Good Evening! On Wednesday, the stock market experienced a decline, as traders who had taken a break for Independence Day returned and observed challenges for the global economy. Additionally, they carefully analyzed the minutes released by the Federal Reserve from its June meeting.
The S&P 500 experienced a 0.20% decline, while the Dow Jones saw a decrease of 0.38%. The Nasdaq Composite experienced the smallest loss of 0.18%.
SALES ARE UP!
General Motors (GM) has reported a significant increase in US deliveries, with a growth rate of 18.8% compared to the same period last year. This positive trend aligns with the overall strong second-quarter sales performance observed in the automotive industry.
So how well did GM do? GM reported that their total sales in the US for the second quarter reached 691,978 units. Notably, sales of electric vehicles (EVs) experienced significant growth, reaching 15,652 units, which represents an increase of over 120% compared to the previous quarter.
- GMC Trucks Sales – Up 18%
- Chevrolet Sales – Up 17%
- Cadillac Sales – Up 15%
The overall industry… GM’s positive Q2 performance aligns with the optimistic sales outcomes recently announced by Tesla, Rivian, and Honda. Honda experienced a remarkable increase in sales, with a significant jump of 44.7% compared to the previous year. Will Ford follow? Ford is scheduled to release its second-quarter sales report on Thursday.
WATCH OUT TWITTER
Threads, a microblogging app developed by Meta as a competitor to Twitter, recently became available on the App Store during the holiday weekend. It is anticipated that the app will be officially launched tomorrow.
And it is perfect timing as well! Twitter users have been seeking alternative platforms due to dissatisfaction with recent updates implemented by Elon Musk. These updates include a temporary restriction on the number of posts that can be viewed in a day.
This isn’t the first time… Meta has gained a reputation for closely observing the introduction of popular features by its social media competitors and afterward incorporating them into its own platform. On top of that, this approach has proven to be effective.
- According to Insider Intelligence, Stories, a platform similar to Snapchat, currently contributes to over 25% of Instagram’s worldwide ad revenue.
- Reels, a TikTok imitator introduced by Facebook in 2020, seems to be contributing to the retention of users on Instagram, even if the content they engage with is primarily comprised of pre-existing TikTok videos.