Dow went up 228 with buying into the close, advancers ahead of decliners 4-3 & NAZ gained 197.  The MLP index was steady in the 285s & the REIT index added 3+ to the 427s.  Junk bond funds edged higher & Treasuries were sold which raised yields.  Oil fell 2+ to the 73s & gold sank 28 to 2531 (more on both below).

Dow Jones Industrials 

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MongoDB (MDB) reported healthy fiscal 2nd-qtr earnings & pushed up full-year guidance.  EPS was 70¢ adjusted vs 49¢ expected & sales were $478M vs $464M.  MDB's revenue grew 13% year over year in the qtr that ended Jul 31.  The qtr's net loss came to 74¢ per share, compared with 53¢ per share, in the same qtr a year ago.  "We believe we are incredibly well positioned to help customers incorporate generative AI into their business and modernize their legacy application estate," CEO Dev Ittycheria said.  The company's Atlas cloud database service enjoyed modestly better consumption than expected.  In the fiscal first qtr, Atlas consumption growth slowed as clients observed more challenging economic conditions & usage in the fiscal 2nd qtr implied that the climate did not change, Ittycheria said.  "We generally have not seen the macro environment impact our ability to win new business, and that was true in Q2 as well," Ittycheria added.  "We realized that this is different from what you hear from some other software vendors."  With respect to guidance, MDB called for fiscal 3rd-qtr adjusted EPS of 65-68¢ on $493 - $497M in revenue.  Analysts had expected 60¢ in adjusted EPS on $478.8M in revenue.  Management nudged up its fiscal 2025 forecast.  MDB now sees $2.33 - $2.47 in adjusted EPS, with $1.92 - $1.93B in revenue.  That's up from the May guidance of $2.15 - $2.30 in adjusted EPS & $1.88 - $1.90B in revenue.  Analysts had predicted $2.26 per share in adjusted earnings, along with $1.90B in revenue.  The stock soared 42+ (18%).

MongoDB shares surge as high as 16% on guidance boost

Gold Drops as Dollar, Yields Firm After US Inflation Report

Oil prices rose as investors weighed supply concerns in Libya & Iraq, although signs of weakened demand, particularly in China, limited gains.  Brent crude futures for Oct, which expire today, were up 39¢ (0.5%) at $80.33 a barrel.  The more actively traded contract for Nov rose 34¢ (0.4%) to $79.16.  US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 30¢ (0.4%) to $76.21.  Both benchmarks settled more than $1 higher yesterday on oil supply concerns, up 1.6% & 1.8% respectively for the week so far.  Meanwhile, Iraqi supplies are also expected to shrink after the country's output surpassed its OPEC+ quota.  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) & allies, (OPEC+), is set to gradually phase out voluntary production cuts of 2.2M bpd over the course of a year from Oct 2024 - Sep 2025.

Oil prices gain on Middle East supply concerns

Stocks finished a wobbly day, week & month on a high note as the latest reading of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge bolstered rate-cut hopes.  But today the popular stock averages did not stray far from breakeven.  For the fickle month, Dow rose 720 & for the week eased up a modest 387.  Next week, traders on holiday will return & should bring even more excitement to the stock market.  Have a good holiday!