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Stock Futures Muted as More Inflation Data Rolls In

November's PCE reading came in slightly higher than expected

Deputy Editor
Dec 23, 2022 at 9:21 AM
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Stock futures are muted this morning, as investors digest November's core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index that rose 4.7% year-over-year -- slightly more than analysts expected. Meanwhile, the latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) poll showed short-term bearishness hit a nine-week high. Following yesterday's steep losses, only the blue-chip index is pacing for a small weekly win.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

  • The first Dow component to report results in 2023.
  • Breaking down next week's economic data and earnings.
  • Plus, Musk to stop selling TSLA; Biogen sees another death during trials; and why Nutanix stock is sinking.

Futures Chart December 232022

5 Things You Need to Know Today

  1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.1 million call contracts and over 1.5 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 1.35, and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.77.
  2. Elon Musk will not sell shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) for the next 18 to 24 months, according to the billionaire. Musk has sold roughly $39 billion of TSLA in the last year, amid his $44 billion buyout of Twitter. The security sports a 1.2% premarket lead, but remains down 64.4% year-to-date.
  3. Shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) are fractionally lower ahead of the open, after Reuters reported the company's Japanese partner Eisai confirmed a third death during the trial for its experimental Alzheimer's treatment, though a cause has yet to be determined. In the last 12 months, BIIB is up 19.7%.
  4. Nutanix Inc (NASDAQ:NTNX) is down 14.4% before the bell, and looking to add to a 12.4% year-to-date deficit, after acquisition talks crumbled. Specifically, the cloud computing name is no longer having discussions with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
  5. A host of economic data is due out before the Christmas holiday. Durable goods orders, consumer spending data, and new home sales are all due out. 
     

buzzdec23

Regional Inflation Data Dents Asian Markets

Asian markets took a hit today, with regional inflation data taking its toll. The Nikkei lost 1%, after Japan’s core consumer prices for November rose at its fastest annualized rate since 1981. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite gave back 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, as reopening measures remain a hot topic. Rounding out the region, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.8%. Bigger news to follow though is with chip stock Taiwan Semiconductor, which is in talks to build its first European plant in Germany, per the Financial Times.

Over in Europe, bourses are sluggish ahead of the holidays. With trading volume light, London’s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 are roughly flat, while the German DAX is 0.4% higher.

 

AI has exploded ever since ChatGPT set the world on fire near the end of 2022.

Numerous companies with connections to artificial intelligence have seen their stocks soar.

That includes Nvidia, the poster boy of AI.

Its stock has skyrocketed 716% since ChatGPT’s debut. But here’s the thing …

While everyone’s still counting their money from this first AI boom … Nvidia and countless others have moved on to the next stage.

That includes Big Tech, which is currently making a series of peculiar investments in a few strange companies. This has nothing to do with tech. At least on the surface …

Yet, these strange investments could be the early ripples of a massive wave …Without them, ChatGPT could stop operating … Amazon, Google, Microsoft and more could see profits drop drastically.

In fact, Elon Musk says these investments are critical when it comes to solving the number one problem facing AI.

Now, Silicon Valley legend Michael Robinson has identified two companies that could play a significant role in the solution.

Their stocks just may be the key to AI 2.0.

Find out more about these two companies today.
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