- Stocks in Asia Cautious as Traders Await Nvidia: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia traded in tight ranges following a sluggish day on Wall Street, as investors
prepared for a slew of earnings that will set the tone for risk assets. Equity benchmarks in Australia and South
Korea edged slightly lower on Wednesday. Japanese stocks also faced headwinds from the recent
appreciation in the yen. - S&P 500, Nasdaq close slightly higher Tuesday, lifted by Nvidia shares
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a major earnings report later this week.
The broad market index gained 0.16% to close at 5,625.80, while the Nasdaq Composite crept 0.16% higher
to end at 17,754.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.98 points, or 0.02%, to end at 41,250.50, its
second record close in a row. Investors are eager to see earnings from top artificial intelligence beneficiary
Nvidia after Wednesday’s closing bell. Shares of the graphics processing unit manufacturer advanced about
1.5% on Tuesday. Nvidia has become a key bellwether for tech stocks and AI more broadly, and investors will
look toward its fiscal second-quarter results to gauge the health of the AI trade. - Oil rebounds as geopolitics, demand concerns whipsaw investors
Oil rebounded on Wednesday after a sharp drop in the previous session ended a three-day streak of gains as
investors have whipsawed between concerns about potential supply losses from Libya and the Middle East
and worries about global fuel demand. Brent crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.31%, at $79.80 a barrel at
0209 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.23%, to trade at $75.70. Prices are
bouncing back from Tuesday’s more than 2% decline, which snapped a three-day streak of gains of more than
7%, as concerns about low refinery profit margins weighed on expectations for fuel demand amid data
showing global consumption growth has been lower than forecast this year. - Gold edges down on stronger dollar, market awaits U.S. inflation data
Gold prices slipped on Wednesday as the dollar ticked up, while investors awaited a key U.S. inflation report
due this week for more clarity on the size of a likely September rate cut. Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,514.11 per
ounce by 0313 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $2,531.60 on Aug. 20. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% to
$2,549.00. The dollar index was up 0.1%, diminishing gold’s attractiveness for foreign currency holders. - Hedge Fund Arbitrage Tactic Sees Payoff in PDD’s Record Plunge
(Bloomberg) — PDD Holdings Inc.’s record stock slide delivered gains to a popular hedge-fund strategy that
seizes on the disconnect between the stock and corporate-bond markets. The tactic is centered on
convertible bonds, a type of debt that can be redeemed for shares under certain circumstances. - Bitcoin Hits One-Week Low as Boost From Powell’s Signal Unravels
(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin posted its biggest drop since the turmoil that gripped global markets in early August, part of a wider retreat in crypto prices that included a sharp fall in second-ranked token Ether. The largest digital asset shed more than 6% at one point, the steepest slide since the Aug. 5 plunge, before retracing some of the weakness to change hands at $59,200. - Trump Special Counsel Presses Ahead With 2020 Election Case
(Bloomberg) — The US special counsel investigating Donald Trump is pressing ahead with prosecuting the
former president on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election after facing a recent setback from the US
Supreme Court. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday filed an updated indictment that removes several
pages of allegations following the high court’s blockbuster decision. - Harris, Walz Will Sit for First Campaign Interview on CNN
(Bloomberg) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will take
part in their first joint interview, scheduled for Thursday night on CNN. The network said Tuesday that anchor
Dana Bash will talk to the two Democratic nominees in Georgia, a state that’s crucial to the election strategy
of both parties. - US Consumer Confidence Rises on Views of Economy, Inflation
(Bloomberg) — US consumer confidence rose to a six-month high in August as more upbeat views of the
economy and inflation offset waning optimism about the labor market. The Conference Board’s gauge of
sentiment increased to 103.3 from an upwardly revised 101.9 a month earlier, data out Tuesday showed. - Fed Discount Minutes Show New York, Chicago Favored a July Cut
(Bloomberg) — Directors at the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Chicago voted in July in favor of
lowering the so-called discount lending rate, records released by the Fed Wednesday showed. That’s a
possible signal that presidents of those two banks, John Williams in New York and Austan Goolsbee in
Chicago, were prepared to support an interest-rate cut last month. - Seven & I Shares Fall on Potential New Hurdle for Takeover Offer
(Bloomberg) — Seven & i Holdings Co. shares dropped as much as 3.8% after people with knowledge of the
matter said the operator of 7-Eleven stores asked Japan’s government for a designation that would raise
potential hurdles for a takeover. The Japanese retailer is seeking designation as a core company under the
Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. - Eli Lilly & Co. shares rose 0.4% after the pharma giant said it would start selling vials of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound to patients for as little as $399 a month
