- Asian Stocks Fall, Yen Strengthens as BOJ Holds: Markets Wrap
Asian equities fell Thursday after US stocks and government bonds dropped as robust economic data blurred the picture for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. The yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan’s rate decision. Shares in Japan, Australia and South Korea declined, weighing on an index of the region’s equities, which headed for its worst monthly performance since August 2023. Mainland Chinese shares and those in Hong Kong rose, as investors digested a report showing monthly Chinese manufacturing data registered its first expansionary reading since April. - S&P 500 closes lower on Wednesday as investors brace for more Big Tech earnings
Stocks slipped on Wednesday as investors digested a deluge of earnings reports and looked toward more results from megacap technology companies. The S&P 500 slid 0.33% to 5,813.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 91.51 points, or 0.22%, to close at 42,141.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.56% after earlier rising to a fresh record high. It closed at 18,607.93. Alphabet kicked off a major week for megacap tech earnings. The Google parent exceeded analysts’ expectations as the company saw strong quarterly revenue growth from its cloud business. Shares jumped almost 3%. - Safe-haven gold on track for best month in seven
Gold prices climbed to a record high on Thursday and were headed for their best month in seven on safe-haven demand ahead of the U.S. presidential election, while investors awaited U.S. inflation report for clues on the interest rate path. Spot gold was steady at $2,786.89 per ounce, as of 0254 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,790.15 earlier in the session. Prices have firmed 6% for the month so far.U.S. gold futures dipped 0.1% to $2,797.80. - Oil prices rise on optimism over solid U.S. fuel demand
Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending the previous day’s rally, driven by optimism over U.S. fuel demand following an unexpected drop in crude and gasoline inventories, while reports that OPEC+ may delay a planned output increase offered support. Brent crude futures gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.90 a barrel by 0029 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.93 per barrel. - Trump Media plummets 22%, cutting into DJT rally days before election
Shares of Trump Media plummeted more than 22%, pouring cold water on a massive rally in the runup to the 2024 election. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump owns nearly 57% of the company, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq. Trump has vowed not to sell his shares. - Nate Silver: Don’t trust the Trump swing in 2024 presidential election polls, betting markets data
Political polling data expert Nate Silver has said he thinks Donald Trump is more likely to win the election than Kamala Harris, but he also tells CNBC that the momentum for Trump picked up by pollsters is questionable.
Silver, who is also a professional poker player and consultant to a prediction market, says even with his Trump call it’s not a great bet for gamblers like it was in 2016 when a winning Trump wager would have paid off big.
Betting markets currently show a significant edge for Trump, and Wall Street billionaires have been saying the stock and bond markets are preparing for a Trump presidency, but Silver sees “chatter” rather than good data. - China’s factory activity expands for the first time since April, official survey shows
China’s official purchasing managers’ index for October came in at 50.1, in expansionary territory for the first time since April, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Thursday. The data beat expectations for 49.9, according to a Reuters poll. The statistics bureau’s PMI for non-manufacturing activity rose to 50.2 in October. That was up from 50 in September but below August’s 50.3 print. - Microsoft CFO says OpenAI investment will cut into profit this quarter
Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said the company will record around $1.5 billion in other expense, mainly because of an expected investment loss at OpenAI. Microsoft has invested close to $14 billion in OpenAI, including its participation in a round announced this month. The software company said its partnership with OpenAI is still delivering results. - Even Mark Zuckerberg seems surprised by Meta’s pace of spending on AI
Meta has been so quick to build out its massive data center and computing infrastructure for AI that even CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a bit surprised. Meta raised the low end of its capital expenditures guidance for 2024 to $38 billion from $37 billion. The stock slid after hours even though the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. - Starbucks CEO pledges to fundamentally change strategy as sales fall for third straight quarter
Starbucks on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ expectations.
The company previously released a preliminary report of its quarterly results on Oct. 22 and announced it was suspending its fiscal 2025 outlook. Investors are expecting that Niccol will share more details about his turnaround strategy during the company’s conference call, scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. - Super Micro shares plunge 33% as auditor resigns after raising concerns months earlier
Ernst & Young resigned as Super Micro’s auditor last week after raising significant concerns over the company’s internal controls, board independence and accounting practices. Super Micro was hit with a short seller report earlier this year, has delayed filing its financial statements for 2024 and is reportedly under federal investigation. EY said in its resignation letter it was “unwilling to be associated” with management’s financial statements. - EBay stock sinks after lackluster Q4 guidance, election distraction
Shares of EBay slid in extended trading after the company issued lackluster guidance for the fourth quarter.
