How did investing themes change in the first half of 2023?
January: China stocks - $Alibaba(BABA)$ $Pinduoduo Inc.(PDD)$
China stock gained most attention at the beginning of this year. $Alibaba(BABA)$ rose to near $120 in Jan. and $Pinduoduo Inc.(PDD)$ surged to $106.
Cohen bought hundreds of millions of dollars of $Alibaba(BABA)$ in the second half of 2022. He first spoke with Alibaba's board last August to express his desire for a long-term relationship with Alibaba, people familiar with the matter mentioned.
Feburary: Chatgpt - $Microsoft(MSFT)$ , $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ , $Cloudflare, Inc.(NET)$
OpenAI released an early demo of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, and the chatbot quickly went viral on social media as users shared examples of what it could do.
In Feb, chatgpt concept stocks continue to go higher and became the most heated topic in the stock market.
$Microsoft(MSFT)$ was one of the best performers.
March: Bank Crisis - $SVB Financial Group(SIVBQ)$ , $First Republic Bank(FRC)$ , $PacWest(PACW)$
At the beginning of March, historically well-run $SVB Financial Group(SIVBQ)$ plunged more than 60%, and $9.4 bln evaporated in a day.
Followed by the news, $Credit Suisse Group AG(CS)$ , Signature Bank and $First Republic Bank(FRC)$ collapsed one after another, which caused great fear in the stock market.
Fed launched BTFP and increased the liquidity to save the market and the small banks.
However, many speculators chose to bottom out the regional bank stocks or did day trading.
April: Bank bankruptcy and merger; Gold Hit New High - $JPMorgan Chase(JPM)$ , $Citigroup(C)$ , $Wells Fargo(WFC)$
Bank run continued to brew in April. $Gold - main 2308(GCmain)$ reached new highs as it was viewed as the safe-haven asset. In addition, some big banks also gained attraction for the merger news or good earnings, which shored up investors’ sentiment.
May: Debt Crisis vs. AI hype: $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ surge on Earnings
Debt limit was breached in January, but the Treasury Department used "extraordinary measures" to provide the government with more cash while it figured out what to do.
As of May 29th, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have announced they have agreed in principle to raise the US debt ceiling and avert a default.
$NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ jumped 24% after its stellar earnings guidance. Later, Nvidia's CEO said in a meeting that “This is the iPhone moment of artificial intelligence.”
June: Tech surge - $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ 15th Straight gains; $Apple(AAPL)$ hit all-time-high
$NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ surprisingly continued its bull trend in June. However, most gains were driven by several tech stocks.
In addition to the strong AI-concept, $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ and $Apple(AAPL)$ posted stellar performance.
Apple's stock climbed to a record high close on Wednesday and was on the cusp of a $3 trillion market capitalization.
Comments
Investing in 2023 was like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded. One moment we're cheering for Microsoft, the next we're panicking over bank crises. Can't script this stuff!"
felt like being in a romantic comedy with unexpected twists. You've got tech surges, debt crises, and even China's cameo. Stocks really know how to keep us entertained!
2023 investing themes could rival any soap opera. From Alibaba's rise to Nvidia's AI hype, it's been an emotional ride for stockholders!"
Investing themes took a wild turn in 2023. We went from Chinese stocks soaring to bank collapses. Talk about a dramatic plot twist!"
Investing themes in 2023: China stocks, bank crises, AI hype... oh wait, did you say 'emotional rollercoaster'? Bingo!"
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