US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday as investors looked to the latest Federal Reserve minutes to provide insight into the economy amid a shutdown-driven dearth of data.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-dominated Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) all moved up roughly 0.2%.
Last week, the September jobs report wasn’t released as scheduled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures would normally give investors a sense of the Fed’s next moves, considering the labor market plays a central role in its policy decisions.
Gold (GC=F) futures continued to rise after topping $4,000 an ounce mark for the first time on Tuesday, marking a doubling in value in just two years. Prices have pushed higher amid fears over the US economy, accelerated recently by the federal government shutdown.
The federal stoppage, now in its seventh day, continues to breed uncertainty. So far, no end to the gridlock in Washington is in sight with President Trump backing Republicans’ stance that no negotiations will be made with Democrats on the healthcare subsidies they hope to extend until the government is reopened. At the same time, Trump has threatened to withhold back pay for furloughed Federal workers.
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Goldman says we aren’t in a stock market bubble — yet
Big fan of the work from Goldman Sachs strategist Peter Oppenheimer.
So when he posts something today with the headline: “Why we are not in a bubble … yet” it certainly gets my attention.
Here’s how Oppenheimer is thinking through this:
SoftBank to buy ABB’s robotics business in $5.4 billion deal
SoftBank (SFTBY, 9984.T) has agreed to buy ABB’s (ABBN.SW, ABBNY) robotics unit in a $5.4 billion deal with the Swiss engineering giant.
The move is seen as furthering the Japanese conglomerate’s focusing on marrying hardware with AI.
The Fed’s rate debate rages on as central bank flies blind in shutdown
Fed officials are still split about how much to cut interest rates as the government shutdown deprives policymakers of key data, with some worried more about inflation and others more concerned about the job market.
The newest Fed governor appointed by President Trump, Stephen Miran, and Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid reflected this division in speeches this week.
Intel’s (INTC) stock is up a sizzling 90% in the past six months. It’s definitely not because of strong performance.
The veteran chipmaker can now count Nvidia (NVDA) and the US government as major investors. More investment deals are likely, but the Street is beginning to view Intel’s stock as too lofty, valuation-wise, even given its new high-profile investors.
HSBC analyst Frank Lee is out this morning with a reality check on Intel. He downgraded his rating on the company to Reduce from Hold.
He lays out why:
Nvidia to invest in Musk’s xAI as part of $20 billion funding
Elon Musk’s xAI (XAAI.PVT) is raising more financing than it initially planned, with Nvidia (NVDA) one of the backers tapped to lift ongoing funding to $20 billion, per Bloomberg.
The financing scheme will buy Nvidia chips and rent them to the AI startup for use in its upcoming Colossus 2 data center megaproject in Memphis, sources said.
Nvidia has pledged to invest up to $2 billion in the equity part of the deal. The AI chipmaker’s shares traded slightly higher in Wednesday’s premarket after the report.
Confluent stock rises as data streaming software maker explores sale
Confluent shares rose 18% in premarket trading on Wednesday after announcing it is exploring a sale due to attracting acquisition interest, according to people familiar with the matter.
