Bye Bye February, Hello March!

🌟🌟🌟What an amazing start to March as the Nasdaq 100 Index surged more than 1% to an all time high at 16,274.94 on Friday  as bullish sentiments on Big Tech led the way!  The S&P500 added 0.80% to close at 5137.08, the first close above the 5100 threshold. Even the Dow Jones Index also gained 0.23%to close at 39,087.38.

The Star Performer was undoubtedly $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$  which had led the tech rally by surging more than 260% for the last 12 months and was up 4% to hit a USD 2 Trillion in market capitalisation.  $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$  was up 2.4%.

The key event in March would be the FOMC meeting scheduled in March 19 to March 20.    Many analysts expect the Feds to hold interest rates steady at a target of 5.25% to 5.50% as the Feds are still waiting for inflation to come down further.  The key question is when will the Feds lower interest rates.    According to most analysts it would be the 2nd half of 2024 but some analysts say it could be June. 

Whatever the final outcome maybe it is still business as usual for me.  Being a long term investor I will continue to buy and hold quality stocks like the Magnificent 7 which have led the markets rally in 2023.  These are the market leaders in their products. 

Nvidia's gains have left the other Magnificent 7 in the dust with USD 754 billion in market cap gained in just 2 months in 2024.  This is larger than the entire market value of the 72 smallest companies included in the S&P500 according to FactSet data.  Nvidia is the market leader in the specialised chips used in AI machine learning with 90% market share. 

Just behind Nvidia is Meta Platforms.  It has been rising ever since its  Q423 earnings in February.  Meta  reported revenue growth of 25% to USD 40.1 billion versus USD 39.2 billion expected by analysts.  Growth was driven by 21% increase in advertising.  Meta announced a massive share buyback and even declared a dividend for the first time. 

These are just 2 examples of the Magnificent 7 leading the charge.    

The Magnificent 7 played a key role to help lift the markets out of a brutal 2022 sell off in the face of higher interest, with optimism about the Magnificent 7's ability to capitalise on the surge in AI. 

Fast forward to 2024, apart from Nvidia and Meta Platforms, only $Amazon.com(AMZN)$  and $Microsoft(MSFT)$  are doing well this year.  Amazon is up 18% year todate while Microsoft is up 12%.

However $Alphabet(GOOGL)$  is down 1% year todate due to the recent problem with Gemini and Apple is down 3%.  Tesla is the worse performing of the Magnificent 7 as it is down 18% year todate due to the intense EV competition from other EV companies as well as its price cutting having a negative impact on its bottom line. 

However I still believe in Apple, Google and Tesla.  Apple has just announced that it is pouring its resources into AI which is a positive step.  Warren Buffett is still keeping faith on Apple as it still holds 50% in Berkshire Hathaway portfolio and is in fact its top holding. 

I use Google every day and it still has the dominant share in the search engine market with 92% share.  It is now in the process of fixing Gemini's recent problem of incorrect images of people. 

Tesla is more than just an EV company.  It is into energy generation and storage products as well as Full Self Driving, Charging stations as well as Tesla Bot.  Tesla will also be producing lower cost EVs in the USD 25,000 range code named "Redwood" in mid 2025.  There is high demand for Tesla Cybertrucks too. 

So no matter how the market goes in March, I am keeping faith on the Magnificent 7 as they power their way into the future with exponential growth ahead. 

March is also the start of spring - new shoots of growth after the cold winter.  I look to the future with quiet confidence and optimism that the US markets especially the Magnificent 7 will continue to thrive and grow. 

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