Market Watch:- Dow futures contract increased by 19 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures by 14 points or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures by 125 points or 0.7%.
Stock futures rise amid key earnings from tech giants, Tesla’s surge in premarket shares, and the US Senate’s vote to ban TikTok if Chinese parent doesn’t divest within nine months to a year.
Tesla’s new plan
Tesla plans to release “more affordable” models of its cars ahead of its production start in the second half of 2025. This move comes despite first-quarter results being below Wall Street estimates. Tesla’s shares rose in premarket trading despite a drop in shares following a report that the company had abandoned plans for a low-cost Model 2.
Tik-Tok Ban
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, doesn’t divest the app within nine months to a year. The legislation, which includes military funding to Ukraine, is set to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. TikTok is preparing to challenge the ban, while the American Civil Liberties Union argues it would set a global precedent for excessive government control over social media platforms.
SenseTime’s rally
SenseTime’s Hong Kong shares surged after the Chinese unicorn released an updated version of its generative artificial intelligence model, SenseNova 5.0, at its Tech Day event in Shanghai. The model offers improved linguistic, creative, and reasoning capabilities, as well as improved text-to-image generation.
Economic Calendar
- 7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
- 8:30 Durable Goods
- 10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
- 11:00 Survey of Business Uncertainty
- 11:30 Results of $30B, 2-Year FRN Auction
- 1:00 PM Results of $70B, 5-Year Note Auction
Must read book about investing – check hereMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket Watch
MFitch Ratings has downgraded China’s credit rating outlook to “Negative” from “Stable” due to concerns over growing public debt and slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The agency affirmed China’s rating at A+, citing increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook. Concerns over slowing economic growth have grown in recent months, with Fitch expecting gross domestic product growth to fall to 4.5% in 2024.
arket WatchMarket WatchMarket WatchMarket Watch Market Watch Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting Fed Meeting
U.S. inflation data for February is expected to provide insights into the future direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy. The overall consumer price index (CPI) is expected to match the previous month’s pace of 3.1% annually, with the core CPI expected to slow to 3.7% from 3.9% in January. However, the month-on-month gauge is expected to shed light on price gains momentum.
Fed officials have made cooling inflation the main objective of interest rate hikes, which have brought borrowing costs to over two-decade highs. They suggest cuts may be coming later this year, but need more evidence that price growth is sustainablely easing back down to their 2% annualized target. Analysts at ING believe inflation is likely too hot for comfort.
U.S. inflation data for February is expected to provide insights into the future direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy. The overall consumer price index (CPI) is expected to match the previous month’s pace of 3.1% annually, with the core CPI expected to slow to 3.7% from 3.9% in January. However, the month-on-month gauge is expected to shed light on price gains momentum.
Fed officials have made cooling inflation the main objective of interest rate hikes, which have brought borrowing costs to over two-decade highs. They suggest cuts may be coming later this year, but need more evidence that price growth is sustainablely easing back down to their 2% annualized target. Analysts at ING believe inflation is likely too hot for comfort.