Nasdaq clearly in the plus
Megatrend AI inspires US tech stocks
04/06/2023 10:59 p.m
Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet shares are at their highest levels in at least half a year, supporting the tech sector. The corporations are benefiting from the megatrend of artificial intelligence. On the other hand, investors in the USA are holding back when it comes to standard values.
Before the long weekend, the major US stock indices performed differently. While cautious optimism reigned on the Nasdaq stock market, investors were more cautious about blue chips. The monthly labor market report will be published on Friday, to which investors will only be able to react in the new week due to a regional regulation.
The tech giants Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet were among the guarantors that the Nasdaq 100 made clear profits from significant initial losses. It bounced back above the 13,000 point mark by closing 0.74 percent higher at 13,062.60 points. He still lost 0.9 percent in the shortened week.
The Dow Jones Industrial was able to salvage an increase of 0.01 percent across the finish line with difficulty. It ended trading at 33,485.29 points. The Wall Street index had recently developed better than the Nasdaq, as shown by a weekly plus of 0.6 percent. The market breadth S&P 500 increased by 0.36 percent to 4105.02 points.
Rate cuts are becoming more likely
It was discussed that the number of initial jobless claims in the USA was significantly higher than expected. Economically, this is a bad sign and not a good starting point for the job report on Friday. The downside is that this could play into the hands of the US Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. “Soon, the Fed will likely have a wealth of evidence that rate hikes have taken the wind out of the economy,” said market watcher Craig Erlam of broker Oanda. Should this curb inflation, the hoped-for interest rate cuts would become more likely and necessary later in the year.
On the Nasdaq, the shares of Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet by up to 3.8 percent. The papers of the three companies, which investors regard as important beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence (AI) megatrend, became a support for the tech sector. All three recorded the highest level for at least half a year.
The shares of the accommodation broker were on the Nasdaq Airbnb under pressure, as shown by a discount of five percent. Here, Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke referred to a report according to which important landlords were becoming increasingly professional and bypassed the platform with direct transactions.
Suppliers of the chip industry are losing
Otherwise, analyst studies came into focus. In the technology sector, Applied Materials and KLA two equipment suppliers in the chip industry were burdened by the fact that the experts at Exane BNP Paribas gave up their buy recommendation. With discounts of 2.5 and 1.8 percent respectively, the papers were among the clear losers on the Nasdaq.
JPMorgan, meanwhile, lowered the rating of mosaic to “Neutral”, which caused the paper to lose 5.7 percent. Analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas came closer to the current share price with his significant price target reduction to 46 US dollars. He justified this with the increased economic risks and their effects on the fertilizer company.
For one Euro was last paid $1.0921 in New York trading. The European Central Bank had set the reference rate at 1.0915 (Wednesday: 1.0940) dollars. The dollar cost 0.9162 (0.9141) euros.
US Treasury Bonds fell moderately into the red. The futures contract for ten-year bonds recently fell by 0.08 percent to 116.48 points. In contrast, the yield on ten-year government bonds rose to 3.31 percent.