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Mar 272023
NDX: Nasdaq Ticks Higher as Optimism Prevails
Wall Street’s tech-heavy index powered through bank jitters to close out a winning week.- The Nasdaq Composite finished the week in the green, helped by increased optimism that the banking-sector dumpster fire will be doused out by the government. While that scenario is not without some shade of doubt, the market was happily bidding up as banks were biting their nails
- In that context, the technology-focused index added 0.31% on Friday, notching a weekly gain of 1.7%. Its two peers were also winning – the Dow added 1.2% for the week, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.4% in the past five trading days, marked by heightened volatility.
- Shares of financial firms were mostly mixed with regional banks putting efforts into recovering from the sweeping selloff. In Europe, the situation was dire – major indexes finished Friday down about 1.5% to 2% on the day as skepticism spread across European bourses.
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Mar 222023
NDX: Nasdaq Leaps 1.5% as Government Pledges Support
After several days of downbeat performance, the Nasdaq rallied on promises from the Treasury Secretary.- The Nasdaq Composite staged a moderate comeback Tuesday, as the index gained 1.5% to close the trading session. Its two peers, the Dow Jones and the S&P 500, also finished the day in the green, logging two straight days of gains for the first time in two weeks.
- Behind the rally was a promise from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who signaled that the government is ready to backstop smaller banks if they are faced with the same faith as Silicon Valley Bank – the startup-focused lender that flopped in just a few days after a bank run.
- Wall Street’s tech-heavy index is now floating near its yearly peak, sitting on more than 10% in gains since early January. Futures dealmaking is in the red early on Wednesday as investors anticipate the grand event of the week – the Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision.
Simone Fontana / Flickr
Mar 162023
NDX: Nasdaq Ekes Out Tiny Gain Amid Broad Selling
The tech-heavy index fell but heroically clawed back all losses Wednesday as peers gave in to the pressure.- The Nasdaq Composite was the only survivor of all major US and European indexes on Wednesday after a banking storm sank global markets. Wall Street’s technology darling advanced a moderate 6 points, or just 0.05%, on the day, up for a third straight session.
- The fallout from Credit Suisse’s crisis of confidence whipsawed stocks, pressuring the Nasdaq to a deep 2.5% intraday loss before the techies stepped in and fueled a sharp rebound. The index is up just over 10% this year, ways away from the other two stock averages.
- Wednesday’s selling was so severe that at one point the S&P 500 erased all of its gains for the year. Bank stocks were the biggest losers on both sides of the Atlantic. In a ray of hope, the latest batch of economic data showed retail sales fell and producer-price inflation slowed.
Brandon Morgan / Unsplash
Mar 092023
Nasdaq Logs Gains as Rate-Hike Jitters Remain
The tech-heavy Wall Street benchmark wobbled through most of the trading session Wednesday.- The Nasdaq Composite hugged the flatline for most of the regular trading on Wednesday, before closing higher with a 0.4% gain. The other two major stock averages finished mixed – the broad-based S&P 500 added just 0.1%, while the 30-stock Dow Jones dropped 0.2% on the day.
- Powell-fueled concerns continue to weigh over the market sentiment with finance bros trying to figure out how bad things can get. The finsplaining version – interest rates that stay higher for longer might cool the labor market and bring inflation down, but might also dent stock valuations.
- What central bankers now aim to do is the so-called soft landing. In Fedspeak, that means tempering growth and curbing inflation by gradual rate hikes, without overturning the money system and causing a recession followed by a stock market tantrum. Eyes are now on Friday’s jobs report.
Illustration by TradingView
Mar 012023
Nasdaq Drops in February but Some Stocks Flash in Green
Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta Platforms boast outsized monthly returns in a sea of red as markets readjust.- The Nasdaq Composite may have logged a 3% loss to end a rough month, but some stocks yearned for more and took home sizable returns. The tech-heavy index joined its two major peers, the Dow and the S&P 500, in their quest South as all three slipped in the red.