The move is part of Lilly’s all hands on deck effort to ramp up supply of Zepbound and a similar drug for diabetes called Mounjaro amid widespread shortages, Executive Vice President Patrik Jonsson said. Morgan Stanley’s Terence Flynn, overweight PT $1106, says that while the new presentation of Zepbound could pressure near-term average price assumptions for the drug, the incremental volume from vials could prove to be a positive offset. In addition to helping to bring additional Zepbound supply on board sooner autoinjectors has been a bottleneck, the vial strategy could also be a way to mitigate the competition from compounding pharmacies in our view. Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat, in-line, says the discount does not lower LLY’s estimates because it’s still largely similar to the net prices as they stand today. If anything, based on new changes, you can find evidence on LLY’s website suggesting net price may actually get BETTER: prior savings card for patients who have commercial insurance but without coverage ~$650/month, this is up from ~$550/month. - Super Micro Computer Inc. shares fell 2.6% on Tuesday after Hindenburg Research said it is short the maker of server equipment, which became a tech-market darling as a major beneficiary of the boom in artificial intelligence
The stock fell as much as 8.7% after Hindenburg Research’s report, though it pared much of that decline and closed down 2.6%. Hindenburg, the firm run by Nate Anderson, wrote that an investigation into the company revealed glaring accounting red flags, evidence of undisclosed related party transactions, sanctions and export control failures, and customer issues. A spokesperson for Super Micro said the company does not comment on rumors and speculation. Woo Jin Ho, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote that Hindenburg’s report could raise greater scrutiny on the server-equipment maker’s accounting practices and customer transactions, and that while Hindenburg’s concerns aren’t new, they might intensify the spotlight on client relationships, especially given heightened US scrutiny of AI-systems sales to sanctioned companies and countries. - Paramount Global fell 7.1% on Tuesday as Seagram Co. heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. dropped out of a bidding war for the media company after submitting deal terms last week and challenging a competing offer from Skydance Media
Bronfman pulls out in part because of process’s tight deadline and Paramount expects deal with Skydance to
be completed next year. Seaport analyst David Joyce reiterates its neutral rating saying he does not see
Paramount’s challenges settling yet. This would include the problematic Skydance deal with legal and
valuation questions swirling. - Apple Inc. shares rose 0.37%, erasing earlier losses after its longtime Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri would step down from the role at the end of the year, handing the job to his top deputy Kevan Parekh
The leadership change comes ahead of Apple’s multiple product launch this fall season, which analysts have called the biggest software upgrade for the iPhone. Parekh, who has been with Apple for more than a decade and will join the company’s executive committee, most recently served as vice president of financial planning and analysis. - Chinese EV company Xpeng sees shares pop 6% after it launches mass-market car
Xpeng shares rose after the Chinese electric car company said prices for its new mass-market Mona brand
would start as low as $16,812, far below that of Tesla’s Model 3. The Chinese automaker said orders for the
Mona M03 electric coupe exceeded 10,000 just 52 minutes after the car’s formal launch Tuesday evening in
Beijing. Xpeng shares remain more than 45% lower for the year so far. - JD.com shares climb after announcing $5 billion share buyback, outperforming decline in Hang Seng
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese online retailer JD.com climbed 1.2% on Wednesday, outperforming the
decline on the Hang Seng index after the firm announced a $5 billion buyback late Tuesday. U.S. listed shares
of the firm rose 2.24% on Tuesday after the announcement. Both JD.com’s Hong Kong and U.S. shares have
dropped about 20% year to date. In comparison, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index was down about
0.82% Wednesday, but is up about 4% for the year so far. - Volkswagen China is spending lots of time at Xpeng to make new EVs
Hundreds of Volkswagen staff are spending time at Xpeng as the German auto giant and Chinese startup
work to create electric cars for China, Xpeng co-president Brian Gu told CNBC. Volkswagen in July 2023
announced a $700 million investment into Xpeng to jointly develop two electric cars for delivery in China,
expected in 2026. The partnership will help Xpeng’s global ambitions, Gu said. - Copper prices near six-week high as one strategist says the worst of the correction is over
Prices of the red metal have been climbing steadily in recent weeks, paring losses after falling to a four- month low in early August. Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen said copper’s recent rally had been bolstered by renewed demand from hedge funds which had previously cut their exposure during the recent and deep 24% correction. We believe the worst of the correction is over, Hansen said.
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