To The Moon

Last Week's Recap

The US Market - The Dow closed at a record

• The Dow closed at a new record on Friday, capping off a winning week for stocks, while the S&P and Nasdaq each added about 1.7%. Small-cap stocks also showed strength last week, with the Russell 2000 climbing 4.5%.

• Investors shift exposure from tech to names in other cyclical sectors of consumer discretionary, industrials, and financials, as well as mid- and small-cap stocks.

• The dollar index hit a high of 108.071 on Friday, just slightly below the 108.44 level touched in November 2022.

• On Thursday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced he will be stepping down on Jan. 20, and bitcoin quickly rose to nearly $100,000 per coin for the first time ever.

The US Sectors & Stocks - Citron Research shorted MSTR

• All S&P 500 sectors closed the week in green, with the industrial and consumer discretionary sectors led the S&P 500 higher.

• Nvidia (NVDA) beat estimates for its fiscal third quarter, with adjusted EPS soaring 103% as sales swelled 94% to $35.08 billion. For the current Q4, Nvidia forecast revenue of $37.5 billion, only slightly above expectations. The AI giant said it is now in full production of Blackwell and expects to exceed its prior Blackwell shipment estimates for Q4. Nvidia stock whipsawed following earnings, but remained flat for the week.

• The Justice Department asked federal judge Amit Mehta to force Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL) to sell its Chrome browser. Alphabet is expected to appeal any decision. GOOGL shares fell more than 4%.

• Snowflake (SNOW) reported Q3 EPS and revenue beats. The data analytics software firm guided higher on Q4 product revenue. Also, Snowflake announced a partnership with AI model maker Anthropic.

• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) skyrocketed nearly 80% after plunging in recent months to a 52-week low. The semi-company filed a plan with the Nasdaq stock exchange that will allow the data center specialist to avoid being delisted from the exchange while it resolves its financial reporting issues. Super Micro hired BDO USA as its new independent auditor.

• Reddit (RDDT) surged 17% after shareholder Advance Magazine Publishers said it was seeking to establish a credit facility using an equity stake in the social media company, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Advance is offering 7.8 million shares for $145.38 to $148.54 each, which would be valued at as much as $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, China's Tencent Holdings disclosed Thursday that it sold a chunk of Reddit shares.

• MicroStrategy (MSTR) tumbled 16% on Thursday after short-seller Citron Research said it had shorted the stock against a long position in Bitcoin. "Much respect to @saylor, but even he must know MSTR is overheated," Citron wrote in a post on X. However, MSTR still jumped nearly 24% for the week.

• Walmart (WMT) reported a 14% EPS gain in Q3 while revenue rose 5% to $169.59 billion, with growth picking up for both vs. Q2. General merchandise sales grew for the first time in 11 quarters. The Dow Jones retail giant also guided up on the holiday quarter. But Target (TGT) suffered its biggest earnings miss in two years and slashed holiday guidance. Q3 EPS fell 12% while revenue rose 1%, also missing. WMT made a new high. TGT dived to a 52-week low.

Hong Kong Market - HSI lost 1%

• Hong Kong stocks fell, with the benchmark flipping to a weekly loss, as a slew of lacklustre results from Hang Seng Index companies, including Alibaba and Baidu. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) lost 1%.

• Some 36 companies on the Hang Seng Index have disclosed quarterly results so far, posting an average 0.1% profit decline from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. In the previous quarter, profit growth was 7.3%.

• “Equity markets could be bumpier in 2025 with a deflationary environment, persistent downwards earnings pressure and rising geopolitical concerns,” said Laura Wang, a strategist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong.

Singapore Market - Singapore raised its 2024 GDP growth forecast

• Singapore's stock market closed the week in the positive territory, driven by improved GDP for the remainder of the year that boosted market sentiment. The Straits Times Index (STI) was up STI up 0.04% in the week.

• Singapore raised its 2024 GDP growth forecast to around 3.5%, from a previous range of 2% to 3%, driven by stronger-than-expected performance in key sectors such as manufacturing and finance.

• South-east Asia’s top-performing stock market in 2024 is likely to continue its momentum into 2025 as Singapore unveils measures to revive its stock market, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.

• Sea (SE) stock surged to a 52-week high on Thursday, and the stock rose 10% last week. This significant milestone underscores the company's robust performance and investor confidence.

Australian Market - ASX marked a new high

• A rally in oil prices on fears of an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict pushed energy stocks higher, sending the Australian share market to a fresh closing high on Friday. The ASX 200 Benchmark Index is up 108.65 points or 1.31% this week to 8393.80.

• The overall strongest performer on the ASX 200 was A2 Milk which soared 13% this week as flagging an inaugural dividend would be coming in February 2025.

• RBC Capital Markets said it expects global uranium requirements to grow by more than 50% by 2040. RBC analyst Andrew Wong said that uranium is currently in short supply as the world re-embraces nuclear energy to meet rising demand for clean electricity.

The Week Ahead

Macro Factors - PCE and Fed minutes highlight the holiday-shorten week

• The interest rate outlook will come back into focus this week with key inflation data and Federal Reserve meeting minutes coming out ahead of Thanksgiving. Markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and Friday's trading session will end early at 1 p.m. ET.

• The October PCE price index set to release Wednesday. Economists expect the PCE could show sticky inflation. The inflation rate is expected to have increased 0.2% month over month and 2.3% year on year, according to FactSet consensus estimates. That would be up slightly from 0.18% and 2.1% the previous month. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have increased by 0.3% and 2.8% on the month and year, respectively, up from 0.25% and 2.7% previously.

• The FOMC minutes for the November meeting will also be closely scrutinized by investors, as strong growth and sticky inflation have markets repricing their expectations for how much and how quickly the Fed will cut interest rates.

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