DELL Jul 2024 150.000 put

Chip stocks soar, housing market struggles: Morning Brief

On today's episode of Morning Brief, Hosts Brad Smith and Madison Mills break down the market open and some of the trading day's biggest stories. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) opened Thursday's trading session higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered below its flat line. The tech sector continues to push the markets to new heights, as Nvidia (NVDA) has become the most valuable publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, Dell Technologies (DELL) has announced a new partnership with Nvidia to construct an AI factory for xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture. In a parallel development, Musk indicated that xAI will also explore utilizing Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) server solutions. Meanwhile, new economic data releases painted a mixed picture of the labor market and housing sector in the United States. On the employment front, the number of initial jobless claims fell to 238,000 for the week ending June 15, coming in hotter than economists' expectations of 235,000. The housing sector also showed signs of strain, with both housing starts and building permits falling more than expected in May. Pulte Capital CEO Bill Pulte calls the print "a little bit of a speed bump" in an overall strong housing market. As the Swiss National Bank initiated its second interest rate cut this year, all eyes are on when the Federal Reserve will cut rates. JPMorgan US Head of Investment Strategy Jake Manoukian explains: "The Fed's going to join the party probably at some point this year. We're 90 days away from the September Fed meeting, traders are pricing in a 67% chance that that's the first cut." He adds that if a rate cut does not come in September, it will most likely come in December. This post was written by Melanie Riehl