U.S. stock futures were mixed on Monday, but hovered near record highs as investors braced for the next earnings call from major banks to test the gains and the possibility of a “soft landing” for the economy.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose about 0.2% after closing above 5,800 for the first time, while contracts in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.2%.
Earnings are in the spotlight as the first week of third-quarter earnings begins. The bull market is now in its second year, and how this season develops is seen as the key to rising stock prices.
The Dow and S&P 500 ended a winning week with new records after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) profits largely passed Wall Street’s test. Reports from Goldman Sachs (GS), Citi (C), and Bank of America (BAC) are scheduled to be submitted on Tuesday, and a report from Morgan Stanley (MS) is scheduled to be submitted on Wednesday. Household attention remains focused on major banks.
At the same time, there remains uncertainty as to whether the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again. Some analysts argue that a positive employment report and data showing “sticky” consumer and wholesale inflation are building the case for no rate cut in November. Retail sales figures released later this week will factor into the debate over whether the economy has held up in the face of Fed policy (the desired soft landing).
Read more: How Fed Rate Cuts Affect Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans, and Credit Cards
Elsewhere, Chinese stocks initially managed to rise after a period of volatility as investors took a liking to Beijing’s latest stimulus promises, reviving recent historic gains. .
On the corporate front, Boeing (BA) shares fell in premarket amid doubts about the future of the crisis-hit aircraft maker. The company faced a record $5 billion loss in the third quarter, and a month-long strike hit its manufacturing industry, cutting 17,000 jobs.
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Monday, October 14, 2024 06:16 PDT
Nvidia stock hits record high and aims to overtake Apple for top spot as most valuable company
Nvidia stock rose 1% premarket to $136.22, putting the company on track to surpass June’s all-time closing price of $135.58.
The AI chipmaker made a big profit in October after a massive $6.6 billion funding round for OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Much of that money will go back to Nvidia. AI leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, cite intense demand for Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips. Nvidia stock has risen 8% over the past week.
NVIDIA’s gains also put the company on track to once again become the world’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalization. Nvidia is the second most valuable company in the world after Apple. The chipmaker’s market cap was $3.3 trillion on Monday, compared to Apple’s market cap of $3.46 trillion. Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia have swapped positions in the top three over the past year.
Nvidia is scheduled to announce its financial results on November 19th. Wall Street analysts expect the company’s revenue to rise 82% from a year ago to $33 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Roughly 90% of Wall Street analysts covering the stock tracked by Bloomberg recommend Nvidia stock as a buy.
