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.
Nvidia fell 5.57% to $48.644 billion. Goldman Sachs warned that mega-cap companies will eventually be required to prove that their investments can generate revenue and profits. A lack of profitability could lead to devaluation. Apple fell 2.32% to $14.758 billion. Apple promised EU regulators that it would allow competitors to use NFC payment technology on the iPhone.
The highest transaction amount in US stock market on Thursday.$Tesla (TSLA.US)$Tesla fell 8.44%, ending an 11-day consecutive rise, to $55.908 billion in trade. The company plans to delay the launch of the self-driving taxi Robotaxi until October so that the project team has more time to create more prototype vehicles.
Anonymous sources, who requested anonymity because the news has not been announced, said the two-month delay had been communicated internally. One source said the design team was told this week to make changes to certain elements of Robotaxi.
The idea of launching self-driving taxi services has been brewing at Tesla for years, dating back at least to CEO Elon Musk's 2016 article, 'Tesla Master Plan, Part Deux.' The CEO has put the project at the top of the agenda in recent months, rather than developing an even cheaper electric car than Tesla's most affordable Model 3.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas maintains a buy rating on Tesla and a target price of $310.
The second.$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$Amazon fell 5.57% to $48.644 billion. The Goldman Sachs team led by strategist Ryan Hammond said in a recent report that internet giants such as Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Google have spent about $357 billion on capital expenditures and R&D in the past year, with a 'significant portion' of these expenditures going toward artificial intelligence.
Goldman Sachs warns that today's mega-cap companies will ultimately be required to prove that their investments can generate revenue and profit. Failure to see signs of profitability could lead to devaluation of the valuation.
The third.$Apple (AAPL.US)$Apple fell 2.32% to $14.758 billion. Apple promised EU regulators that it would allow competitors to use NFC payment technology on the iPhone.
The European Commission said Apple's commitment addressed competition concerns because Apple had refused to allow competitors to use near-field communication (NFC) technology, using the iPhone for contactless payments ('one-click payments') in stores. Before that, only Apple's mobile wallet Apple Pay allowed iPhone users to pay with their devices in stores and online.
The European Commission said Apple's commitment addressed competition concerns because Apple had refused to allow competitors to use near-field communication (NFC) technology, using the iPhone for contactless payments ('one-click payments') in stores. Before that, only Apple's mobile wallet Apple Pay allowed iPhone users to pay with their devices in stores and online.
Ranked fourth.$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$AMD fell 1.1% to $10.753 billion. AMD recently announced it will acquire Finnish AI startup Silo AI for about $665 million in cash as it seeks to enhance its AI chip capabilities and compete with industry leader Nvidia.
The acquisition is the latest move by AMD to expand its influence in the AI field. In 2023, AMD acquired AI software companies Mipsology and Nod.ai, and has invested over $125 million in more than a dozen AI companies in the past 12 months.
Fugro Group maintains a buy rating for AMD and raises its target price to $205.
The fifth.$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$Microsoft fell 2.48% to $10.525 billion amid increasing antitrust scrutiny. This week, Microsoft revoked the observer role in the OpenAI board of directors. After this change, the OpenAI board of directors will no longer have observer seats, meaning that new partner Apple will not be able to join OpenAI's board of directors through this position.
Microsoft explained in its letter that the OpenAI board of directors had made significant progress and CEO Sam Altman had led the company in the right direction, so 'given all of this, we no longer think it is necessary to have observers.'
According to sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity, Microsoft has reached a settlement agreement with the European Cloud Computing Association CISPE worth about €20 million (~$21.7 million) and agreed to let members of the association use Microsoft's software and services. This will spare the technology giant from hefty fines and further EU investigations.
The sixth.$Broadcom (AVGO.US)$Broadcom fell 2.22% to $8.722 billion. Rosenblatt Securities raised Broadcom's target price from $1,650 to $2,400 because of the momentum of AI infrastructure networks/special-purpose integrated circuits and improvements in the collaborative effect of enterprise software. Broadcom plans to carry out a '1-for-10' plan after trading on July 12. Analysts said investors continued to focus on the competition between Broadcom's custom ASICs and Nvidia's GPUs, a 'comparison of apples to apples,' as we believe both will thrive.
The seventh.$Amazon (AMZN.US)$The stock fell 2.37%, with a transaction volume of $8.716 billion.
The eighth.$Meta Platforms (META.US)$The stock fell by 4.11%, with a turnover of 8.504 billion USD. Former US President Trump posted on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social" stating that if he is elected US President again, he will send "election fraudsters" to jail, specifically pointing out the name of Facebook founder Zuckerberg.
"Our entire voting system is under attack," Trump said. "The Democrats cannot win on policy. Their only way to victory is to cheat."
"They have no shame! All I can say is, if I am elected President, we will pursue election fraudsters with unprecedented vigor and send them to jail. I already know who you are, so don't do it, ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!" Trump wrote.
Ranked ninth.$Costco (COST.US)$The stock fell by 4.27%, with a turnover of 5.159 billion USD. Costco announced that it will raise membership fees in the United States and Canada by $5 starting from September 1st, with annual fees increasing from $60 to $65. The higher-level plan, the "black diamond card member," will see annual fees rise from $120 to $130. This is the first time that Costco has raised membership fees since June 2017.
11th place$Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$The stock fell by 2.93%, with a turnover of 4.779 billion USD. According to industry media reports, Google Cloud will explore various options to combat Microsoft's licensing practices. Before Google Cloud business head Zavery made the aforementioned remarks, Microsoft reached an agreement with the European trade organization for cloud infrastructure service providers (CISPE) to address issues related to unfair software licensing for cloud infrastructure service providers and their customers.
The 12th.$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$The stock fell by 3.43%, with a turnover of 4.017 billion USD. According to media reports, Taiwan Semiconductor's price increase plan for its 3nm process technology has been successfully approved by customers. Both sides have signed a new agreement to ensure the long-term stability of the supply chain. This move undoubtedly demonstrates TSMC's market leadership in the semiconductor manufacturing field and its close cooperation with customers.
Morgan Stanley's latest industry report pointed out that TSMC plans to implement a price increase strategy of up to 10% for wafer foundry services by 2025, while predicting that the cost of CoWoS packaging services will increase by about 20% in the next two years, reflecting the trend of value enhancement in high-end packaging technology.
Ranked 19th.$Uber Technologies (UBER.US)$Fulai Group analyst John Colantuoni maintains a buy rating on Uber Technologies with a target price of $100, resulting in a high of 6.15% and a turnover of 1.925 billion USD.
Editor/Lambor