At the close on Wall Street, the markets ended in the green this Wednesday, supported by a few technology stocks. The S&P 500 gained +0.57% to 4,783 pts. The Dow Jones rose +0.45% to 37,695 pts. The Nasdaq signs a 4th consecutive increase with a gain of +0.75% to 14,969 pts. Despite the index optimism, operators maintain a certain amount of caution while awaiting this weekend’s inflation figures, and the first quarterly publications…
The trend could therefore remain volatile in the coming days. On the economic front, inventories of American companies for the month of November 2023 fell by 0.2% compared to the previous month, in line with the consensus of local economists measured by FactSet.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, it is very likely (95%) that the Fed will leave its rates unchanged on January 31 after its next monetary meeting, between 5.25 and 5.5%. The first relaxation could take place on March 20 during the next meeting (probability of around 65% according to the same tool). The latest economic statistics showed, across the Atlantic, a fairly resilient job market but some additional signals of economic slowdown.
The news will be a little more comprehensive tomorrow, Thursday, with weekly unemployment claims, as well as the American budgetary balance. Above all, the expected meeting of all investors is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.: the consumer price index (CPI) for December 2023. The FactSet consensus is +0.2% increase compared to the previous month and + 3.2% year-on-year (+0.2% month-on-month or +3.8% year-on-year, excluding food and energy). This would reflect, compared to November, a small increase in the overall index (+0.1% in November), but a decline in inflation excluding food and energy (+0.3% in November).
Finally, note that the rating agency Fitch has indicated that it no longer expects an American recession this year. The agency also forecasts three rate cuts from the Fed in 2024.
A barrel of WTI crude fell -1.18% to $71.38. The latest American data published this Wednesday show an increase in reserves of petroleum products, and therefore a slowdown in demand. According to the US Department of Energy, domestic crude stocks, excluding strategic reserves, increased by 1.3 million barrels during the week ended January 5, to 432.4 mb while the consensus was expecting a decline. of -0.7 mb. Gasoline stocks jumped by +8 mb (+2.5 mb expected), and those of distilled products increased by 6.5 million barrels (+2.4 mb expected).
The dollar crumbles by -0.38% against the euro, to 0.911 euros.
An ounce of gold is in equilibrium at $2,023. Bitcoin fell by -0.61% to $45,858.
Values
* Intuitive Surgical (+10.25% to $364.45). The American medical robotics giant stands out on Wall Street, following the publication of preliminary sales figures above market expectations for the 4th fiscal quarter. The group forecasts revenue of approximately $1.93 billion for the 4th quarter of 2023, an increase of 17% compared to the 4th quarter of 2022. Intuitive expects 2023 revenue of approximately 7 $.12 billion, an increase of +14%. The unaudited results presented are preliminary and subject to completion of final close-out procedures and annual independent audit. Therefore, they are subject to adjustment.
* Hewlett Packard Enterprise (+1.8% to $16.43). The group confirmed the acquisition of network equipment manufacturer Juniper Networks (+2.12%), Cisco’s small rival, for around $14 billion, in order to strengthen its artificial intelligence offerings. Texas-based HPE is a cloud services provider serving customers ranging from small businesses to large enterprises and governments. HPE is also an offshoot of the emblematic technology company founded in 1939 by William Hewlett and David Packard, Hewlett-Packard… The almost century-old group intends to give itself a facelift by developing its AI offerings and riding the wave current…
HPE is offering $40 per Juniper share, a premium of more than 32% compared to the stock’s close on Monday, before the first offer rumors. The transaction will be done entirely in cash. HPE thus intends to exploit Juniper’s offerings such as network security and AI-based enterprise network operations. The deal is expected to be accretive to HPE’s adjusted earnings and free cash flow within the first year following completion of the combination. The transaction would be financed by commitments of $14 billion in the form of term loans and is expected to be finalized in late 2024 or early 2025.
* Amazon (+1.56% to $153.73). Twitch, Amazon’s live streaming unit, is preparing to cut 35% of its workforce, or around 500 positions, according to Bloomberg. The Bloomberg agency cites people close to the project. The new cuts come as this activity remains loss-making 9 years after the acquisition of the company by Amazon. In the final months of 2023, several senior Twitch executives announced their departures, including the Chief Product Officer, Chief Customer Officer, and Chief Content Officer. Twitch also lost its chief revenue officer, who worked in Amazon’s Ads unit.
Amazon would also lay off several hundred employees in its Prime Video and Amazon MGM studios, according to ‘The Information’, which refers to an email sent this morning to employees. Amazon video executive Mike Hopkins reportedly said in the email that Amazon had identified “opportunities to reduce or pause investments in some areas” but planned to increase spending on some. “most impactful content and product initiatives.”
* Walmart (+1.24% to $161.29). The distribution group will expand its drone delivery service to 1.8 million homes in the Dallas Fort-Worth region. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the American retail giant revealed how some of the latest technologies will allow it to offer a new type of commerce. The company presented its plan for continuous innovation. Specifically, Walmart outlined how the technology would benefit customers and members, as well as teams. Walmart also announced another step toward its goal of providing customers with the ultimate convenience of receiving items in as little as 30 minutes by expanding drone delivery to an additional 1.8 million homes in the Dallas Fort-Worth metro area – or 75% of the surface area.
* Boeing (+0.92% to $227.84). The US aerospace colossus hit its jetliner delivery targets and posted a 70% increase in net orders in 2023. Reuters estimates this reflects strong demand for air travel and planes, but adds that European rival Airbus (+0.64%) remained the largest aircraft manufacturer for the 5th consecutive year. American published its end-of-year figures on Tuesday, as it faces new difficulties after an accident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, which lost a fuselage panel in flight last week. last. Boeing delivered 528 aircraft in 2023, representing growth of 10% compared to 2022. The manufacturer reported 1,456 gross orders for the year and a total of 1,314 net orders after cancellations, with a record of 369 net orders in December.
* Apple (+0.57% to $186.19). From market sources, the Redburn research firm lowered its recommendation on the stock, going from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ while maintaining its target of $200. This is the third deterioration in value since the start of the year, after reductions by Barclays and Piper Sandler last week. Redburn expects iPhone to return to growth during 2024, but sees little room for upside over the next few years and fears a disappointing March quarter could impact the confidence in the prospects.
* Taiwan Semiconductor (-1.07% to 100.80 euros). The world’s largest supplier of made-to-order chips, a major supplier to Nvidia and Apple, recorded higher-than-expected fourth-quarter revenues, with demand from artificial intelligence players offsetting continued slump in smartphone and PC activities. portable. Sales for the month of December were Taiwan$176 billion, approximately US$5.7 billion, bringing quarterly sales to Taiwan$625 billion, a stable year-on-year performance against a decline anticipated by analysts. The consensus was NT$616 billion. Regardless, TSMC has still not returned to growth and December sales showed a decline of more than 8% compared to the previous year.
* Tesla (-0.43% to $233.94). The electric car manufacturer will offer a restyled version of its Model 3 sedan in North America. According to Reuters, based on information from the Texan group’s website and a message published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), Tesla has kept its prices unchanged.
