U.S. stocks soared Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting record highs, after a softer-than-forecast CPI inflation report boosted investor hopes of an interest rate cut this year.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7% and the S&P 500 1.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report for May showed inflation cooling more than expected, with headline inflation rising 3.3%, versus expectations of a 3.4% gain. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.4%, versus expectations of 3.5%. The softer-than-forecast print could figure into Fed officials’ quarterly economic projections, which will be published this afternoon alongside the central bank’s rate decision.
Treasury yields fell after the release of the May inflation numbers. The 10-year yield was down 13 basis points.
Oracle (ORCL) shares jumped to a record high after its large artificial intelligence (AI) deals with Microsoft (MSFT), OpenAI, and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google Cloud offset the cloud-software provider’s quarterly earnings miss.
Apple (AAPL) reclaimed its title as the world’s most valuable company from Microsoft (MSFT) on Wednesday as its shares continued to rise after closing at a record high yesterday following its unveiling of “Apple Intelligence,” its AI strategy.
U.S. stocks largely gained yesterday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both shrugging off early losses to close at records thanks largely to Apple’s AI-fueled surge. The Dow ended yesterday slightly lower.
Paramount Stock Lags After Shari Redstone Kills Skydance Deal
23 minutes ago
Paramount Global (PARA) missed out on the CPI-fueled stock rally, a day after tumbling following reports controlling shareholder Shari Redstone had called off monthslong merger talks with Skydance Media.
The decision, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came shortly before a committee of Paramount directors was scheduled to vote on the proposed merger.
The two parties had agreed on the financial terms of the deal but failed to see eye-to-eye on whether to seek the approval of non-controlling shareholders, according to the Journal. Redstone, who is not Paramount’s majority shareholder but owns a controlling interest through her family’s holding company National Amusements, advocated for putting the merger to a vote to avoid potential lawsuits. Skydance allegedly resisted.
According to the Journal, Redstone is now likely to explore selling just National Amusements rather than merging Paramount with another entity.
Paramount shares were little changed and has lost 25% of its value so far this year.
GameStop’s Speedy Stock Sale May Have Been Helped by ‘Roaring Kitty’
1 hr 5 min ago
GameStop (GME) appears to have gotten a boost from “Roaring Kitty.”
The struggling video game retailer and meme stock darling said it has completed the stock sale it announced just last Friday, when it also unexpectedly released first-quarter earnings.
GameStop said that it had sold the maximum number of shares in the prospectus, 75 million, and raised approximately $2.14 billion. The company noted that it intends to use the money raised for general corporate purposes, “which may include acquisitions and investments.”
The speed by which the sale was completed may have been driven by meme-stock hero “Roaring Kitty,” a.k.a. Keith Gill, who earlier this month indicated in a Reddit post that he held a large position in GameStop, and then followed that up with a long YouTube livestream chatting about it.
GameStop shares rose 6% in a volatile trading session and are almost double this year.
Watch Out for These Levels in Oracle’s Stock Price
1 hr 42 min ago
Oracle (ORCL) shares surged Wednesday to record highs after the enterprise software giant announced cloud infrastructure deals with Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL) and Chat GPT owner Open AI that outweighed quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Oracle shares have oscillated within a broad ascending triangle since mid-December, with the price testing the pattern’s lower trendline on several occasions over the past six months but remaining above both the 50- and 200-day moving averages.
Typically, an ascending triangle suggests a continuation of the prevailing trend prior to its formation, which in the case of Oracle shares, is a resumption of the stock’s uptrend.
Following Wednesday’s breakout from the ascending triangle to a new record high, investors can use technical analysis to predict a possible longer-term price target using the measuring principle.
To do this, calculate the pattern’s widest distance in points and add that figure to the triangle’s top trendline. For instance, we add $29 to $129, which projects a price target of $158. Investors may use this level to lock in profits or monitor as a potential region on the chart where the shares may face selling pressure.
During pullbacks, investors should keep an eye on the $129 level, an area where the price is likely to find support from the ascending triangle’s top trendline. A breakdown below this region could see a retest of the pattern’s lower trendline, currently sitting around $118.50.
Oracle shares rose 12% bringing their year-to-date gain to 32%.
Watch Out for These Levels in Apple’s Stock Price
2 hr 18 min ago
Apple (AAPL) shares sit atop watchlists after the stock jumped more than 7% on Tuesday to mint a new record closing high, its first since Dec. 14. The surge followed the unveiling Monday of “Apple Intelligence,” a personalized version of artificial intelligence (AI) specifically designed for its devices, as well as a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
The daily percentage gain, the iPhone maker’s largest since November 2022, added around $215 billion to the company’s market capitalization.
Apple shares have traded within an established trading range since August last year, with the price tagging the pattern’s upper and lower trendlines several times over the past nine months. Since finding buying interest near the bottom of the range in late April, the stock has continued to trend higher, culminating in Tuesday’s 7.3% breakout to a new closing high of $207.15.
Importantly, the breakout occurred on the highest trading volume in more than a year, suggesting buyer conviction by larger market participants, while the 50-day moving average (MA) also sits poised to cross above the 200-day MA to form a golden cross buy signal, a chart pattern technical analysts interpret as marking the start of a new uptrend.
Looking ahead, investors can forecast a price target using a measured move by calculating the distance of the trading range in dollars and adding the amount to the pattern’s top trendline. For example, adding $31 to $197 projects a price target of $228. This level could become a potential area of resistance where sellers may be satisfied to book profits.
When looking for retracement opportunities, investors should eye the trading range’s top trendline at $197 as this area has most likely flipped from an area of resistance into support. It’s also worth keeping in mind that a failure to hold this key level could indicate a potential bull trap, a chart pattern that cautions a downside reversal.
Apple shares were up 2%, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 10%.
Stock Futures Gain Ahead of Fed Outlook
3 hr 59 min ago
Dow futures were up 0.1% in premarket trading Wednesday.
S&P futures were up 0.1%.
Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.
