Dow surges to new highs 17/10/2024

HOT stories for today
17.10.2024.

Stocks on the move:

• United Airlines (UAL) shares jumped 11% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter and a strong outlook for the fourth quarter. Additionally, United announced a $1.5 billion share buyback, its first since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Morgan Stanley (MS) shares surged 7% after the bank's quarterly results exceeded Wall Street expectations. Strong performance in wealth management, trading, and investment banking drove the firm's earnings of $1.88 per share, surpassing the $1.58 estimate. Revenue was $15.38 billion, above the $14.41 billion consensus.
• Novavax shares plummeted over 17% after the biotech company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on its application for a Covid and influenza combination shot and its stand-alone flu vaccine.

Watchlist for today: A, CSX, TSM, NFLX, BX, INFY, TRV, NVDA

Markets & today's action:

• European markets opened slightly higher as investors awaited the ECB's rate decision. Meanwhile, a rally in Chinese shares lost momentum after a press briefing on the property market failed to announce significant stimulus measures.
• U.S. stock futures dipped early Thursday following the Dow Jones Industrial Average's second record close this week. Dow futures dropped 38 points, or 0.09%, while futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell about 0.25% each. In extended trading, aluminum producer Alcoa (A) surged nearly 6% after reporting better-than-expected adjusted earnings, while transport stock CSX slid almost 4% on disappointing results.
• Corporate earnings continue Thursday with reports expected from Travelers, Blackstone, and Elevance Health. Regional banks, including KeyCorp, M&T Bank, and Trust Financial, are also set to release their results. On the economic front, traders will focus on weekly jobless claims, September retail sales, and industrial and manufacturing production data, all due Thursday.

Bitcoin & Crypto

• Bitcoin's price briefly surpassed $68,000 on Oct. 16, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency attempted to break a 217-day downtrend. However, analysts caution that the uptrend might face some challenges ahead. Could this be Bitcoin's turning point, or will it struggle to maintain momentum?
• In other crypto developments, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is aiming to scale Ethereum and its layer 2 solutions to handle over 100,000 transactions per second as part of the network’s next roadmap phase. Will this boost Ethereum's competitiveness in the long term?
  Watchlist: Bitcoin: 66,867-68,500, Ethereum: 2329-2700, Solana: 144-162.00

Forex

• The US Dollar (USD) continued to strengthen midweek, with the USD Index climbing 0.3% on Wednesday, marking its highest daily close in over two months. As a result, the EUR/USD pair extended its decline, dropping to around 1.0850 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The rising strength of the Greenback is putting additional selling pressure on the pair. Investors are now paying attention to the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting, where another interest rate cut is expected on Thursday. How will this decision impact the Euro’s performance moving forward?
• The USD/JPY pair softened to around 149.40 during Thursday’s Asian session despite the US Dollar's overall strength. Investors are now focused on the upcoming US retail sales data, which is expected to show a rise to 0.3% in September from 0.1% in the previous month. Will this economic data support the USD and reverse the pair’s current weakness?
  Whatchlits: EUR/USD: 1.0880-1.1.1000, USD/JPY: 147-150.00

Basic Materials

• Oil prices remained stable on Wednesday after a 4% decline, driven by reduced concerns over potential disruptions in Iranian oil supply. The International Energy Agency (IEA) lowered its 2024 oil demand growth forecast, pointing to weak Chinese demand, but raised its 2025 estimate. Standard Chartered analysts highlighted discrepancies in supply forecasts from the IEA, OPEC, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, suggesting that the anticipated 2025 oversupply could be overstated.
• Gold (XAU/USD) hit a new all-time high on Thursday, rising for the third consecutive day and fifth in the past six sessions. The rally is supported by expectations of rate cuts from major central banks, weak European and UK inflation data, and anticipated easing from the ECB, BoE, and Fed. However, the recent surge in the US Dollar, at its highest since August, could pose caution for gold bulls moving forward.
  Watchlist: GOLD 2600-2685, US Oil: 69.80-77.60

The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!