- Tech Stocks Lift Asian Equities to Two-Year High: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian equities rallied Thursday as fresh signs of vigor in technology stocks spread across Asia.
Currencies pared sharp moves from the prior day that supported the dollar over the yen. Equity benchmarks
in the tech-heavy markets of Japan and South Korea advanced alongside futures for the Nasdaq 100. - Dow falls nearly 300 points to snap four-day win streak, S&P 500 retreats from record
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 slid on Wednesday, retreating from their latest records.
The S&P 500 lost 0.19% to close at 5,722.26, while the 30-stock Dow fell 293.47 points, or 0.70%, to end at
41,914.75. Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit fresh records in early trading, but the blue-chip index wound up
snapping a four-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a narrow gain of 0.04%, closing at
18,082.21. Notable losers of the day include General Motors and Ford, which both fell more than 4%
after downgrades from Morgan Stanley. A 5.5% drop in Amgen weighed on the Dow. Nine of the 11 sectors in
the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory, led lower by energy as U.S. crude oil futures
slid. Chevron shares slumped more than 2%. Tech was a bright spot in the market. - Oil prices little changed as U.S. stockpile drop offsets global demand woes
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday after falling in the previous session as signs of higher fuel demand
and falling stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user, offset concerns over demand elsewhere,
particularly in China. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.12%, to $73.55 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude rose 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $69.73 per barrel as of 0058 GMT. Oil prices slumped over 2%
on Wednesday as worries over supply disruptions in Libya eased and demand concerns continued despite
China’s latest stimulus plans. Oil prices initially rose following the stimulus announcement from the world’s
biggest oil importer. - Gold consolidates after smashing record on rate-cut momentum
Gold edged down on Wednesday as investors booked profits after it soared to a record high as expectations
for another big rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve bolstered bullion’s bull rally. Spot gold was down 0.2% at
$2,652.99 per ounce by 1657 GMT after hitting an all-time high of $2,670.43 earlier. U.S. gold futures were
steady at $2,677.30. - Hedge Funds Snap Up Chinese Equities on Stimulus Optimism
(Bloomberg) — Hedge funds rushed to buy Chinese equities in a bet that the country’s new stimulus program
can boost growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese equities on Tuesday saw the largest daily
net buying since March 2021, the second largest amount in the past 10 years, according to Goldman Sachs
Group Inc.’s prime brokerage report. - Powell Emerges Stronger After Leading Fed to Big Rate Cut
(Bloomberg) — One week before Federal Reserve officials gathered in Washington this month, they were split
over how fast to lower interest rates. The economy wasn’t flashing the kind of obvious warning signs that
would typically prompt an aggressive response from the US central bank. - BOJ to Hold for Longer Now, Rates to Go Higher Later: Economics
(Bloomberg Economics) — The Bank of Japan appears to be slow-walking its rate hikes, with Governor Kazuo
Ueda signaling a cautious approach that we think pushes the next move to January. Next year, though, it
could tighten more than markets expect. We see it ratcheting its key rate up to 1.0% from 0.25%, above the
0.75% consensus, to pare stimulus as inflation stabilizes around its target. - China to Give Cash Handouts to the Poor in Rare Use of Aid
(Bloomberg) — China said it will give one-off cash handouts to people in extreme poverty before Tuesday, in a
rare announcement of direct aid just a day after unveiling a sweeping program to stimulate the world’s
second-largest economy. The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Civil Affairs will issue living subsidies to
disadvantaged groups. - PBOC Paper Says Yuan to Keep Stable on Fed Cuts, GDP Recovery
(Bloomberg) — There is a solid foundation for the Chinese currency to stay basically stable, as the US Federal
Reserve has kicked off its easing cycle and Beijing has been taking a series of measures to shore up the
country’s economy, according to a front-page commentary published in PBOC-backed newspaper Financial
News. - Harris Says Keeping US Steel Domestic Worth Threatened Job Loss
(Bloomberg) — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said keeping domestic control of steel
production was more important than possible job losses if a proposed deal for Nippon Steel Corp., a Japanese
company, to purchase United States Steel Corp. fell through. - Harris Plans Arizona Border Visit to Confront Immigration Issue
(Bloomberg) — Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the US-Mexico border on Friday in an attempt to show
voters that she has a firm grasp on the issue of immigration and border security, a key policy concern in the
November election. Harris will travel to Douglas, Arizona on Friday, according to her campaign, kicking off a
West Coast swing that also includes California. - US and France Set to Offer Truce Plan to Avert War in Lebanon
(Bloomberg) — The US and France will propose a three-week cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah in
Lebanon as part of a bid to clear the way for negotiations and avert all-out war in the Middle East. France’s
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said details of the proposal would be announced soon and he planned to