- The gainers of the pack – Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta Platforms, added 10.85%, 13.40%, and 14.5%, respectively, over the month of February. These mainstays in the tech-heavy Wall Street benchmark are enjoying favorable treatment this year, with increases of 40% or more each.
- On the other end, some losers that dragged the index in bearish territory include EV maker Lucid, down 22.95%, drug maker Moderna, with a 20.36% drop, and game producer Electronic Arts, logging a 5% decline. All three posted either weak guidance or underwhelming sales figures.
Illustration by TradingView
Feb 242023
NDX: Nasdaq ends choppy session in the green
The technology-heavy index bounced back from heavy selling and turned up by 0.7%.- The Nasdaq Composite staged a U-turn late on Thursday after slippin’ and slidin’ together with its peers the Dow Jones and the S&P 500. The late-hour rally lifted the Nasdaq’s performance to a gain of 0.7%. Nvidia helped for that as the chipmaker surged $29.10, or 14%, to $236.64.
- Broad-based gains were a needed reprieve for investors after several days of stocks getting hammered left and right. The mix of high rates prospects, tight employment situation, and lackluster earnings put a dent in market optimism over the past few days.
- Tech stocks, those that make up a large part of the Nasdaq, have been relentless in their comeback efforts this year. The benchmark itself is up just under 12% year-to-date, but tech shares are the undisputed winners so far, pleasantly surprising all the geeks among us.
Laura Ockel / Unsplash
Feb 152023
Nasdaq overcomes market jitters
The tech-heavy equity index cut through the noise and turned in the green.- Nasdaq Composite stabilized to the upside amid inflation-fueled jitters and was the only index of the big three to end the day in positive territory. The technology-powered benchmark added just over 0.5% on the day after dipping by 1.1% earlier in the session.
- Choppy trading defined much of Tuesday’s session, resulting in some extra twists and turns for the S&P 500, which finished the day flat while the Dow Jones lost just under 0.5%. So what defined the trading session? Inflation arrived at 6.4%, above the market consensus of 6.2%.
- The split decision in stock averages yesterday was prompted by the big bad inflation figures, threatening to make a comeback and undo what markets have been doing so far this year – making progress. Still, the rise in the inflation-sensitive Nasdaq might be telling a different narrative.
Illustration by TradingView
Feb 062023
More people finding jobs spooks investors
Nasdaq sheds 1.6% as blockbuster jobs report spreads fear across Wall Street.- Looks like we’ll have to wait some more before the market regulates itself. A stellar January jobs report released on Friday shook the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite as 517,000 new workers were added to the American economy. The Wall Street benchmark lost 1.6% on the day.
- In other words, tech equity valuations suffered a trim as the US labor force expanded, pushing the unemployment rate to a 53-year low. The other two major averages, the Dow Jones and the S&P 500, dropped 0.4% and 1% for the day, respectively.
- Why isn’t Wall Street hyped about jobs growth? The scorching labor reading raised concerns about whether the economy is finding its feet after five months of slowing growth. If so, that could a) spark inflation (again), and b) prompt the Fed to move rates aggressively (again).
Chenyu Guan / Unsplash
Jan 302023
Not the best time to be short
The Nasdaq Composite marches out in the green, logging its fourth straight winning week.- The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index jumped 4.3% last week, leaving short-sellers in pain as it secured a double-digit gain of just over 10% since the turn of the year. Such a four-week rally for the benchmark was last seen in August. Among the biggest gainers in the index were Tesla and Netflix, up roughly 50% and 20% for the month, respectively.
- The optimistic mood swept across other major indexes on signs that inflation is turning the corner and that recession fears might not be that scary. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones posted moderate weekly gains. The broad-based average added 2.5%, while the 30-stock index advanced 1.8%.
- Short sellers, those that profit from stock declines, are not making bank in the January rally. In fact, they are paying for it. According to one estimate from analytics firm S3 Partners, investors betting against stocks are staring at more than $81bn in mark-to-market losses so far into the month.
