Nvidia shares rallied strongly in Monday trading ahead of its quarterly earnings result due out on Wednesday, leading the Nasdaq to a new record close.
The Nasdaq finished the day up 0.65 per cent setting a new record close at 16,794.87. The S&P 500 closed up 0.09 per cent and the Dow closed down 0.49 per cent.
Nvidia shares rose more than 2 per cent on Monday on news several investment banks have increased their price target ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday. Nvidia’s market cap is now the third-largest in the S&P 500 at $2.3 trillion.
In other company news, JPMorgan shares fell 4.5 per cent on comments from CEO Jamie Dimon that his retirement may be sooner than previously stated. Dimon also ruled out any buyback for the foreseeable future.
Microsoft also announced it has introduced new software and AI features on its computers going forward in an effort to compete with Alphabet and Apple. Microsoft’s new category of AI enabled PCs will be called Copilot+PC.
The machines from Microsoft’s Surface line and manufacturing partners will offer more power and will be 58 per cent faster than Apple’s top-of-the-line Macbook Air M3, the company said.
US stocks are coming off a strong week, with the S&P 500 posting a four-week winning streak as it notched record highs. The Dow also rose for a fifth straight week.
The rally in the US dollar reversed as investors anticipate that decreasing inflation in the US will allow the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates. After peaking with a 5 per cent gain by mid-April, the dollar is set for its first monthly decline in 2024, following a Wednesday announcement of inflation easing as forecasted, assuaging concerns over the Fed's ability to manage price growth.
Turning to commodities, silver prices surged past $30 per ounce last week, reaching their highest level in over a decade, driven by heightened investor interest amidst a favourable macroeconomic environment and projections of a fourth consecutive annual market deficit.
Turning to US sectors, the best performing sector was Technology which closed 1.32 per cent higher. The worst performer was financials which closed down 1.21 per cent.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.14 per cent fall.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7am was buying 66.70 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has added 0.48 per cent. Silver has added 2.42 per cent. Copper has gained 1.02 per cent. Oil has lost 0.47 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.05 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.35 per cent, and Paris closed 0.35 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.73 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.42 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.54 per cent higher.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.63 per cent higher at 7,863.66.
Ex-dividends
Two companies are going ex-dividend today. Amcor (ASX:AMC) is paying 19.32 cents unfranked. Aneka Tambang (ASX:ATM) is paying 4.83 cents unfranked.
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
