Apple considers raising iPhone prices, WSJ reports
FILE PHOTO: An attendee holds two iPhones 16 as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
U.S. stocks close mixed as investors monitor trade talks
NEW YORK, June 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, as investors looked ahead to a key round of China-U.S. trade negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 1.11 points to 42,761.76. The S&P 500 added 5.52 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,005.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 61.28 points, or 0.31 percent, to 19,591.24. Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities and financials leading the laggards by losing 0.66 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary and materials led the gainers by going up 1.08 percent and 0.62 percent, respectively. The first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism opened in London on Monday. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the meeting with U.S. representatives. In an interview with American outlet CNBC, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council at the White House, on Monday said that the U.S. expectation was that "immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters." Meanwhile, investors are also keeping a wary eye on escalating tensions in Los Angeles after U.S. President Donald Trump sent in the National Guard to deal with anti-deportation protests. Shares of major technology companies, which have been central to the market's momentum, were mostly higher. Amazon and Alphabet both advanced nearly 1.5 percent, while Tesla rose 4.55 percent, continuing its volatile stretch following last week's public clash between its CEO Elon Musk and Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia posted modest gains. In contrast, Apple shares slipped 1.2 percent as the company's Worldwide Developers Conference opened with a keynote from Apple's CEO Tim Cook. Broadcom and Meta also fell. Semiconductor stocks posted strong gains to start the week. The iShares Semiconductor ETF jumped 2.36 percent, fueled by a 4.77 percent gain in Advanced Micro Devices, a 4.41 percent rise in ON Semiconductor, and a 4.13 percent surge in Arm Holdings. Elsewhere, shares of Robinhood Markets and Applovin declined by 1.98 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Both companies had recently hit milestones that raised speculation about their potential addition to the S&P 500, but the index's rebalancing did not include either stock, disappointing some investors. Wall Street strategists are growing more confident about the outlook for U.S. equities, with analysts at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs now signaling a more optimistic tone. "We have high conviction that the sharp drawdown in April was the end of a much longer correction that began a year ago with the peak rate of change on earnings revisions breadth," Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson wrote in a note. A pick-up in analyst upgrades "keeps us positive on U.S. equities on a 12-month basis."
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Crypto funds' assets hit record high as investors hedge and diversify
Representations of cryptocurrency bitcoin are seen in this illustration picture created in Paris, France, March 9, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration (Reuters) -Assets held in crypto funds hit a record high in May as easing trade tensions lifted risk appetite and some investors used the digital currencies to hedge against market volatility and diversify from their U.S. holdings. Morningstar data on 294 crypto funds shows they attracted $7.05 billion in net inflows last month, the highest since December, bringing total assets under management to a record $167 billion. Nicolas Lin, CEO of fintech firm Aether Holdings, said bitcoin "is starting to come into its own again", not just as a high-volatility asset, but as something that more investors are using to hedge their exposure. Bitcoin has gained more than 15% over the past three months, outperforming a 3.6% rise in the MSCI World Index and a 13.3% gain for gold. Nic Puckri, analyst and founder of Coin Bureau, said one of the main drivers of bitcoin's rise is a loss of faith in the U.S. investment story. "The greenback is projected to keep plummeting, bond yields are rising, there's uncertainty about the equity markets. But bitcoin seems to be holding strong." Bitcoin has been buoyed by institutional inflows over the past year following the approval of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs in the United States. In contrast to the crypto funds, Lipper data showed a net $5.9 billion flowed out of global equity funds in May, while gold funds posted their first outflow in 15 months, of $678 million, pointing to a broader shift in portfolio diversification. "I think flows will stay strong, but probably more steady than the rush we saw after the ETFs launched," said Aether Holdings' Lin. "That initial wave was a bit of a release valve. What's happening now is more important, it's the start of crypto becoming a permanent fixture in diversified portfolios." According to Coinshares data, bitcoin funds attracted a net $5.5 billion and ether funds a net $890 million in May.
New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Singapore's Grab denies reports of talks with Indonesia's GoTo for a potential deal
SINGAPORE: Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery company Grab said on Monday it was not in any talks on a potential deal with smaller Indonesian rival GoTo . Reuters reported last month that Nasdaq-listed Grab was looking to strike a deal to buy GoTo in the second quarter and had hired advisers to work on the proposed deal, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter. A deal could value GoTo at around US$7 billion, according to a separate source with knowledge of the matter. "There have been media reports that we are engaged in discussions for a potential transaction with PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk. The parties are not involved in any discussions at this time and Grab has not entered into any definitive agreements," Grab said in a stock exchange filing. Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara was considering a role in Grab's planned US$7 billion acquisition of GoTo. "We will continue to maintain a high hurdle rate when deploying our capital and will have a balanced approach to investing for organic, profitable growth and be highly selective on inorganic opportunities, in line with our capital allocation framework," Grab said in its filing. "Indonesia continues to be an important country in serving our mission as we continue to outserve our Indonesian customers, driver- and merchant-partners," it added. Media reports, citing unnamed sources, have appeared on and off for a few years about a possible merger between Grab and GoTo. In a separate statement, Grab said its on-demand gross merchandise value grew 19 per cent in April and May from a year earlier, while the number of mobility rides for April and May rose 23 per cent.
