ICMarket

General Market Analysis 23/02/2024

Stocks Surge to New Record Highs- Nasdaq up 3%

US stocks surged to new record closes as equity optimism exploded on the back of stronger than expected numbers from Wall Street’s AI darling, Nvidia. All three of the major US indices had stellar days with both the S&P and the Nasdaq recording record closing highs, the Dow jumped 1.18% but was lagging behind the other two with tech stocks taking the S&P 2.11% higher and the Nasdaq up 2.96%. US treasury yields ground higher again as data once again confirmed resilience in the US economy, the 2-year adding 4.4 basis points to trade up to 4.696%. Oil pushed higher again as hostilities continued in the Red Sea, Brent rising 0.77% to $83.67 a barrel and WTI adding 0.90% to trade up to $78.61 a barrel. Gold had another rangebound day and settled once again in the mid-$2,020’s as it looks for the next catalyst to push it one way or the other.

Nvidia Drives the US Stock Market to Record Highs

There was only one name on most investors lips yesterday as stock markets drove higher and it was Wall Street’s star of 2023, Nvidia, and it looks set to keep rising. Shares in the chipmaker surged to all-time highs yesterday to record the biggest single session gain in history, jumping 16% on the day. This added approximately $277 billion in market capitalization, bringing the total market value to around the $2 trillion mark. Investors are now left pondering just how far can this company go on the back of the AI revolution and at the moment it does appear that the sky is the limit. Some traders are expecting some profit taking flow in the market later today as the weekend approaches but certainly for the short term most are looking for levels to get long of the record-breaking stock.

Markets Enter the End of the Week in Positive Mood

Global financial markets are entering the final trading day of the week on a wave of optimism after a stellar session on Wall Street. The APAC session has already kicked off with shares well in the black in Australia and New Zealand, Kiwi indices rising despite much lower-than-expected Retail Sales results early in the session. Investors are expecting reduced liquidity later with Japanese traders enjoying a long weekend as they celebrate the emperor’s birthday. Euro traders will pay close attention to the German Ifo Business climate data on the London open, but once again investors are expecting to see most of the action for the day come once Wall Street opens after yesterday’s big moves.