Latest news with #MelissaBrown
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall St ends sharply lower as Iran retaliates against Israel attack
STORY: Stocks fell across the board Friday after more clashes in the Middle East, with the Dow dropping about 1.8%, the S&P 500 more than 1% and the Nasdaq declining 1.3%. Iran launched missiles at Israel in response to intensive Israeli strikes aimed at crippling Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. Airline stocks fell on fears that fuel costs could climb, while defense stocks such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman rose. Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at SImCorp, says she thinks the effect of the conflict may be short-lived. 'Over the long-termn,I've seen studies that show that wars generally don't have a major impact on stock markets over you know, say a period of a few months to a few years with some obvious exceptions. [FLASH] If we don't see a huge escalation, particularly outside of the borders where we're already seeing the conflict, I think that investors are going to go back to the idea that the Fed's going to lower rates, that we're not going to be in a recession, and even with somewhat higher oil prices, we managed quite well with higher oil prices for the past few years.' Other stocks on the move included Photoshop maker Adobe, which lost more than 5%. The company raised its annual revenue forecast but that was overshadowed by concerns that the pace of its AI adoption was too slow. And shares of Oracle jumped more than 7.5% to hit a record high. The stock is now up more than 21% in the two days since the technology company gave an upbeat forecast driven by demand for its AI services. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Higher inflation 'very likely' due to tariffs, says market expert
Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at SimCorp, says "investors are not placing enough emphasis on the inflation environment," and expects higher prices "over the next couple of months."
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia's earnings are the stock market's next major test after May's Big Tech comeback
Megacap technology stocks have gotten a huge boost in May, as investors seek to turn the page on recent tariff tumult and as Nvidia Corp.'s earnings loom. U.S. banks might kick off earnings season and help set the tone, but it's the tech companies that lately have had the final word on whether the stock market had a good quarter or not. 'You never know what might happen': How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance? My ex-wife said she should have been compensated for working part time during our marriage. Do I owe her? Trade court strikes down Trump tariffs: What it means for markets — and what's next My husband and I earn $115K and owe $220K on our home. We're inheriting $300K. Should we invest in real estate or stock? 'Is this a good tax strategy or a sham transaction?' My mother wants to give me her home. I have a plan to avoid taxes. With that in mind, Wednesday's fiscal first-quarter earnings from artificial-intelligence darling Nvidia NVDA have a special place on the week's calendar. Read: Nvidia reports earnings tomorrow. Here's the main issue on investors' minds. Shares of Nvidia climbed 3.1% on Tuesday, a day before its quarterly results were due, and are up 24.3% on the month so far, according to FactSet. The AI chip maker will be the final 'Magnificent Seven' company to walk the earnings gantlet this quarter. While 2025 has been fraught on Wall Street, the past few weeks have benefited this particular group of tech titans. That's because investors worried about tariffs and their potential toll on the economy once again have turned to technology names, instead of the broader stock market, as a port in the storm. This chart shows the huge gains of the 'Magnificent Seven' stocks since the lows of early April, against a rise of about 4.4% for the broader S&P 500 index, as well as a roughly 1.3% gain for its equal-weight version. 'I do think they are viewed, because of their business models and pervasiveness,' as a kind of 'safer play, no matter what happens with the economy,' said Melissa Brown, head of investment decision research at SimCorp. 'And despite their higher valuations, as a group, those have been the ones to really be able to deliver on earnings expectations.' The Big Tech comeback in May followed a harsh fall after President Donald Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs shocked investors, businesses and U.S. trade partners in early April. Trump's proposed 'maximalist' levies triggered a collective $2.12 trillion loss of market capitalization for the 'Magnificent Seven' companies between the market's close on April 2 to the lows of April 8, according to Dow Jones Market Data. In addition to Nvidia, Inc. AMZN, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, Meta Platforms Inc. META, Tesla Inc. TSLA and Apple Inc., AAPL make up this group. Trump's trade fight has evolved since early April to include 'pauses' on some tariffs to help cajole trade partners into quicker negotiations, as well as the promise of more deals to come after the U.S. and U.K. outlined a new trade agreement. Read: Trump rolls out U.K. trade agreement. It's a relief — but deals with other countries are more crucial. After details of the U.S.-U.K. deal emerged, the 'Magnificent Seven' added back $3.7 trillion in market cap between the April 8 low and a May 14 peak, bringing their combined valuation to about $16.8 trillion, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Since then, sharply higher bond yields BX:TMUBMUSD10Y BX:TMUBMUSD30Y have failed to dull demand for this popular group of stocks, a trend strategists attributed to their strong earnings, as well as optimism around plans to keep up AI spending. While first-quarter earnings have been good for the S&P 500 index SPX, they've been even better for technology companies. The S&P 500's blended earnings growth rate was pegged recently at 12.9% for the first quarter versus a year before, well above the 10-year average of 8.9%, according to FactSet data. But that's only part of the story. 