Crypto stocks slide with bitcoin to kick off a busy quarter for digital assets businesses
April 1, 2024
Bitcoin fell to start the new month and quarter, dragging crypto equities down with it.
The price of the cryptocurrency was last lower by 3.5% at $68,477.88, according to Coin Metrics. The decline in Bitcoin was influenced by Treasury yields and the rise of the dollar, following data that showed growth in the manufacturing sector for the first time since September 2022.
Crypto exchange Coinbase and software provider MicroStrategy, which largely trade as a proxy for the price of bitcoin, each fell about 5%. The largest mining stocks, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, lost 5% and 6%, respectively. CleanSpark, one of the best-performing miners this year, slid 10%.
April could be tumultuous for crypto-related stocks. Investors are looking toward the bitcoin halving, which will slash the reward and therefore revenue of bitcoin miners, in the second half of the month. The event could hurt the performance of miners but historically has set bitcoin up for rallies of 300% or more in the months that follow.
For more on what to expect in the weeks ahead, read our Q2 crypto outlook.
— Tanaya Macheel
Dow underperforms
April 1, 2024
The Dow lagged on Monday, hurt by a group of stocks facing downward pressure.
The blue-chip average lost 0.7% during Monday afternoon trading. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite shed just 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.
Home Depot led the 30-stock average into the red with a drop of more than 3%. Nike, Boeing and Honeywell were the next-biggest losers, with all three slipping more than 1.5%. Less than a third of stocks in the index were trading higher shortly after 1 p.m. ET. However, 3M was the notable outperformer in the session with a nearly 5% advance.
— Alex Harring
Oil prices rise amid reports Iranian consulate hit by missile strike in Damascus
April 1, 2024
Crude oil futures rose on the first day of the second quarter amid reports that the Iranian consulate in Damascus was hit by a missile strike.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery gained $1.28, or 1.54%, to $84.45 a barrel. The Brent contract for June delivery added 93 cents, or 1.07%, to $87.93 a barrel.
Syrian and Iranian state media said Monday that an Israel missile strike hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus. If confirmed, this would be a clear escalation of conflict in the Middle East and is likely to continue to bolster near-term oil prices, as stated by Leo Mariani, an analyst with Roth MKM
Communication services stocks outperform, lead S&P 500 sector
April 1, 2024
Stocks making the biggest moves midday
April 1, 2024
Cameco is one of the world’s largest publicly traded uranium companies.
Courtesy: Cameco
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
- Micron Technology — Shares jumped more than 6% after Bank of America raised its price target on the chipmaker. The Wall Street firm expects demand for high-bandwidth memory technology will grow to more than $20 billion by 2027.
- Cameco — Shares rose more than 5% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the uranium producer with a buy rating, saying there is more than a 25% upside.
- Semtech — Shares advanced more than 6% after the semiconductor manufacturing company last week reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations.
— Sarah Min
Trump Media shares tumble following net loss report
April 1, 2024
Trump Media, 1 day
Last quarter saw most record closes since 2013
April 1, 2024
The first quarter brought the largest share of record S&P 500 closes in more than a decade, according to Bespoke Investment Group data.
Nearly 2 out of every 5 trading days in the three-month period, or 39.3%, ended at new highs. It marks the largest percentage going back to the first quarter of 2013.
The broad index ended the quarter, which concluded last week, with a return of more than 10%.
Google’s AI is underestimated by the market, says Evercore ISI’s Mahaney
April 1, 2024
A smartphone displaying Google with the Google Gemini logo in the background is featured in this photo in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 8, 2024.
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Alphabet’s work around generative artificial intelligence is getting unfairly pushed to the side by the market, according to Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI’s senior managing director.
Mahaney has a price target of $160 on the Google parent, implying an upside of about 6% from last week’s close. He said the stock could trade as high as $200, which signals a rally of about 32.5% ahead.
“I think it’s underappreciated as an AI asset,” Mahaney said. “I know we had some controversy… but the tool is extremely powerful.”
Mahaney noted that there is lots of competition within the AI space, but there are not actually that many challengers because of the high resources needed to work at this scale.
“Google is in this race,” he said. “But I think they’re sort of more perceived by the market as Gen AI roadkill, rather than as a derivative play.”
Mahaney said he would prefer Alphabet to Meta from a stock perspective, but Amazon remains his top pick.
— Alex Harring
ISM manufacturing gauge tops expectations
April 1, 2024
Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded in March for the first time in 17 months, according to the ISM reading on the sector released Monday.
