when soft labor-market data raised concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

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Americans are still shopping, and Walmart’s strong quarterly results suggest they’re increasingly frequenting value-oriented retailers, boosting the industry’s stocks on Thursday. 

Walmart on Thursday raised its full-year revenue and earnings forecast, citing “a generally stable consumer,” after reporting a 5% increase in second-quarter sales. 

The discount retailer has grown its customer base in recent years, attracting higher-income shoppers who’ve become increasingly cost-conscious after years of elevated inflation and economic uncertainty. Its strong earnings report and financial outlook suggested that the trend is far from ending. 

Walmart’s report sent its shares up more than 6% to a record high, while boosting optimism among discounter investors on Thursday. Shares of competitor Target (TGT) climbed more 4% in morning trading, as did shares of Dollar Tree (DLTR), while Ross Stores (ROST) rose more than 3%. 

Though Walmart’s numbers weren’t the only piece of good news retailers got on Thursday. U.S. retail sales jumped 1% in July, according to data released by the Commerce Department. That figure was far ahead of the 0.3% increase economists were expecting. 

The data gave a boost to discount and non-discount retailers alike, with stocks like lululemon athletica (LULU), Etsy (ETSY), and Best Buy (BBY) trading sharply higher on Thursday.

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) jumped more than 4% and likely would have risen even more if it was a capitalization-weighted fund.

With a market cap of nearly $600 billion, Walmart is worth $200 billion more than America’s next-most valuable retailer, Costco (COST), yet they each account for about 1.4% of the index. Costco gained 1% on Thursday, while Amazon.com (AMZN), the largest company in XRT, rose about 4%.

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Billionaire investor Bill Ackman built new stakes in Nike (NKE) during the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing, sending shares in the sportswear maker up around 4% in premarket trading.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management had built a stake of more than 3 million shares at the end of June worth about $230 million.

Nike has been struggling with falling sales amid a slowing Chinese economy and rising competition from upstarts like Hoka.

Its shares are down around 28% so far this year but jumped on Wednesday as a Bernstein Research analyst affirmed a bullish call on the company. Bernstein's Aneesha Sherman reiterated a "buy" rating and $112 price target on Nike's stock.

In an interview with last month, Sherman said that Nike has "been hiring and investing in R&D and putting more marketing dollars behind some of their launches and rebuilding partnerships with retailers and we are in the trough where we haven’t seen any of that impacting sales yet."

Ackman, meanwhile, recently halted plans for an planned initial public offering (IPO) of a closed-end fund, after dramatically reducing the deal's size.

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Walmart (WMT) shares are jumping in premarket trading after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results and raising its full-year guidance; July retail sales due this morning are expected to show consumers continue to spend but less than in the heady post-pandemic days; Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares are surging after the networking-equipment firm announced cuts to 7% of its workforce as well as quarterly results that beat forecasts; Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares are getting a much-needed boost after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) unveiled a stake in the cosmetics retailer; and Nike (NKE) shares are rising after billionaire investor Bill Ackman disclosed a stake. U.S. stock futures are gaining after ending higher Wednesday as inflation fell below 3% for the first time in three years, increasing investors' bets of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Here's what investors need to know today.

Walmart (WMT) shares are rising 6% in premarket trading after the retail giant posted better-than-expected quarterly results and boosted its full-year outlook. Walmart said it expects full-year sales to rise by 3.75% to 4.75% year-over-year and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) at $2.35 to $2.43, both up from previous guidance. Walmart said its raised guidance "assumes a generally stable consumer." Walmart's sales for its fiscal second quarter rose 4.8% to $169.3 billion, beating analysts' estimates, as did adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67.

Economists expect retail July sales data due at 8:30 a.m. ET to show an increase from June, but also that the post-pandemic spending spree could be ending. Retail sales likely increased 0.3% in July versus the month before, according to economists surveyed by and . Weakness in the job market and the reliance of customers on credit has some economists asking if shoppers can sustain their spending habits. Wednesday's mild inflation reading has increased investor bets that the Fed will cut interest rates next month, but with the labor market weak, the robustness of the consumer will be a key data input for the central bank as it determines the extent of easing.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares are rising 6% in premarket trading after the networking-equipment firm said it is cutting about 7% of its workforce as it pivots to higher-growth areas like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI). Cisco announced the layoffs and also reported lower-than-expected declines in revenue and earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter. The computer networking giant unveiled an initial round of job cuts in February, when it said it would slash 5% of its global workforce, affecting around 4,250 employees.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares are surging 13% in premarket trading after a regulatory filing revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) had taken a stake in the cosmetics retailer during the second quarter. According to a 13-F filing, the Omaha-based conglomerate, which has been selling its stake in Apple (AAPL), purchased 690,106 shares of Ulta, with the size of the holding valued around $266.3 million as of June 30. Shares of the specialty chain have fallen 42% since hitting a record high in March. Berkshire Hathaway also disclosed a stake in Heico Corp. (HEI) and the aerospace and electronics firm's stock is rising about 7%.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman built new stakes in Nike (NKE) during the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing, sending shares in the sportswear maker up around 4% in premarket trading. The SEC filing showed Pershing Square Capital Management had built a stake of more than 3 million shares. Nike has been struggling with falling sales amid a slowing Chinese economy and rising competition from upstarts like Hoka. Its shares are down around 28% so far this year but jumped on Wednesday as a Bernstein Research analyst affirmed a bullish call on the company.

