Russell Shor

Last week saw significant market volatility due to worries over economic growth, yen carry trade issues, and a tech stock selloff. The S&P 500 initially dropped but recovered slightly, ending the week down 0.04% while maintaining a 12.04% gain for the year. Oil prices rose on geopolitical tensions, copper fell due to growth concerns, and gold slipped as traders took profits. Key upcoming data, including July’s CPI and Retail Sales,…

A severe downturn hit U.S. tech megacaps on Monday, with Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon leading a $1 trillion loss in market capitalisation. Japan's Nikkei 225 suffered its worst drop since 1987, while Bitcoin declined by 11%. The yen's unexpected strength and recession fears contributed to market instability. However, Japanese markets rebounded strongly on Tuesday, recovering over 9%, supported by a recent Bank of Japan rate hike. Other Asia-Pacific markets also…

Global markets are volatile, with the Nasdaq and Nikkei experiencing significant drops. Weak U.S. jobs data and central bank policies are fueling recession fears. Safe-haven assets are rising, and analysts caution that while recent market corrections may offer opportunities, the situation remains uncertain.

This year the stock market has generally enjoyed a period of stability often described as a "Goldilocks" economy, which has avoided the extremes of overheating or stagnation. However, recent economic data has sparked concerns of a downturn. The July jobs report revealed a modest addition of 114,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3%, the highest in nearly three years. This, combined with earlier signs of slowing consumer spending…

Amazon's latest financial report revealed a mixed performance, leading to an 8% decline in after-hours trading. The company's revenue for the quarter ending in June reached $148 billion, a 10% increase from the previous year, but slightly under analysts' expectations of $148.7 billion. Despite this, Amazon achieved a significant 94% rise in earnings per share, reaching $1.26, well above the forecasted $1.03. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) division continued to…

AMD exceeded expectations with strong Q2 results and a bullish forecast for AI GPU revenue, boosting its shares. Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue but saw a slight shortfall in Azure growth. Both companies are investing heavily in AI to capture emerging market opportunities.

On Tuesday, Nvidia's stock dropped significantly, ending the day 7% lower at $103.73, marking its lowest point since late May. The company's stock has struggled in July, declining 16% and potentially marking its worst monthly performance since September 2022. This decline is partly attributed to a shift in market sentiment, with investors moving away from high-performing tech stocks and reallocating capital into smaller-cap stocks, which might benefit from potential interest…

Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg shared their enthusiasm for AI advancements during a discussion at SIGGRAPH 2024. They highlighted the rapid progress in generative AI and anticipated significant innovation over the next five years. Zuckerberg mentioned the potential of AI agents to interact with customers and carry out complex tasks. Meta's latest release, Llama 3.1, and the upcoming 4.0 version demonstrate their commitment to AI development. Huang acknowledged Meta's contributions…

Former President Donald Trump promised cryptocurrency enthusiasts that he would establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and dismiss SEC Chairman Gary Gensler if re-elected in November. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Trump outlined plans to boost the crypto industry, including forming a presidential advisory council for Bitcoin and halting a central bank digital currency

FXCM’s USDOLLAR basket has dropped over 1.13% this month, hitting its lowest levels since March. This decline is primarily due to continued dollar selling following recent disinflationary US price data and coinciding with a decline in the US 10-year real rate to below 2%. Federal Reserve member Christopher Waller indicated that softer US price data has paved the way for potential rate cuts, suggesting a bumpy path ahead. A significant…

Gold surged on Tuesday, reaching new record highs as expectations for US interest-rate cuts bolstered prices. Analysts foresee long-term gains for the precious metal, driven by the Federal Reserve's preparations to cut rates, believing inflation is under control. This anticipation has weakened the dollar and Treasury yields, enhancing gold's appeal. Gold rose by $46, or 1.9%, to close at $2,468.70 an ounce, surpassing previous records.