Market Highlights: Tesla, Alphabet slump after posting results, and 5 ASX small caps to watch today

The ASX will open slightly higher today, despite losses in New York
Alphabet’s strong Q2 earnings buoyed share price by 1pc
Tesla and GM faced declines due to earnings misses and cost concerns

The ASX200 index is expected to edge higher when the market opens on Wednesday, despite losses in New York. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by 0.1%.

Overnight, US stocks slipped toward the closing bell. The S&P 500 finished the day 0.16% lower, the blue chips Dow Jones index fell by 0.14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down by 0.06%.

Investors weighed earnings reports from several major companies.

Alphabet’s stock price slumped % in post-market trading despite the company reporting a strong Q2 earnings, with net income reaching US$23.62 billion, or US$1.89 per share, up from US$18.37 billion, or US$1.44 per share, a year ago. Analysts had expected earnings of only US$1.84 per share.

Tesla was down 2% in normal hours and plunged 6% further post market after its Q2 earnings fell short of expectations. Revenue for the quarter hit US$25.50 billion, higher than the expected US$24.63 billion estimate. Gross margin came in at 18%, beating expectations of 17.4%.

However, Tesla posted a profit of US$1.8 billion for the quarter, equivalent to 52 cents per share, down from the 91 cents per share reported a year ago. Analysts had anticipated 61 cents per share.

General Motors tumbled by over 6% after CFO Paul Jacobson said the company anticipates higher seasonal commodity costs and pricing challenges in the latter half of the year.

Earlier, GM announced that its sales for Q2 increased by 7.2% compared to the pcp, reaching US$47.97 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations of US$45.30 billion.

Spotify meanwhile soared 12% after the company delivered robust quarterly earnings with a US$532 million Q2 free cash flow, shattering estimates of US$363 million and representing 4,700% year-over-year growth.

How much AI data is generated every 60 seconds?

Domo has just released a special edition of its annual Data Never Sleeps (DNS) study, exploring the immense amount of AI data generated every 60 seconds globally and the impact on our everyday lives.

For over a decade, Domo has tracked the world’s data usage, revealing remarkable increases in activity across various online platforms, from Instagram and X to Amazon, Venmo, and many others.

Now, its AI Edition, released last night, has uncovered the new era of AI for businesses and consumers across the world.

Key data of the report suggests that every 60 seconds:

USD $293k is spent on AI
19,028 images are created
1 deep fake occurs
467k hours are saved by employees using Chat GPT
35 new cars with hands-free automation are sold
185 gallons of H20 cool the Chat GPT supercomputers
7,431 minutes of video is generated
Chat GPT is prompted 6,944 times

Back to markets …

Gold price climbed by 0.5% to US$2,408.42 an ounce.

Oil prices slipped by 1.3%, with Brent crude now trading at US$81.44 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield traded flat at 4.25%.

The Aussie dollar retreated a further 0.5% to trade at US66.14 cents.

The iron ore price slipped by another 2.5% to US$100.95 a tonne.

Bitcoin meanwhile was down by 2.5% in the last 24 hours to US$65,878, while Ethereum lifted by 0.5% to US$3,463.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY)
Argosy says it will focus its efforts on enhancing the Rincon Lithium Project on the back of the current lithium market conditions. The company will aim to complete engineering works for a 10,000 tons per annum (tpa) capacity to advance the project towards construction readiness and reduce risks. Argosy plans to ultimately develop the project to produce 12,000 tpa, aligning with regulatory approvals. The company will maintain financial caution to support this strategy and preserve capital as it progresses to the next phase of development.

Everest Metals (ASX:EMC)
EMC has successfully recovered rubidium from its Mt Edon Critical Mineral Project. Edith Cowan University’s Mineral Recovery Research Centre has completed phase 1 of rubidium extraction testing, achieving a technically viable method. The next steps involve purifying the rubidium for final products, with plans underway to scale up to pilot plant processing. Additionally, the project is nearing completion of its maiden JORC Resource assessment, and further drilling is scheduled for Q4 2024.

Argenica Therapeutics (ASX:AGN)
Argenica says its Phase 2 stroke clinical trial is progressing well. Eight out of the ten participating hospitals have been activated, with the remaining two expected to join later this month. By August, all hospitals will be fully activated. The independent Data Safety Monitoring Board will review safety data once 23 patients have been dosed, expected in the coming weeks. Patient recruitment remains on schedule to dose all 92 participants by the end of 2025 as planned.

Melodiol Global Health (ASX:ME1)
Melodiol announced strong sales growth at its Canadian subsidiary, Mernova, in Q3 2024 with $1.5 million in confirmed orders so far. The company also reported $2.0 million in orders for Q2 2024, marking significant increases from previous quarters. Additionally, Melodiol plans to sell Mernova’s facility for $12 million, aiming to clear debts and strengthen finances for future growth. The company will retain the popular Ritual brand to continue meeting market demand.

Magmatic Resources (ASX:MAG)
Magmatic has expanded its exploration efforts at Lady Ilse, revealing promising findings from a recent geochemistry program. Results from 64 holes north of the Lady Ilse Prospect indicate significant gold and copper mineralization, with highlights such as 6 meters at 0.80 grams per ton of gold and 0.15% copper from a depth of 12 meters. These findings suggest the potential for a Boda-style porphyry system. Magmatic’s technical team is now analysing this data alongside existing geophysical information to plan further exploration and identify future drilling locations.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Everest Metals and Melodiol Global Health are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.