Trading session was mixed on Thursday after Wednesday’s CPI-induced surge. NASDAQ fell 0.89% while DJIA and S&P 500 both declined by 0.16% and 0.21% respectively. The Russell 2000 managed a slight gain of 0.2%.
Retail sales and weekly jobless claims indicated continued strength in the economy and labor market. Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent emphasized the need for fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies. Fed Governor Waller suggested the possibility of 3-4 rate cuts this year, contingent on data.
Nvidia (NVDA) is adapting its advanced packaging needs with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) for its latest AI chip, Blackwell, but it did not do much service to its share price, but as a long term investors on NVDA, I believe there is more upside coming once we hear more sales order and delivery data on the Blackwell chips.
Despite the economic data, equities struggled due to technical resistance after the S&P 500 failed to stay above its 50-day moving average (5,962) and losses in key stocks.
We can see that selling strength still strong despite Wednesday’s brief rally.
Earnings Traded Lower Despite Expectations Beat
We saw some of the bank earnings which exceeded expectations but still traded lower, $Bank of America(BAC)$ lost 0.99%, and US Bancorp (USB) also dropped 5.64%, on the other hand, Morgan Stanley (MS) rose 4.0%, reaching a new 52-week high.
UnitedHealth (UNH) also stumbled 6.0% after reporting Q4 and year-end results with a higher medical care ratio.
S&P 500 Sector Largest Loser Technology
Significant declines from members of the Mag 7 cause the market to struggle, with Apple (AAPL) which fell by 4.04%, Nvidia (NVDA) also lost 1.96%, Tesla (TSLA) dropped 3.36%, Amazon (AMZN) lost 1.2%, Meta Platforms (META) declined by 0.94% and Microsoft (MSFT) slipped 0.41%.
These key stocks impact the sector in information technology, communication services and consumer discretionary, causing them to lose 1.30%, 0.95% and 0.90% respectively.
The remaining eight sectors experienced gains ranging from 0.42% (health care) to 2.58% (utilities).
Note Yield Declines Follow Fed Governor Waller Remarks
Treasury yields declined following Waller's remarks, with the 10-year yield dropping five basis points to 4.61% and the 2-year yield falling two basis points to 4.24%.
Stocks To Watch
Apple (AAPL) experienced a significant drop in its shares, falling by 4% after losing its leading position in the Chinese smartphone market. According to Canalys, Apple shipped 42.9 million smartphones in China in 2024, marking a 17% decrease from the previous year. Vivo and Huawei have overtaken Apple, with Vivo capturing a 17% market share and Huawei seeing a 37% growth in shipments.
$NVIDIA(NVDA)$ is adapting its advanced packaging needs with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) for its latest AI chip, Blackwell. CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that the company will largely utilize CoWoS-L technology, which offers cost benefits and enhanced design flexibility, over CoWoS-S. This shift reflects Nvidia's ongoing innovation in chip design and packaging.
This news does not sit well with investors as NVDA bulls was trying to build a stronger daily uptrend expansion, but it did not end well, though it traded above the 12-EMA, it still look weak and might fell back to its defense level at 26-EMA.
So we will have to wait the market today (17 Jan) and see if the market favour the semiconductor stocks again.
$Amazon.com(AMZN)$ is undergoing restructuring within its Fashion and Fitness group, leading to job cuts affecting approximately 200 employees. This move is part of Amazon's strategy to optimize team structures for innovation and efficiency. The company is committed to supporting affected employees during the transition.
If you remember how AMZN get above the $200 level after its previous job cuts, so shedding fats might do good for the company strategy, so I am holding onto my AMZN shares.
$Microsoft(MSFT)$ announced a price increase for its 365 Family and Personal plans, the first in over 12 years. The $3 monthly hike will include the integration of its AI-powered productivity tool, Copilot, into the plans, providing added value to subscribers.
$Chevron(CVX)$ continued its upward trajectory, gaining for seven consecutive sessions. Despite a 3.1% loss in 2024, the stock has shown resilience with a recent 4% rise over the past month. Analysts remain optimistic about Chevron's profitability prospects.
We are seeing the bulls succeeded in building the daily trend expansion and we could be seeing CVX reaching its previous highs and even exceeding it.
Summary
I think the market might still trade in a mixed positive bias, but we might see some of the tech stocks trading in a cautious mode, and energy and bank stocks might be trading higher.
The consumer related stocks might see some winners because retail sales for December will help to boost these stocks.
Appreciate if you could share your thoughts in the comment section whether you think we will experience another day of volatility performance which might ended in mixed performance.
@TigerStars @Daily_Discussion @Tiger_Earnings @TigerWire appreciate if you could feature this article so that fellow tiger would benefit from my investing and trading thoughts.
Disclaimer: The analysis and result presented does not recommend or suggest any investing in the said stock. This is purely for Analysis.
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