Stock Market Futures Gain As Investors Buy Into Recent Weakness In Markets
U.S. stock futures are advancing in early morning trading on Friday this week. This comes as investors continue to digest the latest batch of information on the U.S. economy. To recap, earlier this week, the Federal Reserve moved to raise its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points. As it stands, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggests that the next rate hike in July would be one of 50 or 75 basis points. Even so, as investors look to navigate the current market conditions, things remain uncertain.
Weighing in on this is Julian Emanuel, senior managing director at Evercore (NYSE: EVR). He argues, “‘Clear and convincing’ evidence of moderating inflation has yet to materialize … Further volatility is likely with the Fed firmly data dependent.” Furthermore, Emanuel adds, “Ideally, this will include equities reflecting signs of capitulation, the groundwork for ‘a’ bottom is being laid.” Whether or not you agree with him on this, here’s how the key U.S. stock index futures are doing today. As of 5:34 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are rising by 0.78%, 0.93%, and 1.16% respectively.
Roku And Walmart Partner Up On One-Of-A-Kind Streaming Platform E-Commerce Ad Experience
Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) appears to be in the limelight following its latest move on the operational end. Getting straight into it, the company is teaming up with Walmart (NYSE: WMT) on the advertisement front. Through the current collaboration, the duo are bringing a first-of-its-kind e-commerce marketing solution. In detail, Roku will run interactive Walmart ads on its streaming platform via its ad-buying platform for TV streaming, OneView. The likes of which enable viewers to buy products in ads immediately. According to Roku, this service “evolves shopping beyond the QR code and will change the way customers interact and shop TV and video content.”
Overall, the ad solution brings a new level of product discovery alongside seamless checkout experience, allowing near instant purchases. Speaking on this in further detail is Walmart’s chief marketing officer, William White. He starts by saying, “We’re working to connect with customers where they are already spending time, shortening the distance from discovery and inspiration to purchase.” White continues, “No one has cracked the code around video shopability. By working with Roku, we’re the first to market retailer to bring customers a new shoppable experience and seamless checkout on the largest screen in their homes – their TV.”
On the whole, this new advertisement method could make Roku a more attractive ad partner for companies now. In an age when retailers continue to refocus their ad campaigns towards the digital space, this could be the case. With all this in mind, I could see both ROKU stock and WMT stock gaining attention in the stock market today.
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United States Steel In Focus After Providing Record Second Quarter Guidance
Another name to consider in the stock market today would be United States Steel (NYSE: X) or US Steel, for short. For the most part, this is thanks to the company updating its latest guidance for the current quarter. According to the press release, US Steel is anticipating an adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion for its second quarter. Should this be the case, it would mark a new “all-time best second quarter performance,” according to US Steel. Also, the company adds that it forecasts an earnings per share of between $3.83 and $3.88. To put things into perspective, the consensus figure on Wall Street is an earnings per share of $3.29.
Following US Steel’s seemingly positive update, X stock would likely gain momentum at the opening bell today. Providing an overview on this is US Steel’s CEO David Burritt. Burritt highlights that US Steel’s “broad end market exposure,” and diverse customer base are key factors for the company’s resilience. This, he states, alongside the “continued realization of significantly increased fixed price contracts is again expected to generate another quarter of record performance.” Because of all this, X stock could be worth checking out in the stock market now.
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TSM Aims To Employ Most Advanced Version Of ASML’s Cutting-Edge Chipmaking Tool By 2024
In other news, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) appears to be hard at work updating its operations. Namely, this would be apparent from the company’s latest update regarding its manufacturing instruments. In essence, TSM indicates that it aims to acquire the next iteration of ASML Holding’s (NASDAQ: ASML) industry-leading chipmaking tools by 2024. For some context, the tool in question is a “high-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV)” that creates beams of focused light. This light then serves to create the microscopic circuitry on chips that are crucial components in phones, laptops, cars, and artificial intelligence (AI) devices.
By pushing for the acquisition of this tech by 2024, TSM would be looking to get ahead of its competitors. For reference, TSM rival Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is currently expecting to use this tech in its production lines by 2025. According to TSM’s SVP of research & development, Y.J. Mii, the new scanners will help to “develop the associated infrastructure and patterning solution needed for customers to fuel innovation.” As a result, it would not surprise me to see TSM stock making headlines at the opening bell later today.
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China’s Tech Regulation Getting More ‘Rational’
It’s no secret that Beijing has enacted sweeping regulations on its internet industry over the past 16 months. Such a move had contributed to billions of dollars of market value of top Chinese stocks being wiped off. Despite the massive declines that have made shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI) more compelling, investors may still be nervous when it comes to buying Chinese stocks. But the good news is, regulatory action appears to be getting less intense.
Having said that, it may not be a bad idea to take a step back and look at the growth of these Chinese companies. For instance, Alibaba’s growth rate remains healthy for its e-commerce and cloud computing businesses. And the broader trend of digitalization is here to stay. Therefore, it’s understandable why some investment banks are bullish on Chinese stocks in the stock market today. For instance, both Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) are optimistic on Chinese stocks amid attractive valuations and reasonable growth.
Providing further insight on this is JD.com’s (NASDAQ: JD) CEO Xin Lijun. “In fact, each country follows the same path when developing a certain areas, China and U.S. included, which is to encourage innovation and provide a loose environment at the early stages, and then conduct moderate regulation when the sector develops to a certain level. Thus I wouldn’t say regulation is loosening. I’d say regulation is conducted in a more rational way.” What’s more, the government is also introducing massive policies to help spur economic growth. Thus, would you be putting up a list of top Chinese stocks to buy for the second half of the year?
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