Latest news with #LisaPaulineMattackal
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cryptoverse: As markets question US exceptionalism, bitcoin starts to shine
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal (Reuters) - It's late to the sell-USA party. But bitcoin is finally reclaiming its place as a big alternative for investors spooked by President Donald Trump's trade war and keen to dump U.S. stocks, Treasuries and the dollar. After an initial tumble to its lowest levels this year soon after Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs on April 2, the notoriously volatile bitcoin has slowly clawed back ground. It managed to outperform stock markets in 10 out of 17 sessions in that period, VanEck data shows. The world's top and original cryptocurrency is now a whisker away from the $100,000 mark last seen three months ago, after a 15% rise in April alone. By comparison, the S&P 500 slipped around 0.8% in April, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite eked out 0.8% gains last month, while the U.S. dollar index fell over 4%. "The most recent price action may have begun to validate the view that Bitcoin is not just the 501st company in the SPX," analysts at research firm Block Scholes said. Bitcoin is up 33% from its April low in a surprising turn for the cryptocurrency, given how closely it has mimicked the performance of equity markets in periods of market turmoil- particularly the tech sector - over the past few years. Correlations between bitcoin and other asset classes have also shifted, according to Block Scholes, and bitcoin is the most inversely correlated to the steepness of the Treasury yield curve in over two years. "Investors are really starting to respond to (bitcoin) as a potential diversifier," said Ben McMillan, chief investment officer at IDX Advisors. Bitcoin has even outperformed gold's 11% rise since April 2, despite the safe-haven metal's surge to record highs. Measures of bitcoin's expected volatility have dropped to 18-month lows, as per Block Scholes. "The damage has been done in terms of trust towards the U.S. and dollar assets ... but you can't (diversify) overnight," said Martin Leinweber, director of digital asset research & strategy at MarketVector Indexes. "What kind of neutral assets do you have? Underlying that is really a supportive shift towards bitcoin and crypto." Investors have also turned more bullish on digital asset-focused investment products, with roughly $5.5 billion over the last three weeks flowing into those funds, as per CoinShares data, including $1.8 billion in the week through May 3 for bitcoin products. If changing tariff policies continue to drive a move away from U.S. assets, bitcoin could find its next leg higher, Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank said in a note to clients. "We expect a strategic asset reallocation away from U.S. assets to trigger the next sharp upswing in bitcoin in the coming months," Kendrick said, adding he sees bitcoin hitting a new record high of around $120,000 in the second quarter of 2025. TOO MUCH, TOO SOON It's far too early, however, to say bitcoin has severed its ties with macroeconomic developments. Bitcoin's 30-day correlation to the S&P 500 briefly dipped to 0.45 in early April but has crept back up to 0.87, as per LSEG data, where 1 indicates they are moving in lockstep. And it still remains some ways away from its January record high. "I think we'll inevitably see periods going forward where bitcoin's correlation (to risk assets) rises again," said IDX Advisors' McMillan. "But the key point is, it is starting to take on trading characteristics of its own."
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
S&P 500, Nasdaq futures subdued as markets assess earnings, await data
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were slightly lower on Tuesday as investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings and awaited economic data for more clarity on the impact of U.S. tariffs. Supporting futures linked to the blue-chip Dow, Honeywell jumped 5.3% after posting a rise in adjusted profit for the first quarter. United Parcel Service, a bellwether for the economy, gained 2.6% in premarket trading after its quarterly results. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said President Donald Trump's administration will move to reduce the impact of his automotive tariffs by alleviating some duties imposed on foreign parts in domestically manufactured cars, and keeping tariffs on cars made abroad from piling on top of other ones. General Motors slipped 2.8% after the automaker pulled its annual forecast due to tariff uncertainty. Shares of automakers Ford and Tesla dipped marginally, reversing earlier gains. More clarity on the state of U.S.-China trade negotiations was still awaited. Consumer confidence and JOLTs job openings are also scheduled for the day, while U.S. first-quarter GDP and nonfarm payrolls are expected later in the week. Four of the "Magnificent Seven" group of megacap stocks - Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple and - will report quarterly results this week. "It shouldn't really be especially surprising that participants took something of a 'wait-and-see' approach to proceedings ... with conviction lacking across the board, and markets largely meandering along in a relatively directionless fashion," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. At 06:47 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 104.00 points, or 0.26%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 7 points, or 0.13%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 30.75 points, or 0.16%. The S&P 500 closed Monday with marginal gains, rising for a fifth straight session in its best winning streak since November. Indexes have clawed back some losses this month on hopes for a de-escalation in trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Still, all three major indexes remain down for the year, with the S&P 500 on track to fall about 1.5% this month. First-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 10.9% from a year ago. That is higher than an early-April estimate for a 7.8% rise, but many companies have warned of the new tariffs impacting their outlook. NXP Semiconductors NV fell 8.5% after the company only slightly beat expectations for revenue, and announced CEO Kurt Sievers would retire by the end of the year and insider Rafael Sotomayor would succeed him. U.S.-listed shares of Spotify Technologies plunged 8% after it forecast current-quarter operating profit below Wall Street estimates. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall St mixed in start to busy week for earnings, data