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Shares in Cisco Systems (CSCO) jumped in premarket trading Thursday after the technology and networking company released earnings that topped Wall Street’s estimates and announced that it’s cutting 7% of its global workforce.

The tech giant, which has seen its shares slump by around 10% since the start of the year through Wednesday's close, also said it plans to invest in key growth opportunities as it looks to diversify its revenue. In recent quarters, net sales in the company’s core networking business have remained under pressure as enterprise customers continue to move their computing operations to the cloud.

Cisco shares were up 6% at $48.17 about two hours before the opening bell.

Below, we take a close look at Cisco’s chart and use technical analysis to identify key post-earnings price levels.

Cisco shares carved out a head and shoulders formation between April 2023 and January this year, a chart pattern that signals a potential market top. Moreover, the 50-day moving average (MA) crossed below the 200-day MA in December to form a bearish death cross, another chart alert that warns of lower prices.

Although the stock broke below the pattern’s neckline earlier this month, trading volumes have remained lackluster, suggesting a lack of conviction behind the move lower. Indeed, Thursday’s projected open above the neckline after the company’s better-than-expected earnings has the potential to shift market sentiment back in favor of the bulls.

Following Cisco’s post-earnings jump, investors should monitor four key price levels where the shares could encounter overhead selling pressure amid a reversal attempt.

Initially, the price could run into resistance around $48.50 just below the downward sloping 200-day MA, a location on the chart where sellers may look for exit points near a multi-month downtrend line extending back to the September 2023 swing high, which also marks the “head” of the head and shoulders pattern.

A move higher from here could see the shares climb to $50, where they would likely encounter selling pressure near an important horizontal line joining a range of similar trading levels between November 2022 and May this year.

Further buying may continue a move up to $52.50, a region where investors could be happy to sell shares near the chart formation’s two closely aligned shoulders that formed in April last year and January 2024.

Finally, a major upside reversal could test the top of the head and shoulders pattern near $58. It’s also worth pointing out that a close above this key level would invalidate the formation. Interestingly, a bars patterns, which extracts the stock’s move higher from October to November 2022 and applies it to this month’s recent lows, projects a price target around this same area.

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President Bola Tinubu and President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea have signed an agreement on a gas pipeline for Gulf of Guinea.

In a statement on Thursday by Ajuri Ngelale, the president’s spokesman, the agreement on the Gulf of Guinea gas pipeline project was signed on Wednesday. Ngelale said the agreement further affirms the two nations’ partnership for mutual development.

According to Ngelale, the agreement covered legislative and regulatory measures for the gas pipeline, establishment and operation, as well as transit of natural gas, ownership of the gas pipeline, and general principles. In his remarks, Tinubu said the signing of the agreement will open up new opportunities for gas exploration and employment. The president said the two leaders had discussed issues related to the creation of employment, food security, multilateral relations and conflict resolution mechanisms on the continent during a private meeting that preceded the signing of the agreement.

“Concerning Africa, conflicts and conflict resolution were discussed. We discussed various areas of conflicts and what we can do to promote peace,” Tinubu said. We talked about promotion of peace and stability in our countries, and growth and prosperity on our continent. “In the same way that Europe and America have kept themselves and found a solution for their conflicts, we have to look at both inadequate capital, industrialisation efforts, research and development programmes, and enlighten our people, navigate our way through problems.

Instead of the crisis and conflicts that we see in the Republic of Congo and others, we have to look inwards to solve problems ourselves.” President Tinubu said the discussion with the president of Equatorial Guinea also covered challenges of security, African continental free trade area (ACFTA) and food security.

“We are all going for it. Within Africa and the African Union, we have resolved that we will work together to make sure that the solution to many of our problems in Africa comes from within,” he added.

Mbasogo said bilateral relations with Nigeria over many years have been rewarding but there is a need to deepen cooperation across salient areas. The president of Equatorial Guinea also said Africa’s vision of having a permanent seat in the security council of the United Nations is vital for the development of the continent, affirming that Equatorial Guinea will collaborate with Nigeria to achieve this objective. He said the signing of the agreement was a strategic move for Africa’s development.

Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs and Simeon Oyono Esono, Equatorial Guinea’s minister of foreign affairs, also signed the agreement. Lateef Fagbemi, minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation; Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, minister of defence; Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior; Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state, petroleum (gas), and Jamila Ibrahim- Biu, minister of youth development, were present at the signing of the agreement.

On Tuesday, the presidency announced that Tinubu will be travelling to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, for a three-day official visit at the behest of Mbasogo. Tinubu was received by Manuela Botey, the country’s prime minister when he arrived Malabo on Wednesday. The presidency said Tinubu will hold a private meeting with Mbasogo which will be followed by signing of bilateral agreements focusing on oil and gas, security and others.

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