Source: Sina US Stocks On the evening of the 20th Beijing time, the US stocks opened mixed on Thursday, and then the three major indexes rose slightly. Nvidia hit another new high and consolidated its position as the largest market cap company in the US stock market. Initial jobless claims in the United States last week were higher than expected, and real estate and manufacturing indexes were below expectations. Until the manuscript was submitted, the S&P 500 index rose 0.29% to break through 5500 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.37%, and the Dow Jones Index rose 0.13%. The US stock market was closed on Wednesday due to the June holiday (Juneteenth). On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq both set new historical highs. The US stock market is expected to record gains this week. The S&P 500 index set its 31st new high this year on Tuesday. Due to the continued AI craze and the resilience of economic growth, it is expected to continue to support corporate profits, especially in the technology sector. Nvidia's stock price hit another new high. The AI darling and chip maker surpassed Microsoft last Tuesday and became the world's most valuable company. Against the background of the continued AI craze boosting the stock market, Nvidia's stock price has risen 174% from 2024 to date. As Nvidia consolidates its position as a thriving market leader in the AI theme market, its market value has surpassed that of Apple in early June. "Nvidia is still the most important stock in the world," said Chris Weston, head of Pepperstone research, in a report. However, Weston warned that the overall performance of the index market was poor, and the market participation was mediocre, suggesting that the rise was built on an unstable foundation. "The fact remains that the market is still very bullish on AI-related stocks and large tech stocks, and given the lack of clear immediate risks, the path of least resistance is for stock indices to rise." While consumer spending has shown signs of slowing and hints at potential economic weakness, investors continue to flock to the AI giant. The rise of Nvidia has also boosted its peers. Chip maker Broadcom has surged more than 60% from 2024 to date. Scott Chronert, Citigroup's US stock strategy director, wrote in a report on Tuesday: "We still believe that Wall Street (the S&P 500) is diverging from the corporate sector (the foundation of the US economy), is this strange? There is no doubt that generative AI is currently infiltrating the US stock market environment as a sustained driver of growth." Nevertheless, some commentators have noted that while this doldrums has not yet fully affected the US stock market, which repeatedly sets new highs, the rise lacks breadth beyond the largest tech companies, and this situation may continue to deteriorate. Thomas Fitzpatrick, managing director of R.J. O'Brien and Associates, said, "There's a feeling of AI theme that's very similar to the 2000-2001 US stock style, but as we know, markets stay irrational longer than you stay solvent. But for now, it's hard to stop the speeding train." Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said that due to three major unfavorable factors that will suppress stock prices, the US stock market will see a correction. This Wall Street veteran pointed out that so far this year, the stock market has performed strongly, with the S&P 500 index up 15% from 2024. However, he predicted that the benchmark index would fall 5% due to unfavorable interest rates, inflation, and stock valuations. The inflation rate is declining but still above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%, leading Fed officials to expect only one interest rate cut by year-end. As for Thursday's economic data, the initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States were almost unchanged last week, and the data for the previous week rose sharply. These data tend to fluctuate before and after holidays and school vacations. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that as of June 15, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 5,000 to 238,000. The number of continued claims for unemployment benefits as of June 8 rose to 1.82 million. In the past year, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has remained low as the labor market has shown resilience in the face of high prices and high interest rates. The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims rose to 232,750, the highest level since September last year.
On the evening of the 20th Beijing time, the US stock market opened mixed on Thursday, and then the three major indexes rose slightly. Nvidia hit a new high, and the market cap of the three major US giants exceeded 10 trillion US dollars for the first time in history. Initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits last week in the United States were higher than expected, and the real estate and manufacturing indexes were below expectations.
As of press time, the S&P 500 index rose 0.29% to break through 5500 points to hit a new high, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.37%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13%.
The US stock market was closed on Wednesday due to the June holiday (Juneteenth).
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq both set new historical highs. The US stock market is expected to record gains this week. The S&P 500 index set its 31st new high this year on Tuesday. Due to the continued AI craze and the resilience of economic growth, it is expected to continue to support corporate profits, especially in the technology sector.
Nvidia's stock price hit another new high. The AI darling and chip maker surpassed Microsoft last Tuesday and became the world's most valuable company. Against the background of the continued AI craze boosting the stock market, Nvidia's stock price has risen 174% from 2024 to date.
As Nvidia consolidates its position as a thriving market leader in the AI theme market, its market value has surpassed that of Apple in early June.
"Nvidia is still the most important stock in the world," said Chris Weston, head of Pepperstone research, in a report.
