Stocks Stall as Nvidia Struggles to Impress: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A rally in stocks is stalling after Nvidia Corp. underwhelmed investors with its latest sales forecast and traders took big bets off the table as the US and Iran head for a round of high-stakes nuclear talks.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower 0.1% following a two-day rebound. An initial surge in Nvidia in post-market trading faded as excitement over a strong earnings beat gave way to skepticism about whether robust artificial-intelligence sales have staying power. European stocks were flat. Rolls Royce Plc jumped to a record, while Syensqo SA slumped on an earnings miss.
Brent crude topped $71 a barrel, trading near the highest level since July, as the US prepared to review Iran’s latest proposals in Geneva to reach a deal. President Donald Trump had given Tehran a March 1-6 deadline for an agreement and has threatened military strikes if it fails to comply.
“The market is being too sanguine around near-term risks,” wrote Mohit Kumar, chief strategist for Europe at Jefferies. “A limited strike and short-term rise in tension cannot be ruled out. We have reduced our risk profile into the weekend. Our medium-term view remains bullish.”
Bitcoin steadied above $68,000 after Wednesday’s rally. The dollar and Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 4.05%.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
Nvidia’s much-anticipated earnings were solid, but some on Wall Street were disappointed about the lack of details on the outlook and what’s driving it. While this should temper some AI-related anxiety, concerns about competition and the sustainability of infrastructure investments will linger.
— Tatiana Darie, MLIV. For full analysis, click here.
Corporate Highlights:
Nvidia Corp. failed to impress investors with its latest sales forecast, signaling that concerns about an overheated AI economy will continue to dog the company. The London Stock Exchange Group Plc, in which Elliott Investment Management has taken a stake, will buy back £3 billion ($4.1 billion) of its own shares over the next 12 months. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said it will buy back between £7 billion to £9 billion in company stock over the next two years and raised its mid-term earnings targets Allianz SE reported fourth-quarter profit that met analysts’ expectations, as Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete plans to return more capital to investors. Salesforce Inc. gave a lukewarm outlook for sales growth in the new fiscal year, fueling Wall Street’s worries that the software giant will lose out to new competitors in the age of AI. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 8:40 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.4% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1805 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 156.04 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.3% to 6.8353 per dollar The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3523 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1.3% to $68,078.02 Ether fell 2.3% to $2,051.73 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.05% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.71% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.31% Commodities
Brent crude rose 0.3% to $71.04 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.2% to $5,172.58 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Neil Campling.
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