Vlad Tchompalov / Unsplash
Sep 192022
Big tech’s big month of losses
As investors watch big tech behemoths fall to the swords of inflation and advertising slumps, the question is how long this echelon of the market has left in its reign.- Nine companies in the Nasdaq 100 made new lows on Friday to bring the tech-heavy index to its worst week in over eight months with its losses of 5.77%. Meta sank to its lowest price since March 2020 after this week’s 13.5% drop, Apple has lost over 12% in the last four weeks, Microsoft is at a more than one-year low, and Nvidia’s 8% decline sent prices to their lowest since March 2021.
- It’s giving tech stock bulls a brutal hint that the worst might not be over – much of the pressure came from last week’s inflation report which showed yet another increase in prices in August. The market needs to adjust to lower liquidity levels and realistic interest rates, but until they do and inflation is under control, pain is set to continue. Sigh.
- Higher yields are sending investors to safer investments. With the 10yr yield at an 11-year high, investors are less willing to provide companies with cash because it’s tougher to beat the rate of risk free return. On a less pessimistic note, Phil Blancato – CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management – thinks the market will “absolutely roar” once the Fed says rate hikes are slowing.
fabio/ Unsplash
Sep 142022
Nightmare on Wall Street
Investors’ heads are spinning after Tuesday’s inflation data disrupts the market’s recent attempts at recovery and sends every single Nasdaq 100 stock into the red for the day.- Inflation actually went up last month, which as I’m sure you well know is the opposite of what anyone wanted. August’s CPI data slammed into Wall Street by showing that consumer prices gaining 0.1% MoM versus expectations for a decline of the same amount, and is now up 8.2% YoY – tho on the bright side energy prices continue lower and declined around 5%
- A brutal few hours of selling gave the market its worst day since June 2020 on Tuesday, with every major US index dumping gains from last week’s rally. The Nasdaq dropped an eye-watering 5.54%, the S&P 500 erased 4.32%, the Dow dumped 3.94% and the Russell 2K sank 3.91% – added to that, the yield on short-dated government debt (which tracks interest rate expectations) neared a 15-year high.
- The dramatic downturn was down to Fed speculation. Not only is inflation up, but core CPI inched back up to a five-month high as well, lowering the odds of a dovish pivot. The news was made all the worse by the slew of bearish analyst predictions that followed – one of the scariest was from Nomura, who's now forecasting a 100bps hike in September.
Aug 112022
High on CPI data
Investors analyze CPI data harder than the group chat analyzes your ex’s insta story, and like the group chat, there are a lot of different opinions and nobody actually knows the answer.- June’s Headline Consumer Prices (CPI) came in flat MoM and cooled to 8.5% YoY from the 9.1% June increase that marked the largest in four decades. Both numbers were better than expected, and the deceleration was largely thanks to a heavy decline in food and energy prices – though tbf energy is v volatile and could shoot back up just as easily.
- Major US indices got a nice little buzz from the release, with all four closing at their highest levels since early May while enjoying their second month in the green. The Nasdaq lifted 2.85%, the S&P 500 jumped 2.31%, the Russell 2K was up 2.95% and the Dow rallied 1.63%. The dollar tho, which has been a popular inflation hedge recently, had its worst day since March 9.
- Kk enough with the data, what does this all mean? Well, peeps think inflation may have peaked and this could lead the Fed to slow down its rate hikes but there’s an equal amount of data to point the other way. The central bank is also more focused on PCE as an inflation measure, tho also looks to core CPI (excluding energy and food) which also decelerated this month, so that can go in the “dovish” column.
Dannie Jing/ Unsplash
Aug 042022
The bulls bound into the arena
Tech stocks had a tough start to summer, but at last seem to be finding their groove to encourage whispers of a bull market.- The Nasdaq is now trading up 20% from its mid-June lows after closing sharply higher on Wednesday along with all other major US indices, given a boost by strength in tech earnings. The S&P 500 jumped 1.56% to its highest close since early June, the Dow lifted 1.29%, and the Russell 2K lifted 1.41%.
