All 21 of the Nasdaq's largest capitalizations rose yesterday, allowing the tech index to resume its role as a powerhouse and propel several global markets to spikes. From May onwards, the intensity often tends to drop on financial markets, as earnings releases become rarer. Overall, indexes’ path have flattened a bit and volumes on US equity markets hit a yearly low yesterday, according to Bloomberg. This does not mean that nothing is happening.

Investors have regained a taste for technology stocks and have shunned the more defensive stocks, notably utilities and healthcare. However, the trend is yet to be fully reversed. For the record, Amazon's rebound yesterday (1.3%) allowed Jeff Bezos to regain his title as the richest man in the world. Before the opening of Wall Street, it was Bernard Arnault who was on top thanks to the 0.9% increase of LVMH. The two men "weigh" about $188 billion according to the Forbes ranking. The first thanks to its 10.2% of the online merchant, the second via nearly half of the capital of the luxury giant. The Frenchman has closed the gap on the American thanks to a 25% rise in LVMH's share price this year, while Amazon's share price was stagnating. There is a lot to say about the interest of these rankings and the fact that they only include the tip of the iceberg, but this gives an idea of the amounts involved. And it illustrates the importance of technology and luxury goods on stock markets. 

Earlier today, the Chinese stock market signed a two-month high after a very positive session for the CSI300, the mainland broad index. A recovery that is not insignificant for a market that has been at the back of the pack since the beginning of the year. It seems that inflationary fears are receding.

 

Economic highlights of the day:

Today on the agenda in Europe, we have Germany’s Q1 GDP the Ifo business confidence index in Germany. In the U.S., the FHFA home price index for March, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for May, the Conference Board consumer confidence index for May and new home sales for April.

The dollar is trading at EUR 0.8158. The ounce of gold is stagnating around 1880 USD. Oil rallies to USD 68.35 a barrel of Brent and USD 65.82 a barrel of WTI. US debt is yielding 1.6% over 10 years. Bitcoin is losing some ground to USD 37,184.

 

On markets:

* Apple - The federal judge in charge of the lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games appeared sensitive Monday in her findings to the arguments of the Fortnite publisher, which blames the tech giant for the management of its app store.

* Alphabet - The German competition authority announced on Tuesday the opening of an investigation to determine whether Google's local subsidiary, its Irish subsidiary and the parent company were abusing their market position in the use of users' personal data.

* The Boeing Company gains 0.8% in pre-market trading after aircraft leasing group SMBC orders 14 more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

* Lordstown Motors - The electric vehicle maker announced Monday night that production of its Endurance pickup this year would be less than half of the original forecast and that it needed additional capital to get its plans off the ground. The stock fell 16.3% in pre-market trading.

* KE Holdings, China's largest real estate broker, affiliated with Tencent and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is the target of an investigation by Chinese authorities who suspect it of anti-competitive practices, two sources close to the case said. The stock lost 4.4% in pre-market trading.

 

Analyst recommendations:

  • Albireo Pharma : HC Wainwright adjusts price to $76 From $75, maintains Buy rating
  • Deere & Company : Oppenheimer Adjusts Deere & Company PT to $418 From $416 on Higher 2022 EPS Estimates, Maintains Outperform Rating
  • easyJet: JP Morgan retains his Neutral opinion on the stock. The target price remains unchanged at GBp 845.
  • Endeavor : Piper Sandler initiates coverage with Overweight rating, $35 Price Target
  • IMAX Corporation: Benchmark adjusts Imax' PT to $25 from $24, keeps Buy rating
  • Just Eat Takeaway.com: Credit Suisse research considers the stock attractive and recommends it with a Buy rating. The target price is lowered from GBp 12400 to GBp 11000. 
  • L'Oréal: J.P. Morgan remains Overweight with target raised to EUR 390 from EUR 320.
  • Marvell Technology : Piper Sandler lowers PT on Marvell Technology Group to $55 From $50, maintains Overweight rating
  • MJ Gleeson: Berenberg remains Buy with target price raised to GBP 900 from GBP 840.
  • NGM Biopharmaceuticals : Raymond James downgrades to Outperform From Strong Buy, adjusts PT to $22 From $52
  • Oasis Petroleum : MKM Partners changes PT to $107 From $103, keeps Buy rating
  • Royal Mail: Peel Hunt upgrades from hold to buy with a target of GBP 680.
  • Stifel upgrades Trainline from buy to hold with a target of GBp 330.
  • T-Mobile US : HSBC changes PT to $139 From $132, stays Hold 
  • Verizon Communications : HSBC adjust price to $62 From $58, maintains Hold rating
  • Visa : Daiwa upgrades Visa to Outperform From Neutral, Price Target is $259