'The Communication Services sector reported the second-highest (year-over-year) earnings growth rate of all 11 sectors at 29.2%,' John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, wrote in a May 23 report. Alphabet and Meta, however, ranked as the biggest contributors to the sector's earnings growth. Without those two companies, its blended earnings growth rate would have fallen to 9.6% from 29.2%, according to Butters. Still, this chart shows just how much the 'Magnificent Seven' stocks have outpaced the broader market, when comparing their earnings growth against the rest of the S&P 500's 493 companies. Their collective capex guidance for 2025 was pegged at about $330 billion, according to Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. 'After Nvidia reports this week, these seven companies will likely end up driving nearly half of the S&P 500's EPS growth overall,' he wrote in a Monday client note. The broader S&P 500 posted a 2.1% gain on Tuesday, after Trump said over the long holiday weekend that his idea of a 50% tariff against the E.U. would be delayed until July 9, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA gained 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP rose 2.5%, according to FactSet. Nvidia's earnings are the stock market's next major test after May's Big Tech comeback Investors who followed 'sell in May and go away' are missing what could be the best May for the S&P 500 in decades It's my dream to travel to Africa. Can I pay for my husband's trip without commingling our finances? Treasury Secretary Bessent has a plan to bring down long-term yields. But will it work? After 25 years, I finally asked for separate checks — and my friends iced me out. Did I do something terrible? Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall Street advances on trade hopes, data shows investor pessimism
STORY: U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow gaining more than three quarters of a percent, the S&P 500 climbing seven-tenths of a percent and the Nasdaq adding half a percent. All three main indexes boasted weekly gains after starting off with a steep rally on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to a 90-day pause in their escalating trade war. Stocks briefly lost ground early Friday when the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment survey slumped to its second lowest level ever, with consumers' one-year inflation expectations surging to 7.3%. Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at Simcorp, said she was surprised to see stocks rally despite the downbeat report. "It's difficult to determine why investors remain so enthusiastic - with the exception of maybe, you know, because stocks have been up on positive news about tariffs for a few weeks. And so it could be that stocks have the wind at their backs, and investors are just not that worried about one consumer sentiment number." Stocks on the move Friday included UnitedHealth Group which rose nearly 6.5% after eight straight days of steep losses. Investors were warily expecting strategic changes at the insurer after the Wall Street Journal reported it was under a criminal probe by the Justice Department. Shares of Applied Materials slipped more than 5% after the provider of equipment for chip manufacturing missed estimates for second-quarter revenue. Charter Communications shares rose nearly 2% after the cable company said it would buy privately held rival Cox Communications for nearly $22 billion. And shares of Verizon Communications rose after the Federal Communications Commission said it was approving Verizon's $20 billion purchase of fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications after the largest U.S. telecom company agreed to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Al Etihad
02-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Wall Street climbs on strong jobs data, tariff optimism
2 May 2025 20:20 (REUTERS)US stock indexes rose on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its longest winning streak in over 20 years, as upbeat payrolls data and signs of easing US-China trade tensions soothed concerns around tariff-driven risks to the Labour Department's closely watched employment report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 177,000 in April, exceeding expectations, and unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%."This is good employment data which suggests that the economy remains strong," said Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at Simcorp."We could see these numbers go down as the impact of tariffs really starts to make its way through the economy, but it's not there yet," she numbers also helped ease fears that the US economy was close to recession, after gross domestic product contracted in the first quarter due to a tariff-induced flood of another positive for markets, Beijing said on Friday it was "evaluating" an offer from Washington to hold talks over US President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs on tit-for-tat tariffs between the world's two largest economies have kept investors on edge, with both sides unwilling to be seen backing down in a trade war that has roiled global Trump's reversal of some tariffs has helped US stock indexes recover from recent tech-heavy Nasdaq was trading at levels last seen before April 2, dubbed 'Liberation Day', when the president unveiled massive global S&P 500 was headed for its ninth consecutive session of gains, while the Dow was also on track for a nine-day winning streak, its first since December 11:27 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 353.32 points, or 0.87%, to 41,106.28. The S&P 500 gained 61.10 points, or 1.07%, to 5,665.24 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 219.97 points, or 1.24%, to 17, three indexes were set for their second consecutive week of signs of reprieve on the trade front, some companies have warned of business impacts or pulled earnings forecasts amid worries of higher costs and a hit to economic fell 3.9% after the iPhone maker trimmed its share buyback program by $10 billion, and CEO Tim Cook told analysts that tariffs could add about $900 million in costs this dipped after it forecast second-quarter operating income below giant Chevron rose marginally, while Exxon Mobil slipped after both reported quarterly slumped more than 21% after cutting its profit forecast for 2025 and missing estimates for quarterly earnings. Videogame maker Take-Two Interactive, meanwhile, fell 6.5% after it delayed the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to May 2026.
