Meta Platforms Sees Early Positive Signs
The price target for Meta Platforms was raised by Morgan Stanley analysts on Wednesday from $100 to $130 per share.
In the extensive research paper, they advised investors that bigger platforms like Meta should be given preference due to the growing significance of AI investment and potential short- and long-term effects on engagement and monetization.
Meta stock (NASDAQ:META) dropped 1.73% in value on Wednesday’s trading session amid market-wide stock selloffs to the current price of $133 apiece, currently surpassing Morgan Stanley’s projection.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
On Thursday, employees in France will strike in an effort to stop a proposed pension reform that would raise the retirement age by two years to 64. Trains will be disrupted, schools will be closed, and businesses will be shut down. The national day of strikes and protests will put President Emmanuel Macron and the unions to the test. According to opinion polls, the majority of French citizens oppose the reform that the government claims is necessary to prevent the pension system from collapsing.
Argentina will buy back over $1 billion in foreign bonds to improve its debt profile, Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced on Wednesday, hoping to send a positive signal to markets despite low reserves levels. The program is scheduled to begin immediately as the nation looks to take advantage of what the minister called a "window of opportunity," and it will concentrate on dollar-denominated sovereign notes maturing in 2029 and 2030.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar lost stability while the yen recovered as speculators increased their bets that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would abandon its yield curve control policy. The dollar index which measures the value of the dollar greenback against a basket of six other currencies fell by 0.09% to 102.002.
GOLD
Gold prices slightly recovered on Thursday morning from a two-day decline amid growing uncertainty over a potential recession and the direction of U.S. monetary policy, while the price of copper remained stable amid rising hopes for a Chinese economic recovery. Gold futures rose by 0.30% to $1,912 per ounce.
OIL
Oil futures fell nearly $1 on Thursday’s early trading session, extending losses from the previous day as a surprise increase in U.S. crude stocks weighed on the market, exacerbated by disappointing U.S. retail sales and output data. Brent crude futures dropped by 0.96% to $84.19 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate plunged by 1.22% to $78.91 a barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 -1.56%, Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.81%, Nasdaq Composite -1.27%
Europe: FTSE 100 -0.36%, DAX -0.45%, CAC 40 -0.44%
Asia: Nikkei 225 -1.44%, Hang Seng -0.11%, CSI 300 +0.62%, Nifty 50 -0.24%
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About $8 billion of Intel’s market value was lost on Friday as a result of the American chipmaker's gloomy earnings forecasts, which stoked concerns about a downturn in the personal computer market.
The business also struggled with slowing growth in the data center industry, which contributed to its first-quarter surprise loss forecast and $3 billion below-estimated revenue forecast.
Morgan Stanley has fined employees who use messaging apps like WhatsApp and others for work-related communications, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The fines, which ranged from a few thousand dollars to over $1 million per employee, were established by taking into account various elements, including the quantity of messages sent, seniority, and whether or not they had previously been warned.