Microsoft Eclipses Apple to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company
Most stock markets edged higher last week as investors took advantage of recent weakness to pick up stocks on cheaper valuations. The blue-chip S&P 500 and technology focussed Nasdaq gained 0.4% and 0.9% respectively.
The Nasdaq was boosted by the performance of companies with exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Microsoft whose shares rose 5.6%, enabling to edge past Apple to become the word’s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of $2.9 trillion.
The software giant’s investment into ChatGPT, the developer of OpenAI, has been enthusiastically received by investors whilst Apple has lagged behind this year on the back of analyst downgrades for the stock, reflecting concerns over weaker iPhone sales, particularly in China.
Nvidia (+11.4%) is off to an even faster start than last year in which its shares gained nearly 240%. Its chips are regarded as the best of breed for performing complex AI tasks and last week it unveiled three new chips with extra components that will enable gamers and designers to access AI at home or in the office without having to send information to the cloud.
Away from tech, leading Wall Street banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase kicked off fourth quarter earnings reporting season on Friday. All beat consensus analyst forecasts, benefitting from higher interest rates.
JPMorgan reported record full-year net profits of $49.6 billion and its net-interest income (NII) of $24.2 billion for the fourth quarter also set a record. NII is the difference between what banks pay on deposits and earn from loans and other assets.
In the earnings call, CEO Jamie Dimon hailed the resilience of the US economy which has enabled consumers to continue to spend, but warned that inflation may be sticky, meaning interest rates may not fall as quickly as markets are expecting.
Closer to home, shares in Burberry have fallen by 11% since it issued a profits warning on Friday. The British luxury fashion house revealed that it expects operating profit to be at the lower end of its forecast range of £552 to £668 million due to a weaker December trading period. Sales in the 13 weeks in December were £706 million, 7% lower than in the same period last year.
Burberry is not alone. Shares in its peer group, including LVMH, Kering and Richemont, have unperformed the broader market over the past 6 months on concerns over falling demand for luxury goods due to the higher cost of living in the West and the lacklustre post-pandemic recovery in China, the key growth market for the luxury industry.
Cryptocurrencies were back in the headlines as the first listed Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, a day after the Securities and Exchange Commission had given its approval. More than $4.5 billion was traded across the 10 ETFs on their long-awaited debut, led by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust which account for around half the total volume, followed by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
In economic news, the UK economy returned to growth (+0.3%) in November, supported by an uptick in activity in the services sector. It was also aided by fewer strikes and strong Black Friday sales with shoppers hunting for bargains.
Brent Crude rose by $2 to $78 a barrel after Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Bard al-Din al-Houthi vowed to retaliate US and UK strikes on militant positions in Yemen. Some of the world’s largest tanker operators have suspended journeys through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, rerouting shipments from the Middle East to Europe around Africa.
(Cover Image Source: Matthew Manuel)