travel to Beirut by the end of the week. - UniCredit Flagged Commerzbank Interest to Germany Ahead of Move
(Bloomberg) — UniCredit SpA spoke with German officials about building a stake in Commerzbank AG before
Berlin began selling its shares in the firm earlier this month, adding to the confusion around Germany’s
position that it was unaware the move would be coming. - OpenAI Discusses Giving Altman 7% Stake in For-Profit Shift
(Bloomberg) — OpenAI is discussing giving Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman a 7% equity stake in the
company and restructuring to become a for-profit business, people familiar with the matter said, a major
shift that would mark the first time Altman is granted ownership in the artificial intelligence startup. The
company is considering becoming a public benefit corporation. - Oracle Investment in Chipmaker Ampere Gives It Option to Own
(Bloomberg) — Oracle Corp. said it owns 29% of startup Ampere Computing LLC and can exercise future
investments options that would give it control of the chipmaker. Oracle said in addition to equity in the
startup, it invested $600 million in the fiscal year ended May 31 in convertible debt issued by Ampere after
$400 million in such debt in fiscal 2023. - Air France-KLM shares rose 6% after JPMorgan double-upgraded the stock to overweight, predicting a
pick-up in earnings momentum
JPMorgan analysts led by Harry Gowers see a buying opportunity across European airlines ahead of the
winter season, noting that lower fuel costs and normalizing ticket pricing mean margin expansion into next
year is highly likely. They raise their rating on Air France-KLM to overweight from underweight, and increase
the PT to €12 vs. €8.60. Upgrade is driven by a potential inflection in earnings momentum going into 2025,
set against a historically low share price. Also note that underlying pricing and bookings appear more resilient
than feared, and capacity growth looks manageable into winter. - Shares in General Motors fell 4.9% after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas warned that cars are too
expensive for US consumers and a price war in China will hurt the bottom line there
Automakers face challenges in both markets. Even with interest rates falling the average monthly vehicle
payment in the US exceeds $700 a month, which is keeping consumers from showrooms. Add in market
share gains from Japanese and Korean automakers, and Jonas sees little upside. Jonas estimates Chinese
automakers are producing nearly 9 million units more than it sells locally, a fact that is squeezing prices and
making the market unprofitable for all but a few players. Car affordability in the US is very stretched, he
wrote in a note to clients. Industry structure has not changed. Inventory is at pre-Covid levels. Japanese,
Korean and EV names are gaining share. Others are squeezed. US has all the burden with falling prices, falling
mix, rising costs and lower share. - Micron Technology surged 14.8% in afterhours trading after giving surprisingly strong sales and profit
forecasts, helped by demand for artificial intelligence gear
Fiscal first-quarter revenue will be about $8.7 billion, the company said. That compares with an average
analyst estimate of $8.32 billion. Profit will be about $1.74 a share, minus certain items, versus a projection
of $1.52. The rosy outlook is the latest sign that Micron is benefiting from a boom in AI spending. Orders for a
typ e of product called high-bandwidth memory have added a lucrative new revenue stream for the company
and other chipmakers. The technology helps develop AI systems by providing more rapid access to massive
pools of information. Demand has been outpacing supply, letting Micron boost prices and secure long-term
guaranteed contracts. It’s already sold out of the product for 2024 and 2025, the company said. Results from
Micron’s fiscal fourth quarter also beat estimates. Revenue increased 93% to $7.75 billion in the period,
which ended Aug. 29. Excluding certain items, profit was $1.18 per share. On average, analysts had estimated
a profit of $1.12 a share and revenue of $7.66 billion. - Vistra has overtaken Nvidia to become the best-performing stock in the S&P 500
Vistra is a utility company based in Irving, Texas and also the second-largest owner of independent nuclear
plants after buying three nuclear plants in Pennsylvania last year. Nuclear power has become the latest hot
topic given AI requires a ton of computing power, which requires a lot of energy, more than can be produced
by traditional sources or even with solar, wind, and other renewable sources. Case in point is Microsoft’s deal
with Constellation Energy, which will revive the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, or at least
one of the reactors, with power provided solely to the tech giant for the next 20 years. The potential for
more such deals has given Vistra a boost as well. - Amgen shares fell 5.5% after the drugmaker gave updates from its immunology and rare disease
development pipeline that disappointed Wall Street. Leerink Partner calls the phase 3 data for
rocatinlimab in atopic dermatitis and Uplizna in myasthenia gravis underwhelming
Leerink Partners, David Risinger, rates AMGN market perform: Says both therapies appear less efficacious
than competing, approved products in their respective indications. Baird, Brian P. Skorney, rates AMGN
underperform: Says new data from rocatinlimab in AD look unimpressive. Adds that the Uplizna gMG data
look better, suggesting solid uptake into the post-FcRN market, but not competitive enough with FcRN to
justify being needle-moving. Overall, we see the data as a draw for the stock.
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