All the major markets posted positive weekly results last week, with many breaking records, from Japan's Nikkei 225 to France's CAC40, including New York's three main benchmarks, the Dow Jones, S&P500 and Nasdaq 100. Other records include Nvidia's unprecedented capitalization increase of $277 billion in a single session on February 22.

I'm hard-pressed to find, in my professional memory anyway, a stock that has had such a powerful individual impact on the markets. It embodies AI, and commentators are starting to use terms like "messianic" or "cult " to describe the hype around the company on the stock market, and link the narrative to financial performance.

The market is going fast and financiers think the stock market train might be overheating and that it could all end badly. Yet they keep buying the locomotive and all the leading wagons.

Macroeconomic statistics will be making a comeback this week to compete a little with AI. On Thursday, we'll have preliminary inflation data for Germany and France for February, which will help fine-tune the ECB's monetary policy forecasts. Then, on Friday, there will be January PCE inflation in the US, a major indicator for the Fed. Many other data are scheduled, including consumer confidence indices, durable goods orders and a second reading of the latest US GDP and a few others. Salesforce, Broadcom, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Bouygues.... the pace of earnings releases is slowing, but there's still plenty to keep us busy.

Over the weekend, Warren Buffett said the boom is over, but Berkshire Hathaway is still a great company. Moody's withdrew the credit ratings of 11 Chinese companies, in a rare move that weighed on the country's indices this morning. Meanwhile, Donald Trump easily won the Republican primary in South Carolina, a state where his rival Nikki Haley was governor for six years.

In Asia-Pacific, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% at the close after taking Friday off for a public holiday. In China, Hong Kong lost 0.6% and Shanghai 1%. South Korea and India retreated by 0.5%, while Australia held its own, gaining 0.1%. European leading indicators are bearish. The French CAC40 is down 0.3%, the Swiss SMI is up 0.1% and the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.1%. Futures on the main three Wall Street indexes are just above zero.

Today's economic highlights:

US new housing data for January is today’s main indicator.

The dollar is down to EUR 0.9217 and GBP 0.7880. The ounce of gold is holding steady at USD 2033. Oil lost a little ground, with North Sea Brent at USD 81.25 a barrel and US light crude WTI at USD 76.15. The yield on 10-year US debt fell to 4.22%. Bitcoin trades at USD 51,500.

In corporate news:

  • Nvidia climbed a further 1.2% in pre-market trading on Monday, after crossing the symbolic $2,000 billion market capitalization threshold for the first time on Friday.
  • Domino’s Pizza jumped 5.4% in premarket trading after the group reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter like-for-like sales, thanks in particular to an overhaul of its loyalty program and a partnership with Uber Eats.
  • Berkshire Hathaway gains 5% in pre-market trading after Warren Buffett's group reports record operating income of $37.4 billion in 2023, thanks in particular to its insurance activities.
  • Alcoa - On Monday, the American aluminum producer offered its Australian partner Alumina to buy out its 40% stake in their joint venture Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) for $2.2 billion, believing that such a deal would open up more opportunities for growth. Alcoa loses 3% in pre-market trading.
  • Broadcom is close to an agreement to sell its end-user computing (EUC) division to private equity firm KKR for $3.8 billion, sources familiar with the matter reported on Saturday.
  • Goldman Sachs - Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, has signed a $1 billion agreement with the US bank to co-invest in private credit transactions in the Asia-Pacific region, the two companies announced on Monday.
  • United Airlines on Friday evening became the third major U.S. airline, after American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, to increase checked baggage fees on routes within North America.
  • Delta Air Lines asked the U.S. government on Friday to allow it to continue its partnership with Aeromexico, at the risk of having to cut nearly twenty routes.
  • Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Nvidia and other big names in new technologies are investing in the startup Figure AI, which is developing humanoid-like robots, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources informed of the matter.
  • Intuitive Machines plunged 35% in premarket trading after the lunar lander announced that its Odysseus module had overturned shortly after touching the lunar surface.
  • General Motors unveiled the model with which it plans to make its comeback in France, the "Lyriq", a premium electric SUV from the Cadillac brand.
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals climbs 5.5% in pre-market trading, as the Israeli pharmaceutical group and its partner Alvotech announce that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Simlandi, a biosimilar of Humira, AbbVie’s treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
  • In a blog, Facebook owner Meta announced his intention to set up a team dedicated to combating misinformation and the misuse of generative artificial intelligence in the run-up to the European elections on June 6-9.

Analyst recommendations:

  • Albemarle Corporation: Baptista Research downgrades to outperform from buy with a price target reduced from USD 190 to USD 140.60.
  • Abbvie Inc.: Berenberg maintains its hold recommendation with a price target raised from USD 135 to USD 170.
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Baptista Research downgrades to outperform from buy with a price target reduced from USD 217 to USD 181.
  • Applied Materials, Inc.: Baptista Research upgrades to outperform from hold with a price target raised from USD 160.30 to USD 217.80.
  • Avalonbay Communities, Inc.: Morgan Stanley upgrades to overwt from equalwt with a price target raised from USD 175 to USD 191.50.
  • Avantor, Inc.: Baptista Research downgrades to hold from buy with a price target reduced from USD 27.70 to USD 27.40.
  • Celanese Corporation: Piper Sandler & Co upgrades to overweight from neutral with a price target raised from USD 135 to USD 170.
  • Cf Industries Holdings, Inc.: Baptista Research downgrades to hold from buy with a price target reduced from USD 99 to USD 84.20.
  • Doordash, Inc.: Baptista Research maintains its hold recommendation with a price target raised from USD 104.50 to USD 128.70.
  • Eli Lilly And Company: CTBC Securities Investment Service Co LTD upgrades to buy from add with a price target raised from USD 678 to USD 936.
  • Fleetcor Technologies, Inc.: Baptista Research upgrades to outperform from hold with a price target raised from USD 299.10 to USD 321.80.
  • Genuine Parts Company: Baptista Research downgrades to hold from outperform with a price target reduced from USD 173.30 to USD 155.40.
  • Moderna, Inc.: HSBC downgrades to reduce from hold with a price target raised from USD 75 to USD 86.
  • Rivian Automotive, Inc.: Barclays maintains its equalweight recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 16 to USD 12. Stifel maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 23 to USD 18.
  • The Trade Desk, Inc.: Baptista Research upgrades to outperform from hold with a price target raised from USD 77 to USD 99.
  • Udr Inc.: Morgan Stanley downgrades to equal weight from overweight with a target price of USD 37.
  • Ventas, Inc.: Wells Fargo downgrades to equalweight from overweight with a price target reduced from USD 52 to USD 46.
  • Zebra Technologies Corporation: Baptista Research downgrades to hold from outperform with a price target raised from USD 251 to USD 297.
  • Asos Plc: Societe Generale downgrades to hold from buy with a price target reduced from GBX 432 to GBX 406.
  • Halma Plc: HSBC downgrades to hold from buy with a price target raised from GBP 24 to GBP 25.
  • Hiscox Ltd: Peel Hunt upgrades to buy from add with a price target raised from GBX 1330 to GBX 1340.
  • Walmart Inc.: Oppenheimer maintains its outperform rating and reduces the target price from USD 200 to USD 67. Deutsche Bank maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 207 to USD 69.