Bulls, Bitcoin, & Beyond

Market Moves Yesterday

S&P 500 @ 5,477.99 ( ⬆️ 0.16%)

Nasdaq Composite @ 17,805.16 ( ⬆️ 0.49%)

Bitcoin @ $60,900.11 ( ⬇️ 0.17%)

Hey Scoopers,

Happy Thursday! Are you ready for an exciting newsletter today?

👉 Amazon gains pace

👉 Home sales and jobless claims data to be released

👉 Mt.Gox will soon return investor funds

So, let’s go 🚀

Market Wrap 📉

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices eked out a small gain yesterday as investors evaluated their holdings following a solid first half of the year led by AI plays.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is set for an 18.6% gain in the first six months of 2024, primarily due to Nvidia. The AI chipmaker is worth $3.1 trillion and dominated the markets this year with its 150% surge.

However, the uptick has sparked concerns as most other stocks have failed to participate in the ongoing rally.

While several stocks traded in the red on Wednesday, there were some positive standouts. FedEx popped 15.5% after beating estimates in fiscal Q4. Rivian soared 23% after it bagged a $5 billion investment from Volkswagen.

Today, all eyes will be on multiple economic data and the earnings release of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Nike.

Trending Stocks 🔥

Micron- Shares slipped 8% in premarket after the chipmaker issued revenue guidance for the current quarter, which aligned with consensus estimates.

Levi Strauss - The jeans maker dropped 12% after posting disappointing revenue in its last quarter despite a denim craze among consumers.

AeroVironment - Shares fell 6% after the unmanned aerial vehicles posted fiscal Q4 revenue and earnings that topped expectations. It reported revenue of $197 million and earnings of $0.43 per share, above estimates of $188.5 million and $0.22 per share.

Amazon Is Worth $2 Trillion

Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon closed 3.9% higher, pushing the company’s market cap past $2 trillion for the first time. In crossing the milestone, Amazon joins Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft, all worth over $2 trillion.

In the last 18 months, investors have piled into tech stocks as the excitement around the AI megatrend has reached a fever pitch. Amazon shares have surged 29% in 2024 and almost 50% in the last 12 months.

The Amazon Web Services business rebounded in Q1 from a recent slowdown during which enterprises trimmed their cloud spending. The segment is positioned to benefit from a surge in demand for generative AI services.

Wall Street also cheered Amazon’s cost savings initiatives, which fueled its earnings growth in recent quarters. Analysts now expect Amazon earnings to surge over 50% year over year in 2024.

All Eyes on Key Economic Data

A raft of economic data is set to be released today, which includes weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders, and pending home sales. Here’s what economists expect:

• Jobless claims for the week is expected to increase by 240,000, higher than the prior week's figure of 238,000.

• Durable goods orders, which measure new orders with U.S. manufacturers of long-lasting goods, is expected to have fallen 0.6% in May after rising 0.6% in April.

• Pending home sales, a gauge of housing contract activity, is forecast to rise 1% in May, up from a 7.7% decline in April.

Mt. Gox to Repay Creditors

The trustee appointed to rehabilitate Mt. Gox announced that Bitcoin repayments to creditors would begin in July 2024. Last month, around 140,000 BTC were moved from Mt. Gox-linked wallets.

The latest announcement should bring a huge sigh of relief to thousands of investors who lost their money in the exchange hack.

Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world and was hacked in 2014, resulting in a loss of 850,000 BTC.

The repayment process is expected to be gradual, which means distributions will begin with exchanges that have completed relevant processes.

Investors should also brace for market volatility as a pool of Bitcoin will likely enter the market and be sold at monstrous profits.

Headlines You Can't Miss!

Nvidia CEO addresses rising competition at shareholder meeting

India’s water crisis could hurt its credit strength, says Moody’s

Amazon to launch discount store in bid to fend off competition from China

All 31 banks pass the annual stress test, says the Fed

Crypto catches M&A frenzy as BTC miners chase AI boom

Chart of The Day

Quality tech companies have created game-changing wealth for shareholders in the last four decades. One way to generate market-beating returns is to get in on the ground floor and invest in IPOs or initial public offerings.

The heydays of the Dotcom boom saw over 350 companies hit the exchanges in 1999, after which the number of tech IPOs fell off a cliff.

In fact, tech IPOs stayed in the double-digits for the next 20 years. In 2021, demand for digital services amid the COVID-19 pandemic soared due to lockdowns and social distancing measures, raising the prospects for new tech listings.

Meme of the Day

Don’t follow us on social yet? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn now.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. The newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.