Photo credit: www.cnbc.com
Top 10 Market Highlights for Monday, April 21
1. Tesla is part of a significant lineup of companies slated to announce their earnings this week. According to Dan Ives from Wedbush, there are concerns surrounding the EV manufacturer, particularly if CEO Elon Musk continues his involvement in Washington at the Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla’s financial results are expected to be released tomorrow evening.
2. In recent statements, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett indicated that President Donald Trump is contemplating the possibility of removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Despite Powell’s assertion that the law protects him from being dismissed or demoted, questions linger about the administration’s influence over such matters.
3. As markets prepare for the trading day, stock futures point to a lower opening following a decline in the previous week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond has increased, while the U.S. dollar index has dropped to its lowest level in three years. Meanwhile, gold continues to rise, achieving another record high. Investors are eagerly awaiting any developments in trade negotiations, although concrete updates remain sparse.
4. In response to ongoing trade tensions, China has announced that it will retaliate against nations that engage in trade agreements with the U.S. that it perceives as detrimental to its interests. Additionally, there is a noticeable retreat by Chinese state-backed funds from investments in U.S. private equity, although the extent of their previous commitments is unclear.
5. In recent news, Raymond James has lowered its recommendation for Amazon from a “strong buy” to an outperform rating, citing pressure on operating income. Despite this, Amazon remains a competitive marketplace and a leader in cloud services through AWS, prompting us to increase our stake in the company.
6. DA Davidson has also revised their outlook on Salesforce, downgrading it from neutral to underperform. This shift reflects concerns that the company is diverting focus from its core products toward artificial intelligence initiatives. This downgrade is significant but comes as Salesforce has been struggling on the market for some time.
7. Following last week’s positive earnings, Netflix has experienced several upward adjustments to its price targets. KeyBanc has increased its target from $1,000 to $1,070, while JPMorgan has raised its target from $1,025 to $1,150. The streaming service continues to maintain an impressive trajectory in the market, showing no signs of slowing down.
8. The remedy phase in Google’s ongoing search monopoly litigation begins today, soon after the company faced another setback in an antitrust lawsuit pertaining to its online advertising practices. Recently, I discussed the implications of this case with a former Justice Department official who was involved in bringing the lawsuit against the tech giant.
9. Huawei is preparing to launch mass production of its latest AI chip in China, thereby intensifying competition with Nvidia in the Chinese market. However, Nvidia’s ability to sell its H20 chip specifically for the Chinese market has been restricted, impacting its competitive stance.
10. UnitedHealth has recently experienced a wave of price-target reductions following a decrease in its earnings guidance. KeyBanc has adjusted its target from $650 to $575 per share, while Barclays has moved its target down from $642 to $560. Nevertheless, both analysts have maintained an overweight rating on the stock, indicating that they are hesitant to lower their investment outlook.
Source
www.cnbc.com