Microsoft reaches record high
US investors are buying tech stocks
November 20, 2023, 11:36 p.m
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Interest rate fears on Wall Street are a thing of the past; investors are now waiting for signals as to when the Fed will loosen the reins again. Meanwhile, the US stock markets are continuing their upward trend. Technology stocks in particular are in demand – especially the heavyweight Microsoft.
Investors on Wall Street bought stocks again at the start of the week. The Dow Jones Index the standard values closed 0.6 percent higher at 35,151 points. The technology-heavy one Nasdaq advanced 1.1 percent to 14,284 points. The broad one S&P 500 increased 0.7 percent to 4547 points.
Above all else, the spotlight was on him Microsoft: With the fired OpenAI boss on board, the software company reached a new record high. After Sam Altman’s entry into Microsoft was announced, the share price jumped two percent to a record high of $377.10 at the start of trading. As a result, the software giant’s market value increased by almost $54 billion. That’s more than ten times the amount that Microsoft invested in OpenAI at the beginning of the year. A few days after his surprising expulsion from OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker will now lead a new team for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft.
Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers on Wall Street in November. All three major US stock market indices had recently risen because investors were betting on an end to interest rate increases in view of the easing price pressure in the USA. But before investors take more risk, analysts say they are waiting for further indications as to when the US Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates.
“There will be some consolidation in the market over the next few weeks before the typical year-end Christmas rally,” predicted Ken Polcari of Kace Capital Advisors. The previous rally was exaggerated. Market participants were hoping for clues about the direction of US interest rates from the Fed minutes of the meeting at the beginning of November, which are due to be published later in the week. The sales figures for the upcoming Black Friday should also provide an indicator of the spending of US consumers.
Investors on the foreign exchange market also continued to bet on an end to the US interest rate hike cycle. The Dollar index lost up to 0.5 percent to 103.39 points at the beginning of the week. Meanwhile, speculation about production cuts by OPEC+ drove oil prices further up. The North Sea variety Brent and US oil WTI prices rose by around two percent to $82.05 and $77.50 per barrel respectively. The producer group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers such as Russia, will meet at its meeting at the end of November, according to a report are expected to discuss further funding cuts. Since the end of September, oil prices have fallen by almost 20 percent.
An upgrade provided a strong tailwind Boeing. The US aircraft manufacturer’s shares rose by almost five percent after analysts at Deutsche Bank put the shares on “Buy” from “Hold”, citing accelerated deliveries.