Nvidia surpasses the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq is near records

Live5 updates

• Thu June 6, 2024 at 9:33 a.m. EDT

  Stocks stabilize as Nvidia advances

  U.S. stocks were little changed Thursday morning following a tech-fueled rally that sent the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) to record highs.

  Nvidia (NVDA) opened slightly higher after the AI ​​darling surpassed the $3 trillion market cap level in the previous session.

  On Thursday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hovered around the flat line while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged lower. The Nasdaq rose about 0.1%.

  Investors have their eyes glued to the highly anticipated jobs report which will be released Friday morning.

• Thu, June 6, 2024 at 8:55 a.m. EDT

  Commercial PC market rebounds

  Two make a trend in my books.

  Recent results from major PC makers suggest the commercial PC market is finally rebounding.

  Loop Capital's John Donovan published a note this morning providing more insight into the emerging trend:

  “The deeper we delve into this sector, frankly, the news and updates become more and more exciting. All the ingredients are there for a long and extended refresh cycle. Among the contributions are the finalization of return to work doctrines, an extensive and prolonged process the lack of upgrades since the pandemic (this also plays to some extent on the consumer side), the switch from Windows 10 to 11 – and this leads to growing optimism Add to that the simple fact. that PC AI solutions will undoubtedly outperform ASPs, especially on the business side, and the optimism seems realistic that enterprise upgrades simply cannot take the “good route.” market”, as AI innovations would make “just good enough solutions” obsolete, as we see a roadmap to an “overbought” level in the near future. More good news for PC builders. »

  Here's what Enrique Lores, CEO of HP Inc. (HPQ), told me about this rebound.

• Thu, June 6, 2024 at 7:44 a.m. EDT

  A new face on Walmart's board of directors

  A significant new side hustle for one of the fast food industry's most popular CEOs.

  Chipotle (CMG) CEO Brian Niccol has officially been elected as a director to Walmart's (WMT) board of directors. He is now the fifth new independent director appointed by Walmart since 2017, CEO Doug McMillon said Wednesday morning before the shareholder vote.

  Niccol replaces longtime board member Rob Walton (son of Walmart founder Sam Walton), who retired Wednesday.

  This isn't Niccol's first rodeo as a board member outside of Chipotle's confines. He previously served on the boards of KB Home (KBH) and Harley-Davidson (HOG).

  The addition of Niccol makes perfect sense.

  Chipotle and Walmart have seen success in recent years as value-conscious consumers seek out items they believe will save them money. Niccol also led the charge in digital ordering at Chipotle, while McMillon led a digital renaissance at Walmart.

  While other food chains struggled to maintain high traffic last quarter, Chipotle saw its same-store sales increase 7%, thanks in part to Niccol's efforts.

  A similar atmosphere at Walmart: its same-store sales in the United States increased by 3.9% year-on-year.

  Shares of the burrito chain are up nearly 38% year to date, while shares of Walmart are up more than 26%. It's also worth noting that Walmart recently did a 3-for-1 stock split, while Chipotle is awaiting shareholder approval for its 50-for-1 split.

• Thu June 6, 2024 at 5:53 a.m. EDT

  Hey, before you get excited about this Lululemon neighborhood

  The bears attacked Lululemon (LULU) stock ahead of its earnings release last night, giving me a 9% premarket surge on results that weren't that brutal.

  But this was by no means a typical Lululemon quarter (strong double-digit growth in every division), and the positive reaction may be overblown.

  What is concerning is that the Americas division's comparable sales remained unchanged from the previous year. The company flagged failures to customers with colors, which is generally not a good sign of future demand. (I used to cover the stock as an analyst – trust me, it's not a good indicator.)

  “We advise investors to be sellers regardless of strength. The Lululemon brand and its fundamentals have reached, in our view, a peak and we foresee relentless competition ahead,” Randal Konik, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a customer note this morning.

  Konik reiterated an underperform rating on the stock.

  This makes a lot of sense.

• Thu, June 6, 2024 at 5:44 a.m. EDT

  It's good to learn AI terminology

  If you are considering investing in AI, it is advisable to understand the jargon.

  And that includes yours, which doesn't invest in AI but writes far more about it than I would have expected ten years ago.

  A helpful overview of the topic of “liquid cooling” below in my conversation with Antonio Neri, CEO of HPE (HPE), on Yahoo Finance Live. I think you'll hear more about it, given the power generated by new AI chips.

  I also found what Neri said about Nvidia (NVDA) interesting.