How consumer spending, election impact markets: Market Domination

On today's episode of Market Domination, hosts Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton cover how major trends like weak consumer spending and the election are impacting the markets (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC).

As the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) snap their three-day losing streak, Roundhill Investments CEO Dave Mazza joins the show to give insight into the market movement. He explains, "The mega-cap companies, the 'Magnificent Seven,' have really been the star performers and folks who are looking for a rotation, whether it's to small caps or even other cyclical sectors like industrials and financials, haven't seen it yet. So it doesn't give people really a lot of confidence, even though to your point, for all intents and purposes, they should be particularly bullish. Look at money market assets, money in money market mutual funds are at all time highs. So it's sort of this weird environment where folks are seeking out safety."

The pharmaceutical industry is seeing significant movement. Shares of Moderna (MRNA) are falling after the company said its newly approved RSV vaccine was only about 50% effective after 18 months. Meanwhile, the US House Ways and Means Committee has proposed a strategy for Medicare to cover GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Wegovy and Eli Lily's (LLY) Zepbound. The amendment to the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2023 will be voted on in Thursday's session.

In the latest edition of Good Buy or Goodbye, Tematica Research chief investment officer Chris Versace explains why Costco (COST) is a better investment than McDonald's (MCD) amid weak consumer spending. Versace sees Costco (COST) as a buying opportunity as the retail giant is "extremely well positioned," with about 54% of its product revenue coming from fresh food and sundries. On the other hand, he is bearish on McDonald's, explaining that despite rolling out value meals, the fast food giant is "no longer the cheap alternative."

As the 2024 presidential election inches closer, Blue Line Futures chief market strategist Phil Streible joins the show to highlight how each administration may affect the commodity market. He states, "Energies are one of the top focuses that we're going to be watching. Under Trump, we were energy independent. We did also have a hard stance on Iran. It makes a play for lower energy prices if Trump was to come into office where we are much more dependent on OPEC, South American oil, it's very difficult for oil and gas exploration companies to get those permits to expand wells."

This post was written by Melanie Riehl