Major U.S. stock indexes were mixed in afternoon trading Monday, as markets look to stabilize after last week’s bumpy ride and investors await critical economic data releases later in the week.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. U.S. stocks finished higher Friday for the second straight day, capping off a wild week of trading in which major indexes recorded both their biggest one-day losses and gains since 2022. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are riding four-week losing streaks.
Concerns about the economy have weighed heavily on investor sentiment in recent weeks as several indicators have shown a slowdown in activity, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will need to start cutting interest rates aggressively. The economic calendar is light Monday, but picks up in the coming days with the release of data on inflation and retail sales.
Large-cap technology stocks, which have been especially volatile over the past month after powering the market’s gains for most of the year, were mixed Monday. AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA) was up nearly 5%, while Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) also gained. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) were down slightly.
The big advancer on the S&P 500 is KeyCorp (KEY), which was up 8% following news that Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) acquired a 14.9% stake in the bank for $2.8 billion. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was leading Nasdaq gainers, up 6%.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys was down to around 3.90% from 3.94% on Friday. The yield had dropped below 3.7% last Monday after a weaker-than-expected July jobs report led market participants to believe the Fed would need to cut interest rates swiftly and deeply. The economic concerns eased later in the week when weekly jobless claims numbers were more benign.
Gold futures were up more than 1% to above $2,500 an ounce, while crude oil futures rose more than 3% amid ongoing concerns about tension in the Middle East. Bitcoin was trading around $60,000, little changed from where it was on Friday.
Starbucks Rises on Report Starboard has Taken Stake
36 minutes ago
Starbucks (SBUX) shares rose Monday on word hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a stake in the world’s biggest coffee chain and is calling for efforts to raise the stock price.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the size of the investment and the demands were not known. Neither Starbucks nor Starboard immediately responded an to an Investopedia request for comment.
The Journal noted that the move came as Starbucks is in settlement discussions with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which it previously reported had taken a large stake in the company and also called for changes.
Qilai Shen / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Last month, Starbucks reported lower year-over-year third-quarter revenue as global same-store sales fell 3%, including a 14% decline in China.
Starbucks shares were up about 2% in recent trading Monday. The stock has lost a fifth of its value since the start of 2024.
Apple Positioned for Strong AI-Fueled Growth, Wedbush Says
1 hr 30 min ago
Apple’s (AAPL) AI-fueled growth cycle could be stronger than expected, according to Wedbush analysts who lifted their iPhone 16 shipment estimates based on their outlook for Asian demand.
The analysts wrote that “recent Asia checks this week are giving us more confidence this upgrade cycle will kick off a long-awaited renaissance of growth for Cupertino over the next year.” Apple has struggled amid increased competition and pricing pressure in the China market but has recently said that discounting efforts could be paying off.
Wedbush analysts increased their estimates for iPhone 16 shipments to at least 90 million, higher than Street expectations of between 80 million and 84 million, citing “more indications across the Asia supply chain this iPhone upgrade cycle.” Roughly 300 million iPhone users have not upgraded in the past four years, the analysts said.
They highlighted the anticipation building around the iPhone maker’s AI opportunity with the Apple Intelligence-powered iPhone 16. The device is expected to launch in September with AI updates to roll out later.
Apple shares were up about 1% in recent trading. The stock is up 13% so far in 2024.
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KeyCorp Stock Soars as Scotiabank Acquires $2.8 Billion Stake
2 hr 46 min ago
Shares of KeyCorp (KEY) jumped Monday morning following news that the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) acquired a 14.9% stake in the bank, valued at roughly $2.8 billion.
Scotiabank will buy approximately 163 million shares over a pair of transactions, with the first being an $800 million investment at the end of the month. After the companies receive approval from regulators and the Federal Reserve, which they expect to take place by the first quarter of 2025, Scotiabank will invest another $2 billion in KeyBank.
“While we continue to be comfortable with our current capital position, we determined that the investment enables Key to accelerate our well-communicated capital and earnings improvement while bolstering our strategic position,” KeyCorp CEO Chris Gorman said.
Scotiabank will be purchasing shares set at a fixed price of $17.17 per share, a premium of roughly 17.5% to Friday’s closing price of $14.61.
KeyCorp shares were recently up about 12% to $16.36, after moving as high as $17.09 early in the session, reaching levels not seen since early 2023. Scotiabank’s shares fell some 4%.
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Marathon Digital Stock Plunges on Debt Offering
3 hr 39 min ago
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (MARA) is raising $250 million via a debt offering to buy more bitcoin, as the company appears to be following the MicroStrategy (MSTR) playbook.
The company’s convertible senior notes will bear semi-annual interest and are set to mature in September 2031, with provisions for early redemption and conversion into cash or MARA’s common stock.
MicroStrategy is the only publicly traded company that holds more bitcoin than Marathon. MicroStrategy employed this strategy of offering convertible notes in an effort to buy more bitcoin earlier this year. The data provider first adopted bitcoin as a reserve asset in 2020.
More companies are now getting on board with holding the cryptocurrency on their balance sheets. Fintech startup Fold and healthcare company Semler Scientific (SMLR) also made similar moves in recent months. Larger companies, such as Tesla (TSLA) and Block (SQ) (formerly Square), have also adopted a bitcoin strategy in recent years.
Marathon shares were down 7% in recent trading, after dropping as much as 12% early in the session.
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Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Indexes
5 hr 39 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.
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S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were also up 0.3%.
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