Today’s highlights
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Tech stocks on the rise
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Miners weigh on UK markets
Tech stocks rise while other Wall Street sectors drag
Yesterday was a mixed bag for the major US stock indices, as gains from technology names faced off with sharp losses among energy, financials, and materials stocks. Bank stocks were hit particularly hard, slumping by more than 4% on aggregate. The SPX500’s energy and financials sectors fell 3.5% and 2.9% respectively, with Occidental Petroleum the index’s biggest loser at -7.6%. Overall, the SPX500 closed the day out flat, while the DJ30 fell 0.6%, and the NASDAQ100 was 1.3% higher. That brings the NASDAQ100 close to the DJ30, which it has been trailing throughout 2021. Of the major stock indices, the SPX500 remains out in front, at +2.4%.
Chip stocks jumps as Google taps AMD for new cloud service
Advanced Micro Devices was one of the SPX500’s top performers yesterday, closing 5.6% higher after it was announced that Google plans to offer cloud computing services based on its new data center chip. Google is a huge buyer of data center chips, and the firm said customers including social media firms Snap and Twitter are already testing out the new AMD-based cloud offering Reuters reported. AMD was not the only firm to enjoy a share price jump yesterday. Graphics chip maker Nvidia added 4.8%, after an analyst at Jefferies increased his price forecast on the stock, arguing that investors are not giving full credence to Nvidia’s ability to license its data center software. Overall yesterday, the SPX500’s semiconductor sub-sector added 1.7%.
Miners drag UK100 lower
The UK100 was down 0.4% yesterday, with mining stocks turning in another rough day. Glencore, Anglo American, Fresnillo and multiple other miners were down by more than 3%. Glencore has now fallen more than 7% since Friday, although falls of that magnitude have not been uncommon for the stock in 2021 so far. Year-to-date, the firm’s share price is still up by more than 30%. BT Group was at the front of the UK100 yesterday, adding 2.7% to continue its recent run of good form. The company’s share price is up by more than 60% since the start of February.
Other highlights
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Crypto slump continues: The crypto market remained lower over the past 24 hours, however, losses were still relatively small. At time of writing, Bitcoin was down around 3%, falling just below $38,000. However, Bitcoin was the only top 10 crypto to remain higher for the week, still up by around 2% when compared to last Friday morning.
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Oil shows a correction: Oil prices took a tumble yesterday, briefly falling below the recently reached milestone of $70. However, prices later recovered, climbing above the mark, but still closed lower for the day. This morning, the negative momentum continued, as the black gold was in the red at time of writing.
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CureVac falls on vaccine trial failure: German biopharma company CureVac yesterday saw its stock tumble 39%, following reports that its Covid-19 vaccine was not effective in clinical trials. For the most recent and significant price movements in markets, check out the Market Movers page.
Stocks earnings releases on 18/06/2021
Earnings season continues: To follow upcoming earnings reports, go to eToro’s Earnings Reports Calendar.