- Japan Stocks, US Futures Rise as Nvidia Impresses: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Japanese stocks and US futures rose Thursday in a sign of fresh momentum in global equities after Nvidia Corp. unveiled a better-than-expected revenue forecast. Japanese shares rallied, supported by a depressed yen, pushing the Nikkei 225 Index to within a whisker of its 1989 record high. South Korean shares also rose. - AI Mania Resumes, With Nvidia Outlook Saving Broader Market
(Bloomberg) — Equity investors can exhale. On a day when virtually all trading felt like a prelude to Nvidia Corp.’s earnings report, the AI chip-making darling delivered a robust sales forecast that reinvigorated the artificial-intelligence mania behind last year’s stock-market rally. Its shares surged, spurring gains in index futures and rallies in global peers and suppliers. - China to Roll Out Series of Regulations on Quant Funds: Papers
(Bloomberg) — The next phase of regulations on quantitative hedge funds will be introduced one by one, China’s top securities newspapers including the Shanghai Securities News say in front-page reports on Thursday, citing unidentified official at securities watchdog CSRC. CSRC will strengthen communication with investors, promote healthy development of quantitative trading. - House of Commons Sinks into Chaos Over Israel-Hamas War Vote
(Bloomberg) — A vote on the Israel-Hamas war triggered chaos in the UK’s House of Commons with the Scottish National Party walking out in protest and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives also refusing to cast their ballots. The disarray was triggered after Speaker Lindsay Hoyle controversially allowed both Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and Sunak’s Tories to propose changes to the SNP’s call for a cease-fire in Gaza. - Most Fed Officials Flagged Risks of Cutting Rates Too Quickly
(Bloomberg) — Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest gathering show most officials remained more worried about the risk of cutting interest rates too soon than keeping them high for too long and damaging the economy. A summary of the Jan. 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released Wednesday showed policymakers want to see more evidence inflation is firmly on a downward path. - What BOJ’s Easy Policy May Look Like After Subzero Rate Era Ends
(Bloomberg) — The Bank of Japan is widely expected to soon conduct its most dramatic policy turn in a decade, but exactly what the aftermath will look like is open to question. Even as it puts an end to the world’s last negative rate, and concludes its experiment in massive quantitative easing, the bank — it has repeatedly asserted — will keep its policy settings accommodative. - Bond Traders Brace for Another US Selloff, Unwind Bullish Bets
(Bloomberg) — Bond traders are bracing for the risk of a renewed selloff, driving a surge of trading in options targeting higher yields and prompting investors to unwind long Treasury positions by the most in nearly two years. The trend gained momentum this week, when there was strong demand for contracts wagering that 10-year yields will breach 4.5%, a level they haven’t exceeded since November. - HSBC Takes Axe to Global Property Exposure as Market Cracks
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holding Plc slashed its exposure to commercial real estate in both the US and UK last year, the latest sign that lenders are looking to limit their losses as office occupancy rates in major cities continue to plummet. The bank’s US commercial property portfolio is now less than half the size it was before the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. - Shares of cybersecurity companies are sinking on Wednesday, with Palo Alto Networks leading the move lower after it slashed its forecast. PANW down 27%, its biggest intraday percentage drop on record.
The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF fell 5.6%, its biggest drop since May 2022. CrowdStrike Holdings -11%, Fortinet -8.3%, Sentinel One -10%, Zscaler -16%, CyberArk Software -4%, Check Point Software Technologies -6%, Tenable -6.5%. - Nvidia shares are up 8.1% in extended trading, after the chipmaker gave the latest in a series of robust forecasts, a sign it continues to benefit from massive demand for its AI-related products.
Bloomberg Intelligence: “Nvidia’s above-consensus 1Q outlook points to solid demand for its GPUs into 2024 as large cloud and hyperscale customers boost AI capital spending”. The outlook “validates AI demand momentum”. Citi (buy, PT $575): “NVDA reported better-than-expected Jan-Q results and guidance amid robust AI demand strength”. Truist Securities (buy, PT $691): The results are solidly better than expected, while the outlook is “also well above consensus”. Vital Knowledge: The report and outlook “are great”. - Garmin shares are up 7% on Wednesday, after the consumer electronics company reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations. Analysts see margins as especially strong.
JPMorgan (neutral): “While full-year earnings tracked lower than consensus estimates heading into the print, we believe the outlook was better than feared by investors, particularly with revenue tracking ahead of expectations”. KeyBanc Capital Markets (sector weight). The results are strong; the outlook is “mixed on tax rate assumption, but top-line guide is strong”. - Analog Devices is warning that it could record a loss in the fiscal second quarter after earnings and revenue fell in the first as customers continue to pull back on their semiconductor inventories.
The chipmaker posted a profit of $462.7 million, or 93 cents a share, in the quarter ended Feb. 3, down from $961.5 million, or $1.88 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.73 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting $1.71 a share. Revenue fell to $2.51 billion from $3.25 billion, but came in just above analyst estimates for $2.5 billion, according to FactSet.
Menu