- Bull market, or bear market rally? Well as is usually the case, reviews are mixed. The bulls think this could be a sign of a long-term bottom and that markets have already priced in any more bad news they could get, but bears point to companies' slowing growth rates and unpreparedness for a recession. Only time will tell, we suppose.
- Upbeat economic data helped buoy investor sentiment. A survey showed the US services industry expanded faster in July despite wider expectations for a slowdown, and additional data showed new orders for US-manufactured goods jumped in June and businesses continued spending in spite of interest rate hikes – all of which are at odds with recession predictions.
Hans Eiskonen / Unsplash
Jul 212022
The Nasdaq’s bullish bounce
It’s been a nerve wracking week of earnings for investors, but better-than-expected results help prop up major indices to head towards a week in the green.- After a moody Monday, major US indices are up for the week – so far. The Nasdaq is up 3.81%, the S&P 500 has sprung 2.5%, the Dow has lifted 1.87%, and the Russell 2K has rallied 4.8%. All four are hovering around a six-week high as earnings roll in, with 68% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beating expectations.
- We even got earnings from the Nasdaq itself on Wednesday. The exchange operator lifted 6.1% to a three-month high after it topped estimates for the quarter with EPS of $2.07 per share, as investors turned to its investment-related products to get through the market madness – CEO Adena Friedman wants to diversify the Nasdaq’s offerings, and it looks to be working so far.
- Rate hikes are coming next week, duhn duhn duhn. By all accounts investors and analysts alike are expecting a hike of around 75 basis points instead of the 100bps that was looking likely amid increasingly hot inflation. A Reuters poll of economists says that there’s a 40% chance of recession, so that’s weighing on investors’ shoulders as well.
Illustration by TradingView
Jul 152022
The Fed flips the market
The market’s emotions are all over the shop this week as investors digest key economic data, but the Fed is here to remind everyone that the sky isn’t falling.- Major US indices closed Thursday mixed, but had shown some signs of recovery through the day. The Nasdaq snapped its losing streak to gain 0.34%, while the other big three all saw sharp drops in morning trading before clawing their way back to close down modestly.
- The market got another set of scorching economic data on Thursday, right on the heels of the fastest inflation rate in 40 years. The headline Producer Price index re-accelerated to 11.3%, driven by energy costs – core PPI (the Fed’s preferred method of measuring inflation) decelerated for the third month, which is good news, but that’s not the market’s focus rn.
- Comments from the Fed were a welcome salve to the red hot data. Fed Governors Christopher Waller said “the markets may have gotten ahead of themselves a little bit yesterday”, reassuring people that right now they’d support a 75bps rate hike in July over the 100bps hike people started anticipating after the data – though that could change if inflation keeps increasing.
Illustration by TradingView
Jun 172022
The “R” word runs rampant
Recession fears are reverberating through the market louder than fart in a library, despite acting chill on rate hike news, with travel and Big Tech getting stuck in the slumps.- The market turned an embarrassing shade of crimson on Thursday despite a brief Wednesday rally, as people feared the economy’s soft landing was but a fantasy. The Nasdaq dumped 4%, the S&P 500 is officially in a bear market and sank 3.25%, the Dow lost 2.42%, and the Russell 2K declined 4.7% – all four are around their lowest levels since November 2020.
- Travel and Big Tech were two of the hardest hit on Thursday, though every sector closed in the red. Travel stocks had been doing pretty well until the reality of a recession hit and extravagant getaways became a delayable luxury, and Big Tech has been quickly given the boot as people look to high-yield bonds instead.
- It’s not just the US market that’s been sent into turmoil by inflation-driven rate hikes. In the last couple weeks, we’ve also seen rate hike moves from (among others) the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of Canada, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Reserve Bank of Australia, nearly all of which have seen a market reversal in response.
