Week Ending March 7th, 2024 


Market Moves 

Dow Jones - 42,520.99 (-1.5%)

Nasdaq - 18,285.16 (-0.3%) 

S&P 500 - 5,778.15 (-1.2%)

Weekly Recap

• Investors embrace for more volatility. Only months ago, Wall Street hit record highs on optimism for the Trump era. Stocks today are crumbling on tariff concerns. On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P 500 joined the tech-heavy Nasdaq in eliminating its post-election gains. The S&P 500 has erased about $3.3 trillion in market cap since its record closing high of 6,144.15 on Feb. 19th. The Nasdaq Composite is off over 5% and the Dow is trading just below the flatline for the year.
• Stock futures rose. US stock futures rose after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that President Donald Trump may provide a pathway to tariff relief for Canada and Mexico as soon as Wednesday. Futures attached to the Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 climbed 0.6% while Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.5%.
• Oil prices fell. Oil prices fell for a third session. Brent futures eased 15 cents lower to $70.89 a barrel at 0200 GMT on Wednesday. 
• The U.S. dollar retreated. The US dollar has retreated after initially surging to kick off the year. Since the inauguration, the US Dollar Index has fallen over 2%.
• A "stagflationary" environment. On Monday, ISM Manufacturing prices paid came in at their highest since June 2022, while new orders fell into contraction, suggesting a "stagflationary" environment in which growth slows but price increases remain elevated. 
• Gold headed higher. Gold's price has been rising as investors hunt for a safe haven from the volatility. The gold price is currently hovering at $2,929 per ounce, with the most bullish of predictions suggesting the precious metal is headed for the $3,000 level. The gold price has already advanced 40% over the past year.
• Bitcoin went below $90,000. The #1 digital currency has seen its biggest monthly loss since 2022. The Trump administration announced a new crypto strategic reserve was in the works that would likely thrust digital assets further into the mainstream. In addition to Bitcoin, the reserve would hold popular cryptocurrencies ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
• A tumultuous week for Nvidia. The chipmaker fell 10% in a two-day stretch before recovering some ground on Tuesday. Nvidia got caught in the middle of a controversy involving unofficial AI chip exports to China via Malaysia.  
• EV maker Tesla extended losses. The company's shares have dropped 9% in March so far after the company suffered a weak electric vehicle sales performance in China. Morgan Stanley analysts aren’t worried, attaching a bullish price target of $430 on the stock, which reflects upside potential of 58% from current levels. 
• Amazon is facing off with ChatGPT. The e-commerce leader is reportedly building a new “reasoning AI model” that will be marketed under its Nova brand and go head-to-head with OpenAI”s ChatGPT phenomenon. 
• Palantir Technologies got a top stock pick with Wedbush. The company has secured a spot on Wedbush Securities’ top stock list amid a renewed optimism for lucrative government defense contracts. 
• Microsoft is trading near its 52-week low. Investors have grown impatient for results amid the company’s massive AI capex spending plan. 
• Berkshire Hathaway hits the $1 trillion club. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) stock clinched a fresh all-time high of $518 this week, 
• Investors are now eager for more data. The ADP National Employment Report will offer insight into private payroll growth today and the employment report for February comes out on Friday, March 7th.

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"Many of the key trends in financial markets in the run-up to and immediate aftermath of the US election last November have stalled or partly reversed since President Trump took office last month," Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics.

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Most Active Stocks

• Okta (OKTA)
• Best Buy Co. (BBY)
• MicroStrategy (MSTR)
• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Tesla (TSLA)
• Amazon (AMZN)
• Credo Technology Group Holding (CRDO)
• AeroVironment (AVAV)
• Intel (INTC)
• Microsoft (MSFT)

Weekly Notables

 

 

Taiwan Semiconductor Plans U.S. $100B Investment

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) announced plans to pour $100 billion in capital expenditures into the U.S., including the construction of a trio of manufacturing plants in the state of Arizona. That’s where Taiwan Semi plans to produce its most powerful AI chips yet and also welcome thousands of new jobs to the Grand Canyon State.

JetBlue Partners with Nintendo

JetBlue and Nintendo have unveiled a customized plane featuring Super Mario and Friends. The new plane did little to help JetBlue’s stock, which fell nearly 6% on Tuesday after Wall Street analysts downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold.”  

 
Earnings Spotlight: Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie and Fitch beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 2.1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $1.21 billion, up 14.4% year on year. For Q4, analysts are expecting Abercrombie and Fitch’s revenue to grow 7.8% year on year to $1.57 billion, slowing from the 21.1% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $3.54 per share.