The ISM manufacturing index rose to 50.3, up from 47.8 in February and better than the 48.1 Dow Jones consensus estimate. The index measures the percentage of companies reporting expansion against contraction, so anything over 50 indicates growth.
Production posted the biggest gain, rising 6.2 points to 54.6, while prices also accelerated to 55.8, an increase of 3.3 points. The employment gauge increased 1.5 points but was still in contraction at 47.4.
— Jeff Cox
Stocks kick off the week little changed, with Nasdaq leading
April 1, 2024
Premarket: Stocks making the biggest moves
April 1, 2024
Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.
- Shares of Micron Technology ticked up roughly 1.1% after Bank of America increased its price target on the chipmaker.
- Shares of 3M rose nearly 3%. 3M completed its spinoff of health-care company Solventum and announced a $10 billion settlement with public water suppliers in a chemicals lawsuit that had received final approval.
- Devon Energy added 1.4% on the back of a Wells Fargo upgrade to overweight.
— Brian Evans
Tesla shares tick higher after Model Y price increase
April 1, 2024
Drivers charge their Teslas in Fountain Valley, California, on March 20, 2024.
Jeff Gritchen | Medianews Group | Getty Images
Tesla shares were up nearly 1% in premarket trading after the company’s website showed prices for Model Y vehicles in the U.S. had been increased by $1,000. The base model will cost $44,990, while the long-range version is priced at $49,990.
Tesla has been under pressure amid waning EV demand, with the stock down nearly 30% year to date.
— Fred Imbert
Gold prices soar to record high on hopes of Fed cut
April 1, 2024
Gold prices extended their rally, scaling to a new record due to U.S. interest rate cut expectations.
Spot gold added 1.32% to trade at $2,265.53 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose more than 2%.
“I think it’s a really exciting moment in gold. What’s really driving it is, I think, many market speculators really getting that confidence and comfort [in] the Fed cuts,” said Joseph Cavatoni, market strategist at the World Gold Council.
Gold prices tend to share an inverse relationship with interest rates.
— Lee Ying Shan
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slips below 40,000
April 1, 2024
The logo of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc., is displayed at the bourse in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 2, 2020.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.5% to last trade at 39,762.85, falling below the 40,000 mark for the first time in 12 days.
This comes after the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rates regime in mid-March.
The Japanese yen traded at 151.29 to the U.S. dollar after hitting a 34-year low last week.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
South Korea’s factory activity slips into contraction in March
April 1, 2024
South Korea’s factory activity slipped into contraction territory in March, following two straight months of expansion.
The country’s purchasing manager’s index came in at 49.8, down from 50.7 in February.
Subdued demand and downgraded investment plans largely contributed to this decline.
“A number of firms mentioned that sales remained muted amid weakness in the domestic economy in particular,” wrote S&P Global in its report.
— Lim Hui Jie
Business sentiment among large Japan manufacturers falls slightly
April 1, 2024
Business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers fell in the first quarter, according to the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey. The gauge was +11, down from +12 in the last survey.
However, optimism among nonmanufacturers rose to its highest level since August 1991. The Tankan gauge was +34, beating expectations of +33.
The Bank of Japan monitors the Tankan survey to formulate monetary policy.
— Lim Hui Jie
China’s factory activity expands in March, surprising expectations
April 1, 2024
China’s factory activity expanded in March, snapping a five-month streak in contraction, and surprising expectations.
The country’s manufacturing purchasing manager’s index came in at 50.8, according to official data. This compares with the 49.1 seen in February.
Additionally, nonmanufacturing PMI rose to 53.0, up from 51.4 in January.
— Lim Hui Jie
Where the major averages stand as the second quarter begins
April 1, 2024
Wall Street is coming off another winning quarter and month, with excitement around artificial intelligence and expectations of a Federal Reserve cutting cycle fueling investor optimism.
Take a look at where the major averages stand as the second quarter kicks off:
Dow Jones Industrial Average:
- Rose 2.1% in March for its fifth straight winning month for the first time since August 2020
- Gained 5.6% in the first quarter
S&P 500:
- Added 3.1% in March
- Jumped 10.2% in the quarter for its best first-quarter performance since 2019
Nasdaq Composite:
- Edged up 1.8% in March
- Rallied 9.1% in the first quarter
— Samantha Subin, Chris Hayes
Stock futures open higher Sunday evening
March 31, 2024
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– 2024-04-01 18:56:48")
