Gold hits record high as investors brace for stock price volatility
27 minutes ago
Gold futures (GC1!) hit a new all-time high on Wednesday as investors flock to the precious metal as a safe haven amid heightened uncertainty and geopolitical tensions surrounding next week’s US presidential election. At one point it exceeded $2,800, and at one point it rose above $2,800.
Gold futures soared to $2,801.70 in early trading, surpassing the all-time high reached just yesterday, but gave up some of that gain. This has made gold one of the best-performing commodities year-to-date, up about 35%, easily outpacing the S&P 500’s 22% rise.
Gold has traditionally been seen as a safe-haven asset in anticipation of stock market turmoil and as a hedge against inflation. Many Americans are worried about how the results of next week’s presidential election will affect the stock market, the economy, and personal finances.
“Uncertainty ahead of next week’s US elections has also supported gold’s record rally this year, and we believe gold will continue to see further upward momentum. Uncertainty surrounding future US policy “We expect further volatility in the coming days as “leads to a flight to safe haven,” ING analysts wrote on Wednesday.
Gold buying, particularly by China’s central banks, supported prices throughout the year as retail investors shunned gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In recent months, retail investors have poured billions of dollars into gold ETFs as uncertainty increased over when the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates and whether the U.S. would enter or fall into a recession. Not only did I spend the money, I also bought some gold bars at my local Costco. Rising tensions in the Middle East.
– Mrinalini Krishna
Why Wall Street is bullish on Google after earnings
44 minutes ago
Alphabet (GOOGL) stock rose 5% in afternoon trading, rising 5% on the Nasdaq late yesterday after Google’s parent company reported third-quarter results that beat street expectations and showed progress in artificial intelligence (AI). It led the overall price increase rate.
JPMorgan raised Alphabet’s price target to $212 from $208 and reiterated its “overweight” rating. The stock was recently trading around $178.
The company’s analysts pointed out that “Google’s confidence is growing” in developing its AI search business. Its cloud business is strong, with revenue up 35% year-over-year in the quarter. Considering that the company plans to “redesign its cost structure” as the reason for raising its target price, operating profit is also expected to exceed.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said during an earnings call that the company is seeing increased use of Google search among people using AI overview, and Google Lens collects 20 billion visual searches each month. He said that
Citi analysts maintained Alphabet’s buy rating and $212 price target. Like JPMorgan, the brokerage pointed to Google Cloud’s “accelerated growth driven by increased demand for GenAI,” thanks in part to Alphabet’s Gemini large-scale language model.
Alphabet stock has risen 27% so far in 2024, slightly outpacing the year-to-date gain for the Nasdaq Composite.
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-Andrew Kessel
Charles Schwab expands 24-hour trading
2 hours 28 minutes ago
Charles Schwab (SCHW) on Wednesday announced plans to expand 24-hour trading and become the latest brokerage firm to adopt 24-hour markets.
Select Schwab clients will be able to trade all S&P 500 stocks and Nasdaq 100 stocks, as well as hundreds of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), anytime Monday through Friday. The company plans to gradually expand this feature to all customers by 2025. Schwab customers can currently trade approximately 24 ETFs in the overnight session.
“Our goal has always been to provide and expand access to 24/7 trading in a responsible manner that takes into account customer demand, the evolving dynamics of the night trading market, and, importantly, is to provide clients with Schwab’s complete library of educational content and 24-hour support to help them balance opportunity and risk, as well as the unique considerations of overnight trading.” James Kosturias, head of trading services, said in a statement.
Securities firms and exchanges have sought to capitalize on the extraordinary performance of the U.S. stock market in recent years by pushing for longer trading days. Robinhood (HOOD) launched a 24-hour market last year and has since expanded the list of stocks and ETFs that investors can trade late at night.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, last week announced plans to extend trading on its digital platform to 22 hours a day, a decision that executives said was “an important step in U.S. capital markets and financial “This confirms the strength of the market.” Demand for our listed securities is increasing around the world. ”
-Colin Laidley
Super microcomputer collapses due to resignation of auditor
3 hours 5 minutes ago
Shares in Super Micro Computers (SMCI) fell 30% on Wednesday morning after accounting firm EY resigned as the company’s auditor following months of speculation about the company’s accounting practices.
