U.S. stock futures slipped on Monday, putting a record-breaking rally on hold as investors braced for a week as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's statement and monthly jobs report could test stock gains.
S&P 500 (^GSPC) futures lost about 0.1% after ending Friday with their 16th weekly gain in 18 weeks. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.3%, while futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) were largely flat.
Stocks have rallied amid a relentless, AI-powered surge in technology stocks, helping the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) finally hit a new all-time high after years of waiting. This tech rally, and particularly Nvidia's (NVDA) meteoric rise to a $2 trillion valuation, has raised concerns about a bubble building — although some analysts are less concerned.
Also on Monday, Bitcoin's (BTC-USD) sustained rise saw the cryptocurrency surpass $65,000 and approach a record high, while Japan's Nikkei 225 (^N225) stock index broke the key $40,000 mark for the first time broke through.
A dose of reality could come to the high hopes and hype when the Fed's Powell takes the floor and the February jobs data arrives. Both will play a role in calculating interest rate cuts and informing whether the U.S. economy is headed for a “soft landing” or stagflation. Powell is expected to testify before Congress starting Wednesday, while jobs data is expected on Friday.
Meanwhile, EU antitrust regulators fined Apple (AAPL) nearly $2 billion over App Store restrictions on Spotify (SPOT) and other music streaming services in a blow across Big Tech's bows. Apple shares fell following the news.
Among the big movers, shares of Macy's (M) rose over 16% after bidders Arkhouse and Brigade increased their takeover offer to $6.6 billion, a 33% premium to Friday's closing price. Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) also rose 16% ahead of the AI server maker's entry into the S&P 500.
live1 update
- Monday, March 4, 2024, 6:30 a.m. CST
The head-shaking statistics surrounding Nvidia
Some of the hottest trending tickers on Yahoo Finance this morning have to do with crypto. No wonder, as Bitcoin has broken through $65,000 and anticipation is building for a possible halving in April.
But for me, the main story on the markets remains the hectic trading around AI darling Nvidia (NVDA). The way this stock goes, the market will go up in 2024 (and 2025, 2026, 2027…).
A few thought-provoking statistics about Nvidia:
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Nvidia is now the third most valuable US company: $2.05 trillion market cap.
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It took just 180 trading days for Nvidia's market cap to rise from $1 trillion to $2 trillion.
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The stock is rated “Buy” by 92% of analysts.
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