Mr. Powell is in the spotlight again, and stock prices are gradually rising.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, staying strong ahead of a second day of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's close testimony.

Techs again led the way with Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) futures up 0.7% and S&P 500 (^GSPC) up 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5% after all three gauges closed in the green.

Stocks rose as the market said Powell's first day of questioning by lawmakers on economic and monetary policy did not bring bad news or surprises. The Fed chief stuck to reiterating the message from policymakers that there is no need to rush into easing, but said a rate cut was likely before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) rose for the fifth straight day, hitting a new high above $2,160 as the prospect of a rate cut gives fresh impetus to a record rally.

Powell appeared on the Senate floor Thursday morning to answer questions from lawmakers. Investors are watching the Fed chair's testimony for more clarity and further clues on when to cut interest rates.

New jobless claims for the week ending March 2 were unchanged at 217,000, slightly higher than the consensus estimate of 216,000, announced Thursday. He registered just over 1.9 million continuing claims, an increase of about 8,000 from the previous publication.

The calculations will also factor in upcoming consumer credit updates ahead of Friday's important monthly employment report.

On the corporate front, shares of Victoria's Secret (VSCO) plummeted more than 26% after the lingerie maker's sales outlook fell short of expectations.

live6 updates

Thursday, March 7, 2024 7:15 a.m. PST

Nvidia stock hits new record, surpassing $900 level

Nvidia (NVDA) stock rose more than 2% on Thursday, hitting a new all-time high. Shares of the AI darling topped the $900 mark in morning trading, hitting a high of $909.92.

Nvidia is up 88% since the beginning of the year. The semiconductor giant was the best performer among the Magnificent 7 stocks this year.

Social media giant Meta (META) also hit a new high on Thursday. The stock is up 46% since the beginning of the year.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 6:36 a.m. PST

Stocks start higher ahead of second day of Fed chairman's testimony

Major averages rose on Thursday ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's second day of Congressional testimony.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 0.7% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also rose 0.5%.

The rise came a day after Jerome Powell took questions from lawmakers about the economy and monetary policy. Powell reiterated that policymakers are in no hurry to ease, but that a rate cut is likely before the end of the year. Friday's jobs report will give investors a clue as to the timing of a rate cut.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) remains above $67,000 on Thursday after hitting a new all-time high earlier this week.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time

NYCB loses 7% of deposits in one month, new rescue challenges emerge

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) lost 7% of its deposits in a month, underscoring the challenges facing a new group of investors led by Steve Mnuchin who outlined a turnaround strategy on Thursday.

Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports that total deposits fell from $83 billion as of February 5 to $77.2 billion as of March 5, according to the bank's disclosure in an investor presentation. .

Currently, approximately 80% of deposits are backstopped by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance, while 20% are uninsured. The company lost $7.8 billion in uninsured deposits last month.

The disclosure comes as NYCB announces a new CEO and a $1 billion infusion from a group led by Mnuchin, a former U.S. Treasury secretary and Goldman Sachs partner, to regain investor confidence. It came a day after the dramatic attempt.

NYCB stock was relatively flat in pre-market Thursday after soaring more than 7% in the pre-market.

Please see here for the detail.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 5:30 a.m. PST

Long hours in the penalty box: Victoria's Secret

Amazon (AMZN) bra purchase transaction.

Victoria's Secret (VSCO) suffered truly disastrous financial results last night, similar to what happened just hours earlier at fellow mall resident Foot Locker (Florida). This is the right move, as the intimate apparel company's stock price has plunged nearly 30% premarket.

Management cited sales trends in February that had not improved from the 6% decline in the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan analyst Matt Voss (who downgraded VSCO today) added the following section to a research note to clients that caught my attention. VSCO appears to be losing more market share to Amazon, but the company is unlikely to win this battle. In my opinion, the problem is structural.

“It's worth noting in the underwear industry data that management believes the sports bra category outperforms non-sports (i.e. structured bras), with sports bras outperforming non-sports (i.e. structured bras) by 30% overall in the broader underwear addressable market. 70% (compared to VSCO).So, in addition to sportswear companies such as Lululemon, management is also looking to expand its He pointed out that the overall underwear market in the fourth quarter declined by mid-single digits.In the sports bra category, (LULU) gained market share.

Despite VSCO/Florida's terrible quarter, there are retailers within the mall that are winning.

Here's what Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) CEO Fran Horowitz told me on Wednesday after delivering yet another quarter of double-digit sales.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. PST

Amazing analysis of the day today…

Perhaps it's time to reconsider Microsoft's (MSFT) decline.

Over the past 25 business days, Microsoft stock has fallen 0.4%, while the S&P 500 index has risen 4%. The overall Mag 7 has been trading on a volatile note lately, and Microsoft hasn't been affected either.

EvercoreISI analyst Kirk Materne's new predictions about Microsoft's AI opportunities could reignite the bull market.

Here's what he said today in a new note to customers:

“Aggregating bottom-up Gen AI analysis and looking out five years, we find that Gen AI could add up to $82.5 billion to Microsoft’s revenue growth in 2028, based on a “base case” scenario. I am estimating. This means our revenue will increase by 24%. CY28 revenue forecast (assuming “core” Microsoft's 23-28 revenue CAGR of 9%). This equates to an increase in EPS of $5.10, assuming a 45% increase in net income. This is slightly lower than the previous year's increased profits. The “Case” scenario represents an incremental revenue opportunity of $142.8 billion and an incremental EPS of $12.07. The updated CY27 AI incremental revenue forecast of $54.6 billion is $4.2 billion higher than the previous “base case” forecast from June 2023. is off to a strong start, but we're still in the earnings phase, and based on our analysis, we expect Gen AI to maintain an upward bias on Microsoft's revenue and his EPS forecast for the foreseeable future. . ”

Materne rates Microsoft an outperformer with a price target of $475, 17% above current levels.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 4:30 a.m. PST

Deutsche Bank boards the Bitcoin rocket ship

Departure progress.

The Deutsche Bank team today published a note looking at five reasons why there is room for Bitcoin prices to rise further. It's too early to sleep with a detailed explanation of all five reasons, so let's focus on one. That is the possibility of the Bitcoin halving event in April.

Investment banks are cautioning against Bitcoin's bullish movements around previous halving events.

“In the 30 days before the November 2012 halving, prices rose 5%. Before the July 2016 halving, we saw an even more significant 13% rise. Most recently, in May There was a significant price increase of 27% in the month preceding the halving of 2020. ”

A timeline chart to help you see how this has played out historically:

Bitcoin bulls are waiting for another halving in April. (Deutsche Bank)