Wall Street: Strong reporting season, weak job market

As Wall Street opens amiably to trade, despite the US labor market unexpectedly showing weak performance in July, 23,000 jobs were lost while 83,000 new positions were anticipated. Simultaneously, the employment figures for May and June were revised downward by 103,000 positions, and average hourly wages increased more modestly than expected.

For the stock market, this unfavorable news initially proves advantageous, as it reduces the risk of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in September, alleviating pressure on the tech sector. Even before the labor market data was released, a predominantly strong wave of earnings reports from the earnings season provided a boost: Atlassian exceeded expectations for both profit and revenue, with remaining performance obligations rising by 44% to $4.8 billion.

Bank of America upgrades the stock to 'Buy' as Atlassian increasingly appears as a KAI profit rather than a KAI casualty. Cloudflare reports a 36% revenue growth and raises its yearly outlook, while Goldman Sachs increases its price target to $389. Meanwhile, Twilio impresses with a 22% revenue growth and an upward revision in its forecast.

Even Microchip Technology delivers numbers and outlook exceeding expectations. The complete opposite is seen with The Trade Desk, where revenue and EBITDA significantly underperform, with the outlook for the third quarter drastically below expectations. Bank of America downgrades the stock and Citi even moves to 'Sell' with a price target of only $11.

Outside the tech sector, Airbnb, Monster Beverage, and Republic Services also impress, while Sweetgreen lowers its forecast and Under Armour faces pressure due to weak revenues and a reduced yearly outlook.