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Dow inched higher in choppy trading on Monday as investors braced for a week packed with key economic data and earnings from some of Wall Street's biggest companies, while U.S. trade policy developments remained in focus. Investors were watching company earnings and executive comments for indications on how U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs could impact their outlook. The spotlight will be on "Magnificent Seven" megacaps including Apple and Meta Platforms as 180 S&P 500 companies prepare to report results this week. Big tech companies can continue to beat earnings expectations as they are more resistant to tariffs, said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. "Are you going to tell somebody to not use a Microsoft operating system at this point because of a tariff? That's highly unlikely." So far, earnings season has been somewhat upbeat, with S&P 500 earnings now expected to climb 9.7% in the first quarter from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES. At 09:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 242.03 points, or 0.60%, to 40,355.53, the S&P 500 gained 10.25 points, or 0.19%, to 5,535.46 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 18.67 points, or 0.11%, to 17,364.27. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were trading at their highest levels since April 2. Gains in Boeing after Bernstein's rating upgrade lifted the Dow, while a decline of 2% in Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq. A report said China's Huawei Technologies was preparing to test its artificial-intelligence processor, hoping to replace some of Nvidia's products. Many companies have flagged the uncertainty caused by changes in the U.S. administration's trade policy, with some cutting or pulling annual forecasts. Signs that the U.S. and China could be willing to de-escalate trade tensions had injected some optimism in markets last week, with the three main indexes ending Friday with weekly gains, while the small-cap Russell 2000 marked its best week since November. However, competing claims on the state of negotiations from Beijing and Trump kept uncertainty elevated. "The market really just continues in this game of trying to figure out what's next for President Trump and trade negotiations," said Blancato. Crucial economic data, including the monthly U.S. payrolls data and the personal consumption expenditures price index, is also on the roster. The S&P 500 has declined more than 4% since the presidential elections in November, and fallen around 10% from its February record high as markets assess the potential impact of tariffs. A majority of economists polled by Reuters said the risks of the global economy slipping into recession this year were high. Web browser developer Opera's U.S.-listed shares jumped 8.6% after the company lifted its annual revenue forecast. Spirit AeroSystems rose 2.7% after Airbus reached a deal to take over some of the company's plants. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 19 new highs and 12 new lows.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall St mixed in start to busy week for earnings, data
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Dow inched higher in choppy trading on Monday as investors braced for a week packed with key economic data and earnings from some of Wall Street's biggest companies, while U.S. trade policy developments remained in focus. Investors were watching company earnings and executive comments for indications on how U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs could impact their outlook. The spotlight will be on "Magnificent Seven" megacaps including Apple and Meta Platforms as 180 S&P 500 companies prepare to report results this week. Big tech companies can continue to beat earnings expectations as they are more resistant to tariffs, said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. "Are you going to tell somebody to not use a Microsoft operating system at this point because of a tariff? That's highly unlikely." So far, earnings season has been somewhat upbeat, with S&P 500 earnings now expected to climb 9.7% in the first quarter from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES. At 09:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 242.03 points, or 0.60%, to 40,355.53, the S&P 500 gained 10.25 points, or 0.19%, to 5,535.46 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 18.67 points, or 0.11%, to 17,364.27. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were trading at their highest levels since April 2. Gains in Boeing after Bernstein's rating upgrade lifted the Dow, while a decline of 2% in Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq. A report said China's Huawei Technologies was preparing to test its artificial-intelligence processor, hoping to replace some of Nvidia's products. Many companies have flagged the uncertainty caused by changes in the U.S. administration's trade policy, with some cutting or pulling annual forecasts. Signs that the U.S. and China could be willing to de-escalate trade tensions had injected some optimism in markets last week, with the three main indexes ending Friday with weekly gains, while the small-cap Russell 2000 marked its best week since November. However, competing claims on the state of negotiations from Beijing and Trump kept uncertainty elevated. "The market really just continues in this game of trying to figure out what's next for President Trump and trade negotiations," said Blancato. Crucial economic data, including the monthly U.S. payrolls data and the personal consumption expenditures price index, is also on the roster. The S&P 500 has declined more than 4% since the presidential elections in November, and fallen around 10% from its February record high as markets assess the potential impact of tariffs. A majority of economists polled by Reuters said the risks of the global economy slipping into recession this year were high. Web browser developer Opera's U.S.-listed shares jumped 8.6% after the company lifted its annual revenue forecast. Spirit AeroSystems rose 2.7% after Airbus reached a deal to take over some of the company's plants. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 19 new highs and 12 new lows. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Quantum computing, AI stocks rise as Nvidia kicks off annual conference
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal (Reuters) - Shares of quantum computing and artificial intelligence companies rose on Monday, as investors hoped that Nvidia would blow some life back into the beaten-down sectors with new announcements at its annual conference. The five-day GTC AI conference, which was already underway, will devote an entire day to quantum computing and feature executives from notable firms including D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing. Several quantum computing stocks jumped, with D-Wave Quantum up 9.4%, while Quantum Corp and Quantum Computing gained 23.1%, and 15.5%, respectively. Other AI-linked stocks gained in choppy trading, with SES AI soaring 30% and Dell Technologies up 3%. Investors will focus on CEO Jensen Huang's keynote on Tuesday to assess the latest developments in the AI and chip sectors, which have lost some luster on concerns over competing AI products in China and worries over the impact of U.S. tariffs. "If tomorrow's presentation is broadly positive, I don't think it would take an awful lot to see some big upward moves in anything related to AI (or) quantum (computing) from current levels," said David Morrison, senior analyst at Trade Nation. "Looking at how oversold so many of these stocks are, it's just a question of getting a catalyst for people to come back in and redeploy funds." The fresh focus on quantum computing is a change of pace for Huang, after his comments in January that the technology was decades away from practical use sparked a steep selloff in related stocks. "They call this the 'Woodstock' of AI," said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management. "If (Huang) says something a little more encouraging, that could add some boost for these stocks." Nvidia is expected to reveal details of a new chip system, hint at plans in other computing markets including robotics and provide updates on its Blackwell Ultra chip. Trading was volatile, however, with Rigetti Computing reversing premarket gains. Nvidia also reversed early gains and was last down 1.8%. The stock has slumped 11% this year after a blistering 171% rally in 2024. "To get the AI space excited again, they have to go a little off script from what we're expecting," Mahoney said.