EY, one of Japan’s “big four” accounting firms, told Supermicrocomputer’s board that the decision was “due to information recently brought to our attention and “Because I can no longer rely on them.” . ” EY added that it “does not want to be associated with financial statements prepared by management.”
Super Micro Computer said it disagreed with EY’s decision because the audit it commissioned last year, which it completed last year, has not yet been completed, and that the company’s accounting department will question “whether the company has demonstrated its commitment to integrity.” The agency said it takes seriously the concerns raised by the agency.
The resignation comes after Super Micro Computer delayed filing its annual report 10-K and a report from short-seller Hindenburg Research alleging problems including “accounting manipulation.” The move comes as stock prices have fallen in recent months amid widespread speculation about the practice.
Last month, it was reported that the Department of Justice had begun an investigation into the accounting practices of supermicrocomputers in response to the Hindenburg Report.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) and Super Micro Computer CEO Charles Liang (right) attend the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan, June 5, 2024.
Annabelle Chee/Bloomberg/Getty Images
In response to EY’s resignation, Hindenburg founder Nate Anderson said the company’s resignation letter was “about the strongest wording I’ve seen,” and said EY’s decision would lead to more companies including Nvidia (NVDA) indicated that he may have doubts about doing business with Super Micro Computer in the future.
-Aaron McDade
Eli Lilly stock plummets due to weak earnings and outlook
3 hours 26 minutes ago
Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) fell more than 10% in early trading on Wednesday after the company’s third-quarter results were well below analysts’ expectations and the company lowered its full-year outlook.
The pharmaceutical giant posted revenue of $11.44 billion, up from last year’s $9.5 billion but below the $12.18 billion consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. That’s because weight-loss drugs Maunjaro and Zepbound continue to boost Eli Lilly’s sales. However, analysts were hopeful that the blockbuster drug would boost sales.
Lilly’s profit expanded to $970.3 million, or $1.07 per share, but was still well below the $1.69 billion and $1.87 per share that analysts had expected. Adjusted EPS was $1.18, just half of the $2.18 expected.
Lilly lowered its 2024 earnings per share guidance to a range of $12.05 to $12.55 from $15.10 to $15.60 and adjusted EPS to a range of $13.02 to $13.52 from $16.10 to $16.60. Both of these were driven by $2.83 billion of ongoing research and development costs incurred in the third quarter. Lilly also lowered its full-year sales cap from $46.6 billion to $46 billion.
Lilly and Danish rival Novo Nordisk (NVO), which has its own blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wigovy, is spending billions of dollars on various acquisitions to increase production of weight-loss drugs. . Novo Nordisk shares fell about 2% early Wednesday.
Eli Lilly shares were trading at their lowest since early August.
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-Aaron McDade
Stock price rises 20% after earnings, attracting attention on Reddit
5 hours ago
Reddit (RDDT) stock prices rose after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and offered a strong outlook, as the social media platform benefits from solid digital ad spending and favorable AI content licensing deals. , soared 20% in premarket trading Wednesday.
Since going public in March, Reddit stock has fluctuated in an ascending triangle, breaking above the pattern’s highest trend line earlier this month.
Source: TradingView.com.
The measurement principle of calculating the distance between the two trend lines of an ascending triangle and adding that value to the breakout point predicts an upside price target of $115 for the stock. In recent pre-market trading, the stock was around $100.
During the retracement, investors should watch for key support levels near $75 and $65 on Reddit’s charts.
-Timothy Smith
Stock index futures are mixed but little changed
5 hours 32 minutes ago
Futures, which track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 0.2%.
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S&P 500 futures fell slightly.
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Nasdaq 100 futures rose less than 0.1%.
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