The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased by almost 0.2%, lagging behind the other main averages. In the meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased by roughly 1.4%, signalling a recovery for tech companies, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) surged by 0.8%.
This week’s indications that the labour market is at last returning to normalcy suggest that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat inflation through interest rate rises are bearing fruit. Traders have been banking on a change in Fed policy to lower rates as a soft landing for the economy becomes more plausible.
In the week ending December 2, 220,000 claims were made, according to the most recent weekly data on unemployment claims. The figure, which was up barely 2,000 from the previous week and was in line with what Bloomberg’s survey of analysts had predicted, mostly reflected modest increases in layoffs.
On Thursday, tech companies drove the main averages higher as investors once more turned to labour market statistics to predict the direction of interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased by almost 0.2%, lagging behind the other main averages. In the meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased by roughly 1.4%, signalling a recovery for tech companies, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) surged by 0.8%.
Weekly labour market indicators have shown a weakening of the labour market. However, Friday morning, when the November employment data is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, will be the true litmus test. According to the report, nonfarm payrolls increased by 185,000 in November, while the unemployment rate was same at 3.9%.
On Thursday, AMD (AMD) topped the Yahoo Finance trending tickers page. As the business unveiled its most sophisticated microprocessor to date, aimed towards generative AI, the stock shot up about 10%. Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, said to Brian Sozzi of Yahoo Finance, “This market will have many winners.” We anticipate increasing our market share, and I believe we have a fantastic prospect for growth.”
After the business announced new AI projects, Alphabet (GOOGL) shares increased by almost 6% as equities continued to rise due to a larger tech rally.
The shares of ailing electric vehicle manufacturer Nikola (NKLA) fell more than 20% as it revealed intentions to raise further funds.
After Wall Street’s projections for 2023 AI favourite C3.ai’s earnings were missing, the company’s shares fell more than 10%.
One of the largest bulls on Wall Street predicts that the S&P 500 (\GSPC) will rise by more than 13% in the upcoming year.
According to Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, the benchmark index will close 2024 at 5,200 as the US economy again just avoids recession due to declining inflation and loosening financial conditions.
With respect to the S&P at year-end 2019, Lee’s prediction is higher than the calls for 5,100 made by BMO Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank among strategists surveyed by Yahoo Finance.
Going into this year, Lee had a 4,750 forecast on the S&P, which he described as a higher-than-consensus projection, mainly because he believed that the US economy would avoid recession and that inflation would decline more than others.
For the sixth week in a row, mortgage rates dropped, staying slightly above 7% and reviving the refinancing market.
According to Freddie Mac’s report on Thursday, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped from 7.22% to 7.03% the previous week. It is now at its lowest position since the middle of August and down 0.75 points from the end of October.
Despite the downturn, some prospective purchasers remained on the sidelines, while homeowners eager to take advantage of a refinancing opportunity moved quickly.
“Purchase applications rebounded initially when rates began to drop, but this improvement in demand diminished in the last week,” Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement. “While these reduced fees are still a pleasant alleviation,
With more advertisements, more costs, and fiercer competition as platforms compete to turn a profit and draw in paying customers, the streaming wars have intensified to a fever pitch.
With so many options accessible to consumers today, it appears like the media landscape is returning to the cable TV bundle of the past, which is exactly what streaming was intended to replace.
Telecom behemoth Verizon (VZ) said on Monday that it will provide a $10 package for the ad-supported streaming services of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max (WBD) and Netflix (NFLX), saving customers more than 40%.
Customers who have Verizon’s myPlan can take advantage of this deal starting on Thursday. In addition, the business will provide a package that combines the Disney+ plan, which is ad-free, with the ad-supported Hulu tiers.
The announcement follows the Wall Street Journal’s story on Friday stating that Apple (AAPL) and Paramount Global (PARA) are in preliminary discussions to combine their streaming services at a discounted rate. Paramount refrained from commenting, while Apple did not reply to a query from Yahoo Finance.
Bundling isn’t a novel idea. Lately, businesses in the industry have started using their own services for this. As an example, Apple provides Apple TV+ together with other services like Apple Music and Apple Arcade under Apple One. In late 2020, the bundle made its global debut.
Disney officially started rolling out a one-app experience that includes Hulu content via Disney+ in its domestic release on Wednesday. Disney has also been promoting a bundle including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. —
Wednesday’s trading session saw a rise in stocks, but the Dow Jones continues to lag behind the other major averages—a pattern that will continue for the most of 2023.
DataTrek’s latest study sheds light on why.
According to new analysis from DataTrek, the Dow Jones industrial average hasn’t lagged behind the S&P 500 in a single year since the dot-com bubble. Out of the three major averages, the oldest is up little less than 9%. That has increased by double for the benchmark S&P 500, up over 19%.
Exposure to the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks—Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Nvidia (NVDA)—has been crucial, as it has been for most items that have lagged the S&P 500 in 2023.
Only Apple and Microsoft, two of those businesses, are listed on the Dow. Less than 20% of the index is exposed to the information technology industry. The S&P 500 comprises 40% technology equities when the Magnificent Seven and other conventional tech sector businesses are taken into account.
Co-founders of DataTrek, Nicholas Colas and Jessica Rabe, stated in a new research note on Wednesday night, “The S&P’s outsized weighting in tech has enabled it to outperform as they have all the key ingredients to do so: global, scalable businesses that dominate their respective industries.” Additionally, in terms of generation AI, they facilitate the “next big thing.” Disruptive innovation’s strength is a fundamental trend that is unlikely to change.