However, Weston warned that the overall performance of the index market was poor, and the market participation was mediocre, suggesting that the rise was built on an unstable foundation. "The fact remains that the market is still very bullish on AI-related stocks and large tech stocks, and given the lack of clear immediate risks, the path of least resistance is for stock indices to rise."
While consumer spending has shown signs of slowing and hints at potential economic weakness, investors continue to flock to the AI giant.
The rise of Nvidia has also boosted its peers. Chip maker Broadcom has surged more than 60% from 2024 to date.
Scott Chronert, Citigroup's US stock strategy director, wrote in a report on Tuesday: "We still believe that Wall Street (the S&P 500) is diverging from the corporate sector (the foundation of the US economy), is this strange? There is no doubt that generative AI is currently infiltrating the US stock market environment as a sustained driver of growth."
Nevertheless, some commentators have noted that while this doldrums has not yet fully affected the US stock market, which repeatedly sets new highs, the rise lacks breadth beyond the largest tech companies, and this situation may continue to deteriorate.
Thomas Fitzpatrick, managing director of R.J. O'Brien and Associates, said, "There's a feeling of AI theme that's very similar to the 2000-2001 US stock style, but as we know, markets stay irrational longer than you stay solvent. But for now, it's hard to stop the speeding train."
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said that due to three major unfavorable factors that will suppress stock prices, the US stock market will see a correction.
This Wall Street veteran pointed out that so far this year, the stock market has performed strongly, with the S&P 500 index up 15% from 2024. However, he predicted that the benchmark index would fall 5% due to unfavorable interest rates, inflation, and stock valuations. The inflation rate is declining but still above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%, leading Fed officials to expect only one interest rate cut by year-end.
As for Thursday's economic data, the initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States were almost unchanged last week, and the data for the previous week rose sharply. These data tend to fluctuate before and after holidays and school vacations. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that as of June 15, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 5,000 to 238,000. The number of continued claims for unemployment benefits as of June 8 rose to 1.82 million. In the past year, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has remained low as the labor market has shown resilience in the face of high prices and high interest rates. The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims rose to 232,750, the highest level since September last year.
According to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 238,000 as of the week of June 15. As of the week of June 8, the number of continued jobless claims rose to 1.82 million. In the past year, the number of people applying for jobless claims has been low, as the labor market has shown resilience in the face of high prices and interest rates. The four-week average of initial jobless claims rose to 232,750, the highest level since September last year.
Focus stocks
The AI concept continues to rise, with super micro computers up nearly 10%, dell technologies up nearly 7%, AMD up over 4%, and Nvidia up over 3%.
Nvidia is getting attention. The stock rose more than 3% to set a new high. On Tuesday, Nvidia officially replaced Microsoft as the world's most valuable enterprise in terms of market cap. The combined market cap of the three giants in the US stock market exceeded 10 trillion US dollars for the first time in history.
According to reports, the "artificial intelligence super computing system" of the new force in the generative AI field founded and led by Tesla CEO Musk - xAI company - will be jointly constructed by Dell and super microcomputers. Dell and super micro computers will provide server racks for Musk's AI start-up xAI. As of press time, super micro computers are up nearly 10% and dell technologies is up over 7%.
Bilibili rose 8%. Its new game "Three Kingdoms: Strategy Over the Century" exceeded expectations in revenue after its launch and was favored by many major institutions.
Tom Narayan, an analyst at Royal Capital Markets in Canada, maintains a buy rating on Tesla and reduces the target price from $293 to $227.
Harsh Kumar, an analyst at Piper Sandler, maintains a buy rating on AMD and a target price of $175.
Brent Thill, an analyst at Jefferies Financial, maintains a buy rating on Microsoft and a target price of $550.
Justin Post, an analyst at Bank of America Securities, maintains a buy rating on Google and a target price of $200.
After announcing an investment of €7.8 billion last month to build new cloud service facilities serving Europe, Amazon has announced plans to invest another €10 billion in Germany to upgrade its logistics network and cloud service facilities.
Last Wednesday, Amazon announced on its official website that it plans to invest €10 billion in Germany, which is about $10.7 billion. With the announced investment of €7.8 billion last month, Amazon's planned investment in Germany has reached €17.8 billion.
Best Inc announced it has reached a final privatization agreement.
Accenture is planning to acquire Italian network services company Fibermind.
Taiwan Semiconductor hit a new high. With the soaring demand for artificial intelligence and the possible price hike action in 2025, many major banks have raised their target prices for Taiwan Semiconductor.
Goldman Sachs gives Netease a "buy" rating and a target price of $125.
Editor/Lambor