Simone Fontana / Flickr
May 302022
SPACs in trouble
It seems like only yesterday that special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) were coming in, merging left, right and center. Now it seems like a case of which will survive.- 25 companies that merged with a SPAC might go bust within a year, at least according to data analysis firm Audit Analytics. The firm found that 10.8% of the 232 businesses that merged with blank-check companies since 2020 have issued “going-concern warnings”, which basically means the company’s fiscal outlook for the year is pretty sketchy.
- So-called blank check companies boomed in 2020… and then again in 2021. 613 new SPACs were launched in 2021, smashing the year prior’s record of 256, together raising over $200bn in comparison to 2019 which saw only $18bn. The boom was perhaps down to SPACs less onerous (and therefore less expensive) regulatory framework than traditional IPOs, an enticing pitch for startups looking to get onto the public market.
- With the Nasdaq down over 20% this year already, it’s not much of a surprise that many of the SPACs now in choppy waters are those that merged with high growth tech companies. With rising interest rates and potentially a recession on the cards, the outlook for recently merged low-revenue businesses isn't exactly sunshine and roses.
Mitch Nielsen / Unsplash
May 252022
Snap starts squeaky-butt time szn over at Nasdaq
After word of Snap’s bleak outlook gets around, other tech stocks quake in their boots.- NDX fell 2.2% on Tuesday after Snap instilled fear into tech companies, by telling its staff they ain’t gonna have a good Q2… only a month after its Q1 report. Investors clearly saw this as a bad omen and Google traded down 5%, Meta 8%, and Pinterest fell a mega 23%.
- When the Fed commeth, the Fed taketh. It seems the hike in interest rates last month has slowed the economy right down, with investors not too optimistic that they're quite over yet – hence why there’s quiet, but rising, talk of a recession on the cards come later this year.
- Elsewhere, all indices are down, down, down. Dow is down 12%, Russell 2000 is down 22% – and yup, you guessed it – the S&P 500 is down 17% to trade below the $4k mark, entering a zone that would be considered “bear market territory” – although it feels we’re already pretty much there.
Illustration by TradingView
May 192022
The Nasdaq gets nailed again
Retail disappointment puts a swift end to the market’s attempt at a relief rally, pressuring indices into one of their worst days of the year.- US indices got stuck in quicksand on Wednesday after trying to get into the green earlier this week. The Nasdaq had its second worst day of the year with a 5.06% decline, the S&P 500 and the Dow both saw their worst day since June 2020 with respective losses of 4.04% and 3.57%, and the Russell 2K sank 3.56%.
- Retailers are ruining the fun – or rather, the macroeconomic conditions impacting retailers are. The market has been handed disappointing earnings from most of the big dogs like Walmart, Target and Lowe’s, sending other consumer-focused names down in sympathy as well.
- Recession fears are being amplified by a series of days in struggle city for stocks – this is the fourth time this year the Nasdaq has lost over 4%, which is a pretty BFD. Investors were already spooked by inflation, now highlighted by slipping consumer sentiment and growing similarities between the 2008 financial crisis and the current market. Welp.
Efe Yağız Soysal / Unsplash
May 182022
J-Pow ain’t backing down
US indices settle into the idea of rate hikes and make an impressive attempt at recovery while new sales data shines a light on the retail sector.- It’s all eyes on retail this week, and upbeat US Retail Sales data offsets concerns that Walmart prompted about spending. Retail sales grew at a solid pace in April, increasing 0.9% (just below estimates), powered by a 2.1% jump in online sales and suggesting demand remains strong despite skyrocketing inflation and rate hikes. Speaking of…
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell put rate hikes front of mind on Tuesday by saying that the central bank wouldn’t hesitate to implement another half point rate hike (the highest in over two decades), promising to continue the hawkish stance until inflation is under control. It’s giving off 1994 vibes, which was the last time the Fed had such a stance.
- Major US indices jumped into the green for the day despite all that though, giving investors hope that this week could snap a six-week losing streak. The Nasdaq lifted 2.62%, the S&P 500 sprang up 2%, the Dow increased 1.34% and the Russell 2K popped 3.19%.
Federalreserve / Flickr