Stock Indexes Wrap: AI Stocks Power Nasdaq, S&P to Recordౠs Yet Again

The Dow

Financial stocks were some of the index’s best performers on Tuesday, with Goldman Sachs (GS) climbing 1.6% and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) adding 1.1%. 

Boeing (BA) shares slid 1.9% as ouꦰtgoing CEO David Calhoun called the company culture “less t༒han perfect” in Senate testimony related to the jet maker’s manufacturing and safety standards. 

The index’s tech giants gave up ground. Apple (AAPL) fell 1.1%, while Amazon (AMZN) lost 0.7%. Microsoft (MSFT) shed 0.5% as it gave up the title of the world’s most valuable company to Nvidia. 

S&P 500

AI stocks led the index higher today. Semiconductor testing equipment maker Teradyne (TER) added 4.8%, while utilities Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy Group (CEG) advanced 4.5% and 4%, respectively. 

Nvidia (NVDA) surged 3.5%, lifting its market capitalization above Microsoft’s and making it 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the world’s most valuable company. 

Netflix (NFLX) rose 1.5% as the company announced plans to open two permanent experiential entertainment and di꧟ning venues. 

Boston Scientific (BSX) ticked up 0.2% after announcing it would 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:buy Silk Road Medical (SILK) for $1.26 billion. 

Lennar (LEN) slid 5% after the homebuilder forecast delivering 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:fewer homes than expected in the current quarter. Homebuilder peers D.R. Horton (DHI) and Pultegroup (PHM) followed Lennar lower. 

NextEra Energy (NEE) slid 2.5% after announcing it would 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:raise $2 billion through the sale of new equity units. 

Nasdaq 100

Advanced chipmakers followed Nvidia higher. Micron (MU) and Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 3.8% and 2.2%, respectively. 

Charter Communications (CHTR) fell 2.9%, declining along with several other communications stocks, including Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), down 2.4%.

NextEra Energy Stock Drops A�𒅌�fter Announcing Plans To Sell $2B of Equity Units

NextEra Energy (NEE) shares fell intraday🌳 trading Tuesday after the renewable energy provider announced plans to sell $2 billion of equity units to fund inves🧸tments in new projects and potentially to reduce debt.

The company said the units will be $50 each, and will “consist of a contract to purchase NextEra Energy common stock in the future and a 5% undivided 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:beneficial ownership interest in a NextEra Energy Capital Holdings Inc. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:debenture due June 1, 2029, to be issued in the principal amount of $1,000.”

NextEra said it expects that after deducting the underwriting discount and other offering expenses, the sale will raise $1.94 billion. It plans to use the capital to fund investments in energy and power projects, as well as for general corporate purposes, which could include repayment of a portion of its debt.

NextEra Energy shares were down 3.3% at $69.90 Tuesday afternoon. Despite Tuesday's losses, they've gained about 15% since the start of the year.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Nvidia Tops Microsoft as World's Most Valuable Company

Nvidia (NVDA) surpassed Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable comp🔯any on Tuesday, capping a relentless rally on booming demand for artificial intelligence and the chips that make it possible. 

Shares rose more than 3% on Tuesday, sending the company's market value to more than $3.346 trillion. Microsoft, meanwhile, which became the world’s most valuable company in January when it took the title from Apple (AAPL), dipped slightly to put its valua💧tion at $3.327 trillion. 

Nvidia stock's meteoric rise has coincided with the company's ascent from a leading maker of graphics processing units used primarily in gaming computers to the undisputed leader in the market for AI semiconductors.

Its value has increased more than tenfold since October 2022, right before the release of ChatGPT sparked the AI frenz🧸y that has gripped markets for the last year and a half.

'Long Magnificent 7' Becomes Most Crowded Trade in 4 Years, BofA Survey Says

U.S. fund managers are more bullish on the so-called 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Magnificent Seven than they've been in years,✱ according to a new Bank of America survey.

Bank of America's monthly survey of 238 hedge fund managers with over $721 billion in 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:assets under management (AUM) released Tuesday showed that institutional investors are still confident in the group. Nearly 70% of the investors called the "long Magnificent Seven" bet the most crowded trade right now, up from roughly half who said it was the most crowded trade in the last two𒆙 monthly surveys.

It is the highest concentration around the tech-focused stocks since over 70% said "Long U.S. Tech Stocks" was the most crowded trade in multiple surveys during 2020, before the term "Magnificent Seven" was coined.

Optimism around 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) has 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:driven tech stocks like the Magnificent Seven higher over the last two years, along with others related to the trend like Super Micro Computer (SMCI) and Micron Technology (MU).

For more on the BofA survey and fund managers' outlook for markets, see here.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Aaron McDade

Central Bank Gold Purchases⛄ Seen Hitt🍨ing Record Highs in 2024

Macroeconomic pressures and geopolitical tensions are leading centr♊al banks to stock up on gold. The World Gold Council reported🧔 on Tuesday that central banks added 1,037 tonnes to their portfolios last year, second only to the record of 1,082 tonnes set in 2022.

And the interest in the precious metal continues. According to the group’s 2024 Central Ba🔜nk Gold Reserves 🌠(CBGR) survey, 29% of respondents said they plan to boost their gold reserves in the next 12 months, the highest level since the poll began in 2018.

The Council explained that the chief motivatiꦫon for the planned purchases was “a desire to rebalance to a more preferred stra🅰tegic level of gold holdings, domestic gold production, and financial market concerns including higher crisis risks and rising inflation.”

