Buzz on Business for June 19^th, 2024

NVIDIA, the longtime maker of Graphics Processing Units, whose chips have become an essential element of the Artificial Intelligence revolution, became the most valuable company in the world by market cap yesterday—the stock was up 3.50% on the session—replacing Microsoft at the top spot.

This got us to thinking of back to the good ole days when we first got our securities license in March of 1987. Oh my, how things have changed.

In 1987, IBM was the largest business by market capitalization. The Top Five were, after IBM, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Dupont and AT&T. We found this a bit amusing. None remain in the Top Five. Only Exxon Mobil exists as it did then. It’s still in the Top Ten but way down the list. The others, well, they’re not really players.

The Top Five today, after NVIDIA are, as we said, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, which is Google, and Amazon. In 1987, NVIDA, Google and Amazon didn’t even exist.

The next time you see one of those analysts on TV, in some article, or in an email that happens to get through the spam filter, pontificating about “Ten Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Rest of Your Life,” you should do what we do here at World Headquarters: Laugh your butt off.

Stock Market Report

Stocks were up across the board on Tuesday. It wasn’t the strongest rally we’ve ever seen but volume was up, still below average but up and advancing stocks beat out decliners, not by much but a win is a win. And we’ll take it.

• The Dow Jones Industrials were up fifteen-one hundredths of a percent, that comes to fifty-seven points on the Dow, and they closed at 38,835.
• The S&P 500 was up 0.25%, that’s fourteen points, and it closed at 5,487, a new all-time high.
• The NASDAQ Composite was up a minuscule five points, basically flat, and it closed at 17,862, likewise a new all-time high.
• And the Russell 2000 also had a small gain. It was up three points, two-tenths and closed at 2,025.

Bond Market Report

Rates were down across the board yesterday.

• The yield on the 2-year treasury was off five basis points and it closed at 4.718%
• The 20-year was likewise off five ticks, and it now yields 4.472%

Oil, Gold, and Bitcoin

• Oil was up again. It’s back above $80 a barrel. It closed at $80.72 for a gain of $0.80.
• Gold managed a small gain. It was up $9.20, and a troy ounce now changes hands at $2,344.20.
• And Bitcoin was off $2,220.16 and at 4:00 PM ET stood at $64,495.76.

Economic News Mixed—As Usual?

As it has tended to be in recent months, the economic news was mixed on Tuesday.

Industrial Production surprised to the upside in May—pretty dramatically, in our view. Given Monday’s Empire State Manufacturing Index which likewise came in above expectations, maybe, just maybe manufacturing is serious this time! We’ll see.

Not so much the Consumer Spending figures. Expectations were that Core Retail Sales increased in May by 0.20%. Instead, they decreased by 0.10%. That’s the lowest reading for Retail Sales since February and several prior months were revised downward. Consumer Spending is an outsized part of the US economy so this trend, if it’s a trend bears watching.

Markets are closed today for the Juneteenth holiday. So, nothing on either the economic or earnings calendar and everyone here at the Ministry of Truth is taking the day off, so we won’t have an episode of this podcast for you tomorrow.

But we’ll be back bright and early and ready to go Friday morning, so, our advice is for you to keep it right here on the Buzz.