Market slump shows no signs of stopping 04/10/2024

HOT stories for today
04.10.2024.

Stocks on the move:

• Tesla's stock (TSLA, -1.35%) dipped by 1.8% on Thursday, but why? It wasn’t delivery-related this time. Investors noticed Tesla quietly removed its lowest-priced Model 3, the standard range rear-wheel-drive, from its U.S. website, leaving only the pricier versions. With no response from Tesla, could this move signal a shift away from affordable models, leaving investors concerned?
• Thanks to its AI initiatives, Salesforce (CRM, +0.53%) Analysts are bullish on Salesforce. Piper Sandler's Rob Oliver named it his top large-cap software pick, raising his price target to $340 despite mixed investor sentiment. Northland Capital’s Nehal Chokshi also upgraded the stock to outperform, citing Salesforce’s new Agentforce software, which may surpass Microsoft’s offerings. Chokshi boosted his target to $400. Despite recent leadership changes, could Salesforce's AI advancements finally push the stock higher?
• Nvidia & OpenAI story: Nvidia (NVDA, +3.37%) stock jumped 3.4% on Thursday after news of its $100 million investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI, following the AI firm’s $6.6 billion funding round. Though a small sum compared to Nvidia's $2.9 trillion valuation, the move strengthens its AI ties and may provide insight into OpenAI’s future chip needs. Competitors like AMD, Broadcom, and Qualcomm also saw gains.

US Pre-Market & today’s action:

• Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as Middle East tensions loomed, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rebounded over 2% after an early 1% drop. U.S. stock futures were flat Thursday night as traders awaited September's jobs report on Friday, with Dow futures
• Investors are focused on the jobs report, with economists expecting 150,000 job additions and an unemployment rate of 4.2%. Barbara Doran of BD8 Capital Partners noted that markets may only react if the data falls below expectations, as geopolitical tensions have already created a shaky start to October. All three major indexes are on track to break a three-week winning streak, with the S&P 500 and Dow down 0.7% and the Nasdaq off 1.1% for the week.
  Watchlist: SPY 564.90-570.50, Q00 477-484.60

Bitcoin

• Bitcoin briefly dipped to an intraday low of $59,860 on Oct. 3, 2024, before recovering above $60,000 by 1 p.m. EDT. However, it continues to struggle with maintaining this key psychological level. Significant liquidations occurred in the past 24 hours, totaling $295.34 million, with $246.78 million in long positions wiped out, including $44.92 million in Bitcoin longs. Overall, 104,856 traders were liquidated, according to Coinglass data.
  Watchlist: Bitcoin: 59 700-52 350, Ethereum: 2300-2472, Solana: 133-144.70

Forex Market

• EUR/USD extended its losing streak for the sixth straight session, trading around 1.1030 during Friday's Asian session. The US Dollar Index is strong. The lower Eurozone inflation reading has fueled expectations of a potential rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) in October, which would be the ECB's third reduction this year.
• The Japanese Yen (JPY) withdrew from recent gains after comments from Japan’s ministers on Friday. Newly appointed Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa emphasized that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) agree that overcoming deflation remains Japan's top priority.
  Whatchlits: EUR/USD: 1.1000-1.1082, USD/JPY: 141.60-147.25

Basic Materials

• Crude oil futures surged up to 5% on Thursday after President Biden expressed support for Israel potentially striking Iran's oil facilities. However, the long-term trend remains bearish. Despite the market’s bearish sentiment, with record short positions in Brent futures, some see potential for a sharp price reversal. Meanwhile, top-performing oil and gas stocks include Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP), Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB), and ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE), all benefiting from solid returns and growth in energy infrastructure.
• Gold and silver prices increased in midday U.S. trading on Thursday, with markets turning more cautious ahead of key U.S. economic data expected Friday morning.
  Watchlist: GOLD 2624-2687, US Oil: 70.00-74.20

The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!