Markets today: 'Mag Seven' power stocks in run-up to U.S. earnings
BNN Bloomberg
The world’s largest technology companies drove a rebound in stocks, with traders bracing for a deluge of results from Corporate America that will test this year’s US$4 trillion rally.
Earnings season kicks into full swing Friday, with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. reporting. A solid economy is expected to fuel a rise in profit growth for S&P 500 companies — and strong margins from big tech will be key. Also helping sentiment Thursday was an inflation report that trailed estimates a day after a hot price reading curbed bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.
“It’s not going to be Fed rate cuts that drive the market going forward, rather it’s going to be earnings,” said George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris. “Corporate earnings are much stronger than people have anticipated even in this elevated interest-rate environment.”
The S&P 500 hovered near 5,200, while the Nasdaq 100 added 1.6 per cent. Alphabet Inc. got closer to the $2 trillion mark, Amazon.com Inc. hit a record high and Apple Inc. jumped on news it plans to overhaul its Mac line. Financial shares came under pressure, with Morgan Stanley tumbling on a news report regulators are probing its wealth arm. Globe Life Inc. sank after a short-seller call.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, and while both remarked the world has become a more challenging place since their first meeting a year ago, neither named a specific issue in their public remarks.
Japan plans to start releasing oil from its stockpiles on Monday to soften the shock from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, a stark reminder of the oil crisis half a century ago that prompted Tokyo to create reserves.
Warner Bros emerged as the biggest winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday, though the mood was clouded by its pending US$110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance, a deal reshaping Hollywood’s studio landscape.
Every day more than $4 billion worth of goods cross the United States’ borders with Canada and Mexico – U.S. auto parts headed for car factories in northern Mexico, cartons of Mexican avocados bound for California supermarkets, Canadian aluminum destined to become cans of Campbell Soup.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met Monday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, and while both remarked the world has become a more challenging place since their first meeting a year ago, neither named a specific issue.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has unveiled a new auto plan that aims to secure tariff-free access to the U.S. market.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says that countries like Canada do not need to have oil reserves as a net exporter, after the energy minister announced Canada will contribute 23.6 million barrels to help stabilize international energy markets.
The U.S. military said all six airmen aboard a KC-135 refuelling aircraft that went down in Iraq are dead. Meanwhile, the American defence secretary says Iran's new supreme leader is "likely disfigured" and a large explosion rocked an area of Iran's capital.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to release a new auto pact that he says will remove the GST on all Canadian-made automobiles and eliminate tariffs for the sale of Canadian vehicles to the United States.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran will keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors. Khamenei also called on Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor.