Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher by 400 points. This comes after Russia appears to be withdrawing some of its military, signaling that it is backing away from an immediate invasion of Ukraine. The stock market has been under pressure from the possibility of a Russia-Ukraine war in the last few days. Fears that Russia was about to trigger an all-out war would have sent shockwaves to the market. Coupled with red hot inflation and potential economic disruptions, investors certainly are on edge right now.
Today, news broke that Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) and Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) are in talks for a merger, according to people who were familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Accordingly, the agreement could be reached within weeks if the talks go well. Also, Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR) reported both revenue and earnings beat. It beat earnings by 4 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 74 cents per share.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are up 1.30% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also up by 1.61%. 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading mixed on Tuesday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) ticked higher at 0.01% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) also opened higher at 1.36%.
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are up by 3.89% on Tuesday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) are also up by 2.15% and 2.33% respectively today. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) ticked higher at 3.99% and 3.10% respectively.
Dow Jones Today: 10-Year Treasury Yields Breaches 2% after Producer Price Index Release
Following the stock market opening on Tuesday, the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow are trading higher by 1.28%, 1.41%, and 1.66% respectively. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is up by 1.60% on Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) is gaining by 1.17%.
Today, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 2% again after yet another hot inflation report. It is now at the highest levels since 2019. Investors will be following closely on the matter. Also, they will be watching Tuesday’s Senate Banking Committee vote on President Joe Biden’s slate of Fed nominees. This includes Jerome Power as Fed chairman for a second term.
Diving in on the producer price index that was released today, wholesale prices rose 1% in January and 9.7% in the last 12 month period, near record highs. The producer price index measures final-demand goods and services. Excluding food, energy, and trade services, core PPI increased by 0.9% for the month, well ahead of the 0.4% estimate. The increase in prices comes amid record levels of inflation across the economy, with consumer prices running at a 40-year high.
Global Semiconductor Sales Top Half A Trillion Dollars
On Monday, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said that in 2021, global semiconductor industry sales reached a record $555.9 billion, increasing by 26.2% year-over-year. Also, the industry shipped a record 1.15 trillion semiconductor units last year.
“In 2021, amid the ongoing global chip shortage, semiconductor companies substantially ramped up production to unprecedented levels to address persistently high demand, resulting in record chip sales and units shipped,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “Demand for semiconductor production is projected to rise significantly in the years ahead, as chips become even more heavily embedded in the essential technologies of now and the future.” This comes as governments around the globe scramble to secure chip supplies and invest to bring the manufacturing of chips closer to home.
[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today February 15, 2022
Tower Semiconductor Surges As Intel Confirms $5.4 Billion Acquisition; AMD Completes Xilinx Takeover
Semiconductor stocks appear to be making prominent plays in the stock market today as well. This is evident from both Tower Semiconductor’s (NASDAQ: TSEM) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) latest announcements. For starters, TSEM is surging by over 40% today thanks to news of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) acquiring the firm. As of earlier today, Intel will be purchasing TSEM for $5.4 billion. Safe to say, the current movement in TSEM stock is from investors looking to leverage the current acquisition news.
On the flip side, long-term investors could be eyeing INTC stock now as well. This would be the case as the TSEM acquisition serves to benefit Intel significantly. After all, we are amid a global chip shortage. For one thing, Intel’s latest move would be in-line with CEO Pat Gelsinger’s ongoing focus on bolstering production capacities. Through TSEM, the company would be gaining a strong foundation in the specialty tech fields. This includes but is not limited to radio frequency and industrial sensor hardware. Additionally, Intel is also planning to invest up to $100 billion towards building its mega-factory complex in Ohio.
Secondly, AMD is also in the news now as a result of the completion of its Xilinx purchase. To point out, this chip giant is acquiring Xilinx for about $50 billion, a record deal for the industry. Commenting on the all-stock transaction is CEO Dr Lisa Su. She notes that AMD is gaining access to “a highly complementary set of products, customers and markets combined with differentiated IP and world-class talent to create the industry’s high-performance and adaptive computing leader.” After considering all of this, semiconductor stocks could be a hot sector to watch today.
[Read More] Good Stocks To Invest In Right Now? 4 Semiconductor Stocks To Check Out
Virgin Galactic Soars First Reservations For Commercial Space Flight Services Open
Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) seems to be shooting for the moon at today’s opening bell. This is apparent from SPCE stock’s sizable gains of 13.10% out the gate. For the most part, the current movement in SPCE stock is likely due to Virgin Galactic opening up reservations for its first few commercial space flights. According to the company, the limited opportunity will be available starting February 16. For now, the price for a ticket to space is a cool $450,000, starting with an initial deposit of $150,000. In the larger scheme of things, Virgin Galactic is expecting to have its first 1,000 customers on board once operations kickoff in late 2022.
Through the current set of reservations, potential buyers will have access to Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut membership community. The likes of which are curated to provide clients with “money-can’t-buy experiences, events, trips and space-readiness activities while they await their spaceflight.” In detail, the flights will launch from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company also notes this begins with several days of spaceflight preparedness activities. With Virgin Galactic kicking into high gear on the operational end, I can understand the hype with SPCE stock now.
If you enjoyed this article and you’re interested in learning how to trade so you can have the best chance to profit consistently then you need to checkout this YouTube channel. CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!