Acquisitions by central banks are among the reasons why gold prices have skyrocketed, setting numerous record highs recently. Since March, the spot price per ounce has surpassed $2,100, $2,200, ♚$2,300, and $2,400 for the first time. It hit an all-time high last month, and despite a pu𝓀llback since, it remains above $2,300.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Shell Expand♋s LNG Portfo🅰lio by Purchasing Singapore-Based Pavilion Energy

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:American depositary receipt🎃s (ADRs) of Shell Plc (SHEL) advanced Tuesday after the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:energy giant announced it had purchased Singapore-based 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader Pavilion Energy Pte.♔ fo🐻r an undisclosed amount.

Shell said🅠 it was buying all of the shares of Pavilion from 🌠Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek. 

Pavilion is involved in LNG trading, shipping, natural gas supply, and marketing activities in Asia and Europe. Shell noted that it has “contracted supply volume comprising about 6.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).”

The transaction is expected to be compꦆleted in the first quarter of next year. 

Shell ADRs rose almost 1% an🔯d are up about 6% so far this year.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Philip Mo๊rris Dips After Suspending Online Z🍰yn Sales

Shares of Philip Morris International (PM) fell Tuesday morning after the maker of Marlboro cigarettes saidꦐ it had halted sales of Zyn nicotine pouches on its𝕴 website as it complies with a subpoena related to the sale of flavored nicotine products in Washington, D.C.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that there have been sales of flavored nicotine pouch products in D.C., predominantly related to certain online sales platforms and some independent retailers,” the company said in a statement on Monday evening.

The compa🌱ny said sales on  have accounted for a small percentage of total Zyn sales. Although, it added, a “material liability is reasonably possible” if D.C.’s investigation has an unfaಌvorable outcome.

Zyn nicotine pouches have been a 𒁃boon for Philip Morris since 2022, when it acquired the brand’s own🌌er Swedish Match.

Zyn sales increased nearly 80% in the first quarter of this year, far outpacing Philip Morris’s overall growth of about 10%. Zyn and Philip Morris’s other oral smoke-free products accounted for 74% of the category in the quarter.

Philip Morris shares were down nearly 1% Tuesday morning, and have gained more than 7% so far thi😼s year.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Colin Laidley

Lenn♉ar Stock Drops After Home Dꦦeliveries Forecast Falls Short of Estimates

Lennar (LEN) shares dropped Monday after the homebuilder’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:delivery forecast outweighed quarterly results that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations.

The Florida-based company, which constructs residential homes nationwide, forecasts fiscal third-quarter home deliveries of between 20,500 and 21,000, with the 20,750 midpoint of that projection below analysts' consensus view of 20,917 units. This closely watched metric indicates demand for new homes remains subdued amid 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mortgage rates sitting near a 20-year high.

However, the homebuilder still logged a strong last quarter. For the three-month period ending May 31, Lennar reported a profit of $3.45 per share, comfortably ahead of expectations of $3.33 a share. Revenue in the period of $8.77 billion grew 9% from a year earlier and topped the $8.48 bi🦄llion expected by analysts.3

The company said new orders increased 19% in the quarter, while report🤪ing a backlog o🌟f 17,873 homes totalling $8.2 billion.

Lennar shares have consolidated within a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trading range since early February, helping to establish respected 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:support and resistance areas. More recently, the stock has fallen to the lower portion of the range with the price sitting just below the 50-day 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:moving average, indicatin𝐆g apprehension among market participants ahead of the homebuilde♓r’s quarterly results.

Amid anticipated weakness post earnings, investors should keep an eye on the $150 level as an area where the price may find buying interest from the trading range’s lower trendline. However, it’s also worth pointing out that the stock’s twin peaks between April and May could signal a possible 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:double top if the shares break down below the trading range’s lower trendline, which also acts as the pattern’s neckline. Such a move could see the stock revisit lower support around $133 near the prominent July 2023 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:swing high.

Lennar shares fell around 3% Monday, amounting a 2% gain for 2🐟0🌼24.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Tim Smith

La-Z-Boy Stock🌟 Jumps on Strong Earnings, Upbeat Outloo♋k—Watch This Price Level

Shares in furniture maker La-Z-Boy (LZB) jumped after the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:company eased investors’ fears over slowing 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:consumer spending and a sluggish 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:housing market by announcing quarterly results and forward sales guidance that came in above analysts’ expectations.

For the quarter ending April 27, the Monroe, Michigan-based company posted 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:adjusted earnings of 95 cꦫents per share, handily topping the consensus estimate of 70 cents a share. Revenue in the period fell 1% to $554 million, but easily surpassed expectations of $516.4 million.

Turning to forward guidance, La-Z-Boy said it sees current-quarter 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:net sales of $475 million to $495 million♚, with the $485 million midpoint of that forecast beating estimates of $4ℱ76 million.

La-Z-Boy shares have traded within a broad 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:rising wedge since early last year, with the 200-day 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:moving average sitting just above the pattern’s lower trendline to provide additional support during pullbacks. Leading into the company’s quarterly results, the stock formed a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:piercing pattern near the wedge’s lower trendline on above-average volume, indicating a potential reversal back to the u🎐pside. Indeed, the shares sit positioned to open sharply higher on Tuesday morning.

Looking ahead, investors should monitor the $41 level, an area on the chart where the price may encounter selling pressure near the rising wedge’s top trendline. A volume-backed breakout above this key level co🧸uld see an acceleration of the longer-term uptrend.

La-Z-Boy shares surge🅺d 18% bringing their year-to-date gai🌠n to almost 10%.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Tim Smith

Stock Futures Mixed

Dow futures wer♛e down 0.1% in premarket trading Tuesday.

S&P futures were flat.

Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.