The disappointing forecast overshadowed eBay’s better-than-expected results for the third quarter. - Carvana raises 2024 earnings guidance after topping Wall Street’s Q3 expectations
Carvana raised its 2024 earnings guidance, saying it would be “significantly above the high end” of its previous target. The online used-car retailer easily beat Wall Street’s estimates for earnings and revenue. - Coinbase Q3 earnings fall well short of estimates as trading volumes sag
Coinbase reported Wednesday third-quarter earnings that fell well short of Wall Street estimates as weakness in cryptocurrencies during the quarter kept a lid on trading volumes. weaker trading volumes weighed on performance. Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) fell 4% after-hours trading following the report. Coinbase reported Q2 earnings of $0.28 a share on revenue of $1.2 billion, compared with Wall Street expectations for EPS $0.45 on revenue of $1.25 billion. - Etsy beats quarterly estimates for gross merchandise sales, board approves $1 billion share repurchase
Etsy beat third-quarter gross merchandise sales (GMS) and revenue estimates on Wednesday, helped by steady demand from new and habitual buyers for products like handcrafted antiques at its online marketplace, sending its shares up about 11% in extended trading. The company said its board has approved a new share repurchase program for an additional $1 billion of Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY)’s common stock after repurchasing about $156 million, or 2.7 million shares, during the quarter. - Yen under pressure as BOJ keeps rates steady
The yen remained under pressure on Thursday as the Bank of Japan kept ultra-low interest rates steady, while the U.S. dollar consolidated ahead of jobs data later this week and the U.S. presidential election next week.
The Japanese currency has taken a beating this month as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields have hovered around their highest since July. - Euro zone economy grows 0.4% in third quarter, above expectations
The euro zone economy grew 0.4% in the third quarter, flash figures published by the European Union’s statistics agency showed Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 0.2%. following the bloc’s 0.3% expansion in the second quarter. Analysts say euro zone growth should cautiously pick up in the coming months, amid lower interest rates and cooling inflation. The European Central Bank cut rates for the third time this year at its October meeting, after headline inflation came in at 1.7% in September, according to a final reading. The ECB cited persistent signs of weak activity in the euro area as a key factor in the central bank’s decision to enact an October cut. Markets have fully priced another 25-basis-point cut from the ECB in its last meeting of the year in December. The euro zone’s biggest economy, Germany, recorded surprise growth of 0.2% in the third quarter, according to figures published on Wednesday. That allowed the country to avoid the recession that had been forecast by some economists. - Private job creation totaled a stunning 233,000 in October, far more than expected, ADP says
Private-job creation burst to its highest level in more than a year during October, despite a devastating storm season in the Southeast and major labor disruptions, ADP reported Wednesday. The payrolls processing firm said companies hired 233,000 new workers in the month, better than the upwardly revised 159,000 in September and far ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 113,000. ADP said it was the best month for job creation since July 2023. “Even amid hurricane recovery, job growth was strong in October,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. “As we round out the year, hiring in the U.S. is proving to be robust and broadly resilient. “The numbers counter expectations for a slowdown in October on the heels of two brutal hurricanes Helene and Milton that ravaged the Southeast, with Florida and North Carolina getting slammed in particular. On top of that, labor disruptions with port workers and Boeing were expecting to hit payrolls as well, with some economists suggesting that October would be an outlier report that Federal Reserve officials would largely dismiss when meeting next week. However, the ADP report indicates that the labor market has held up. In addition to hiring rising, wages grew 4.6% from a year ago. - U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, less than expected
The U.S. economy posted another solid though slightly disappointing period of growth in the third quarter, propelled hire by strong consumer spending that has defied expectations for a slowdown. Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced during the three-month period from July through September, increased at a 2.8% annualized rate, according to a Commerce Department report Wednesday that is adjusted for inflation and seasonality. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 3.1%. The economy accelerated at a 3% pace in the second quarter.
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