Displaying items by tag: nasdaq

Technology stocks have had an excellent 2024, driven by the growing demand for AI services and digital transformation. Generative AI has spurred substantial investments from major tech companies like Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft. 

This surge in demand is also benefiting the semiconductor industry, with global sales expected to grow by 16% in 2024, reaching $611.2 billion. As the tech sector continues to thrive, the Nasdaq Composite has gained over 26% year-to-date, with the momentum expected to continue into 2025. 

Stocks such as American Superconductor, Vertiv, Toast, and Impinj have seen impressive gains and are well-positioned to capitalize on the ongoing growth in AI and technology. These companies, with strong growth prospects, have become attractive investment opportunities amid the sector's favorable outlook.

Finsum: There still seems to be positive momentum for AI technology now but its medium-term outlook to be profitable still is suspect. 

Last week, the Nasdaq made an all-time high pushing past its previous highs from January 2022. This was before the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive campaign of rate hikes to curb inflation. In one respect, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is playing catch-up with the S&P 500 which has been setting new record highs over the last couple of months and is now more than 10% above its January 2022 levels.

While a major component of these advances is due to the strength in the 7 largest technology stocks and frenzy around the AI boom, it’s worth noting that the equal-weighted indices for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also made new, all-time highs as well. It’s an indication that the bull market is expanding in terms of participation. It also leads to the conclusion that the market is strong from a bottom-up perspective as well.

Another way to assess the market’s strength from a bottom-up perspective is corporate earnings. With Q4 earnings season nearly in the books, it’s clear that earnings remain robust despite a host of macro headwinds. So far, 97% of S&P 500 companies have reported. 73% topped earnings expectations, while 64% exceeded revenue estimates. Overall, earnings were up 4% compared to last year, marking the second consecutive quarter of earnings growth, validating the bullishness of investors. 

Finsum: The stock market is making all-time highs consistently in 2024. The strength goes beyond the ascendant tech sector as equal-weighted indices are hitting new highs, while corporate earnings continue to grow despite an array of headwinds. 

American Century Investments recently launched its newest active ETF, the American Century Short Duration Strategic Income ETF (SDSI). The fund, which now trades on the NASDAQ, will seek to generate attractive yield by investing across multiple fixed-income market segments that maintain a short-duration focus. The fund invests in both investment-grade and high-yield, non-money market debt securities. This could include corporate bonds and notes, government securities, and securities backed by mortgages or other assets. SDSI is a transparent active ETF with an expense ratio of 0.32%. The fund management team includes Jason Greenblath, Charles Tan, Jeffrey Houston, CFA, and Peter Van Gelderen. Ed Rosenberg, American Century's head of ETFs, noted that "SDSI expands our existing Short Duration Strategic Income capabilities to an actively managed ETF. The Short Duration Strategic Income ETF seeks to complement an investor's core bond holdings with high current income, broad diversification, and the potential to mitigate the impact of rising rates."

Finsum: American Century continues to build up its active ETF lineup with the addition of the American Century Short Duration Strategic Income ETF.

ARK Innovation is one of the leading model portfolios and has become a household name in the last year, but it looks like the bubble has finally popped or at least deflated. Huge losses in big holders like Zoom, Teladoc Health, and Roku are down over 30% and the only thing keeping the fund floating has been a stellar Tesla performance. This has many investors worried about the broader market because equity prices are inflated. Furthermore, the gap between large-cap growth stocks and smaller caps is as wide as it has been since 2000. Maybe this means an equity bubble could pop, but it could just mean small caps have more value now than ever.

FINSUM: High P/E ratios should have investors cautious at the very least. If the Fed threatens to huff and puff anymore the whole house could come down!

(San Francisco)

The Fed has continued to reiterate low rate accommodations…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site