Dow gained 76, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ climbed 131.  The MLP index was fractionally higher to the 234s & the REIT index slid back 3 to the 381s.  Junk bond funds crawled higher & Treasuries had limited buying, lowering yields slightly.  Oil fell 1+ to about 74 & gold declined 4 to 1959 (more on both below).

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

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Ford (F) cut prices for its electric F-150 Lightning pickup, saying its efforts to boost production & lower costs for battery minerals have paid off.  Ford said prices for some of the least expensive versions of the Lighting would fall by nearly $10K.  Prices for all versions, including the top-line Platinum trim, will drop by at least $6K from levels set in Mar.  The company had increased the Lightning's prices several times since its 2021 debut, citing supply constraints & sharply higher prices for the minerals used in the electric truck’s batteries.  Ford has worked to increase production of the truck in recent months, with factory upgrades that are expected to triple its output set to be in place by fall.  The factory that makes the Lightning will be closed for several weeks while the production upgrades are put in place.  Increasing production of the Lightning & other Ford EVs has been a key priority for CEO Jim Farley this year.  But the effort to boost production hasn’t been a smooth one.  Ford sold just 4466 Lightnings in Q2 after a fire in a just-completed truck in Feb led it to shut down production for 5 weeks.  At the time of its 2021 debut, the lowest-priced version of the Lightning, the work-truck Pro trim, was about $40K.  That price was increased several times, hitting about $60K in Mar; these cuts reduce the entry-level truck’s sticker price to about $50K.  The most expensive version of the Lightning, the extended-range Platinum trim, will now start at about $92K, down from just over $98K.  The stock fell 89¢.
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Ford cuts prices on its electric F-150 Lightning pickups by as much as $10,000

Gold futures finished lower, giving back a portion of last week's climb.  Gold's rebound will have to take a break until it is clear the Federal Reserve is done raising rates at the Jul 26 monetary policy meeting.  The labor market is still hanging in there, but expectations remain for it to gradually weaken.  Gold for Aug fell $8 (0.4%) to settle at $1956 an ounce.  Prices based on the most-active contract ended Fri at their highest since finish since mid-Jun & gained about 1.7% last week.

Gold Futures Settle Lower After Last Week's Rise

Oil futures fell, with US & global benchmark prices settling at their lowest in a week after data on China's economic growth fell short of expectations, raising concerns over the outlook for energy demand.  West Texas Intermediate crude for Aug fell $1.27 (1.7%) to settle at $74.15 a barrel, the lowest finish in a week.  Prices on Fri fell 1.9%.  Sep Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped $1.30 (1.7%) to $78.50 a barrel, also the lowest since Jul 10.  China reported that its economy grew 6.3% year over year in Q2, missing expectations for 7.1% growth.  This prompted analysts to mark down forecasts for the world's 2nd-largest economy.  Disappointment in China's rebound following the lifting of strict COVID-19 curbs on activity has been cited as a factor keeping crude under pressure in 2023.  China is the world's top oil importer, & its GDP figures missed the consensus by a full percentage point, posing a big question on the pace of the recovery in the world's 2nd-largest economy & hitting oil prices as expectations for future demand were downgraded.  Meanwhile supply cuts by Saudi Arabia & Russia have also helped buoy crude amid expectations for the global market to move into deficit in H2.

Oil prices post a second straight session loss after weak China data

Dow Jones Industrials