United earnings, small-cap rally takes a breather: Market Domination Overtime

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On today's episode of Market Domination Overtime, Hosts Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton break down the market close and some of the biggest stories to watch on Thursday, July 18.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sunk by 512 points — or 2.77% — in Wednesday's trading session. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) also closed 1.39% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) saw a 0.60% bump higher to a new record high. Markets have taken a turn as the Russell 2000 (^RUT) makes gains while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lag from pressure facing the chip sector. Kestra Investment Management CIO Kara Murphy says, "If you look at over the last six months, 80% of the constituents of the S&P 500 have underperformed the index... Now all of a sudden, we get a couple of good inflation prints, a couple good labor prints. Looks like Fed can start to cut interest rates, and all of a sudden, the macro environment starts to change. And I think this is a hint of what is going to turn out to be a broader trend." She encourages investors to start rotating out some mega-cap names for some smaller-cap and mid-cap names, explaining that with mid-caps, "you have companies that are a little bit more established, a little bit more mature, a little bit more diversified, better balance sheets in general, but largely ignored by a lot of the market."

United Airlines (UAL) posted mixed second quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.14 topped estimates of $3.93. Operating revenue of $15.0 billion was about in line with the estimated $15.04 billion, but passenger revenue of $13.68 billion was just shy of the expected $13.74 billion. The airliner disappointed with its third quarter outlook, projecting adjusted earnings of $2.75 to $3.25 per share, coming in below the anticipated $3.38. Third Bridge global sector lead for industrials, materials, and energy Peter McNally explains, "most of the market has gotten this heads up now that the airline industry is softening. There's just too much capacity right now and we're at a peak demand season. And it's weighing on the revenues outlook." He adds, "it gets more interesting for United longer term," as capital expenditures seem lower year-over-year and Boeing's (BA) deliveries slow. He notes that United's future plans depend on getting new planes from Boeing, and he's keeping a watchful eye on how those plans get pushed.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) is currently in talks to by cybersecurity firm Wiz for a deal valued around $23 billion, according to Bloomberg. As the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have been recently pushing back on a number of Big Tech deals, Yahoo Finance legal reporter Alexis Keenan breaks down why a potential Alphabet-Wiz deal is unlikely to evade regulator scrutiny.

Finally, Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton break down what to watch on Thursday, July 18, from the end of the Republican National Convention to major earnings including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) and Netflix (NFLX).

This post was written by Melanie Riehl