FAANG stocks listed on NASDAQ.
Adam Jeffrey | CNBC
This report is from today's international market newsletter CNBC Daily Open. The CNBC Daily Open provides investors with everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see?You can subscribe here.
Stock prices almost rose
Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, led by gains on Wall Street as investors digested corporate earnings. Shares in DBS Group, Southeast Asia's largest bank, soared 2% after its quarterly net profit beat expectations. US stocks rose overnight as major indexes rebounded from the previous session. The S&P 500 ended up 0.23% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.07%. The Dow 30 rose 0.37%.
debt crisis
Economist Arthur Laffer said global borrowing reached a record high of $307.4 trillion in September last year, and that developed as well as emerging economies faced a debt crisis that would last for the next decade. . Laffer added that some large countries that do not address their debt problems “will suffer a slow financial death.”
silver lining
Silver is expected to have a “great year,” with prices potentially reaching 10-year highs. Like gold, silver prices also tend to be inversely related to interest rates. Silver prices could rise on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates later this year.
joint sports streaming
ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a joint sports streaming platform later this year. Consumers can subscribe directly using the new app. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that the service is “a huge win for sports fans and an important step forward for our media business.”
[PRO] Bet on BYD
Jason Hsu, chairman and chief investment officer of Rayliant Global Advisors, expects Hong Kong-listed BYD to dominate the electric vehicle race. BYD “will definitely be the winner,” Su said, adding, “I can easily imagine BYD being twice its current price in three to five years.”
Silicon Valley's march toward downsizing, or rather “rightsizing”, appears unabated.
Since the beginning of 2024, the number of technical staff reductions has continued to increase. DocuSign is the latest company to cut about 6% of its workforce, or about 440 people.
Amazon is also cutting “hundreds of roles” across its One Medical and Pharmacy divisions, the company confirmed to CNBC.
The announcement comes a day after Snap said it would cut about 10% of its global workforce, or about 500 people. Okta and Zoom have already announced layoffs this month.
The breakneck pace of layoffs is an attempt by Silicon Valley, which became overextended during the peak of the pandemic, to slim down.
High interest rates and inflationary pressures are also prompting companies to tighten as costs rise.
On top of that, some tech companies want to jump on the AI bandwagon, cutting back on headcount and investing more in developing those products. This clearly applies to big tech companies, as Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft have recently downsized rapidly.
But Wall Street seems to think the layoffs are a good thing. Investors have rewarded cost discipline in companies, especially big tech companies.
As long as investors remain bullish on technology, the drumbeat of layoffs will continue to gain momentum.
