| The euro pared early gains, while German stocks rose as investors speculated over the implications of a win by German conservative leader Fr |
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| Markets Snapshot | | | | Market data as of 05:57 am EST. | View or Create your Watchlist | | | Market data may be delayed depending on provider agreements. | | |
Five things you need to know | |
- The euro pared early gains, while German stocks rose as investors speculated over the implications of a win by German conservative leader Friedrich Merz in Sunday’s elections. US stock futures pointed to a rebound after Friday’s selloff.
- Alibaba pledged to invest more than $53 billion in AI infrastructure such as data centers over the next three years, a major commitment that underscores its ambitions of becoming a leader in artificial intelligence.
- Meanwhile, Microsoft has begun canceling leases for data-center capacity in the US, which may reflect concern about whether it’s building more AI computing than it needs, TD Cowen said in a report.
- The Trump administration has rolled out a memorandum in recent days telling a key government committee to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic American sectors. It’s part of a series of moves involving investment, trade and other issues that raise the risk ties between the two countries may soon worsen.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with President Donald Trump this week as they try to clinch a European role in the talks between Washington and Moscow on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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| Donald Trump’s tariff threats are losing their shock value across asset classes. The S&P 500 hit records last week even as the US president mused about slapping 25% tariffs across several industries — a move that would meaningfully widen the trade war. The missive was met with apathy in the Treasury market, where a measure of volatility is hovering near its lowest level in a year. All the while, investors merrily shoveled nearly $154 billion into US-listed exchange-traded funds through Feb. 20th — the best start to a year ever, Bloomberg data show. The dearth of drama speaks to a form of tariff fatigue. The opening weeks of the new administration have seen Trump threaten levies on everything from cars, chips, pharmaceuticals and lumber, as well as reciprocal tariffs on key trading partners. However, the only duty that has gone into place so far has been an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports. Though Trump said last week that a new trade deal is “possible,” the administration has also told a key government committee to curb Chinese spending on tech, energy and other strategic American sectors — a move that risks worsening ties with Beijing. The back-and-forth has reinforced the notion that some of the tariff levels are being floated as negotiating tactics, rather than final proposals. As such, instead of reacting to every twist in the will-he, won’t-he, stock traders are content to hold out for something concrete, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. “The net working assumption of the equity markets is that these are threats, not actions,’’ said Bloomberg Intelligence Chief Equity Strategist Gina Martin Adams. “Until you actually have an action, we’re going to trade on that premise.” —Katie Greifeld | |
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- Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares rise 1.2% in premarket trading after earnings at Warren Buffett’s company surged 71% in the fourth quarter. Analysts said results were boosted by a strong jump in insurance underwriting.
- Nike advances 2.2% after Jefferies upgrades the stock to buy from hold, seeing the sportswear company being positioned for a strong recovery over the next two years.
- European food-delivery stocks gain after Prosus agreed to buy Just Eat Takeaway.com for €4.1 billion. Just Eat shares surge 53%. Deliveroo is up 6.5% in London while Delivery Hero is 7.2% higher in Frankfurt.
- Diagnostic kit makers and vaccine producers rallied in Asian trading. Researchers have discovered a new coronavirus in bats that enters cells using the same gateway as the virus that causes Covid-19.
- Hawaiian Electric slips 5.2% after the utility owner posted a loss. —Subrat Patnaik
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| Nvidia releases earnings on Wednesday, providing a key pulse-check on the AI economy. On Friday, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge is predicted to show the slowest advance since June. Here’s a round up of what else traders are watching. For the full list, check out the global week ahead. Tuesday: US consumer confidence data. Fed officials Tom Barkin and Michael Barr give speeches. South Korea is expected to cut interest rates. Germany publishes a GDP report. Home Depot reports earnings. Wednesday: Nvidia earnings. Fed presidents Jeff Schmid, Beth Hammack and Patrick Harker speak. Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors begin talks in Cape Town. Salesforce also reports earnings. Friday: Inflation data for the US, Japan, France, Italy and Germany. US trade data. Canada releases a GDP report. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon speak at Stanford University. | |
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| After soaring more than 50% over 2023 and 2024, the S&P 500 has largely flatlined since Trump’s inauguration. The hot trade is now moving overseas, with investors piling into European and Asian stocks. Since just before Trump took office, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index is up 5.8%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index, which tracks US-listed companies that do business in China, has soared 18%. In contrast, the S&P 500 gained a mere 0.3% in the period — with the underperformance intensified by Friday’s 1.7% swoon. “Because sentiment and positioning in US equities was so extreme for so long, this reversal can now go a long way,” said Brad Conger, who oversees about $20 billion as chief investment officer at Hirtle Callaghan.
Some Wall Street strategists disagree. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said he expects capital to return to US stocks, calling the S&P 500 the “the highest-quality index” with “the best earnings growth prospects.” “It’s premature to conclude the rotation away from the US is sustainable,” Wilson wrote in a note. —Esha Dey, Omar El Chmouri and Sagarika Jaisinghani | |
Word from Wall Street | | “If Berkshire had sent the Treasury a $1 million check every 20 minutes throughout all of 2024 – visualize 366 days and nights because 2024 was a leap year – we still would have owed the federal government a significant sum at yearend.” | | Warren Buffett Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway | | In his annual letter to investors, Buffett said the company paid $26.8 billion in taxes in 2024, a “record-shattering” figure that he said amounts to roughly 5% of the total taxes paid by US companies last year. Check out the full story here. | | |
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