Read the top 5 market news this Friday

Nvidia shares soar after a blockbuster earnings release that added to stock market euphoria around AI applications.

The rise drives the S&P 500 and the Dow to new closing records, although futures this Friday (23.Feb.2024) point to a more moderate trading weekend. Elsewhere, Reddit makes its registration for an initial public offering public. In Brazil, the highlight is the balance sheet of the mining company Vale.

1. Nvidia Stock

Artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) added a staggering $277 billion in market capitalization on Thursday (Jan 22), setting a record for the biggest single-day jump in history.

Shares of the California-based company rose 16.4% to end the session at a new record high of $785.38, bringing its market value to just under $2 trillion.

The single day increase in Nvidia shares was, in itself, greater than the market capitalization of rival company Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and eclipsed a $196 billion jump recorded by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), owner of Facebook, earlier this month.

In total, $65 billion worth of Nvidia shares were exchanged, representing about 1-fifth of all S&P 500 stock trades, Reuters reported.

Driving the frenzy was a 265% increase in Nvidia’s Q4 revenue, as well as comments from chief executive Jensen Huang, who said demand for AI is “increasing across the world across companies, sectors and nations”.

US stock futures hovered around the flat line this Friday (Feb 23), pointing to a pause in the recovery triggered by Nvidia’s excellent results.

At 8am (Brasília time), the contract Dow futures e S&P 500 futures were practically unchanged, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.19%.

Wall Street’s main averages – as well as Asian and European indices – advanced on Thursday (Jan 22) after Nvidia reported a big increase in revenue and gave an upbeat outlook for demand for AI chips.

In New York, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% and the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 2.1%, with both finishing at record closing highs.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy sector Nasdaq Compound rose 3.0% – its biggest single-session jump in a year and slightly below the highest closing level ever.

2. Reddit files for IPO

Reddit revealed a shrinking loss when it filed its initial public offering documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday (Feb 22), ahead of its long-awaited debut on the New York Stock Exchange later this year.

The company, which was founded in 2005 with the idea of ​​creating “the home page of the Internet”plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RDDT”. Reddit aims to launch its IPO (initial public offering) in March, according to recent media reports.

In the filing, Reddit said the amount of shares sold to retail investors and users of the platform would be “significant”although it signaled that participation could result in “greater volatility” of its market price. Typically, IPOs are purchased primarily by institutional investors.

For the year ending December 31, 2023, the social media company reported a loss of $1.54 per share, compared with a loss of $2.77 per share a year earlier, as revenue, which is driven primarily by advertising sales, increased to $804 million, compared to $666 million a year earlier.

3. StanChart reports 22% increase in annual revenue

O Standard Chartered (HK:2888) (LON:STAN_p), Asia-focused lender, reported a stronger profit for 2023 as it benefited from higher interest rates, with the bank also announcing a $1 billion buyback.

Still, the lender downgraded its revenue outlook for 2024 and predicted moderate increases in its net interest income, citing some economic risks from persistent inflation and potential geopolitical instability.

StanChart’s underlying pre-tax profit for the year to December 31 rose 22% to $5.68 billion, the group said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its basic net interest income increased 20% to US$9.56 billion for the year.

4. Oil prices fall

Oil prices fell in the European market this Friday (Feb 23) and are expected to end the week slightly lower, as concerns about slow demand largely offset bets on tighter supplies linked to disruptions in the Middle East .

A series of weak economic readings around the world have spurred further concerns about slowing demand, especially after data released last week showed the UK and Japan entered recession in the 4th quarter.

Expectations of higher interest rates for longer in the US also weighed on the demand outlook in the world’s biggest oil consumer, as multiple signals from the Federal Reserve showed the bank was in no rush to start cutting. interest rates.

Crude oil futures contracts Brent futures due in April fell 1.21% to $82.66 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 1.36% to $77.54 per barrel.

5. Profit of mining company Vale declines

A Vale (BVMF:VALE3) reported, last night, a net profit of US$2.418 billion in the 4th quarter of 2023. The number represents a decrease of 35% compared to the same period in 2022 and 14.7% compared to the 3 immediately previous months . Considering the entire year 2023, the company totaled a profit of US$7.983 billion, a decrease of 52.2%.

Adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) totaled US$6.334 billion between October and December, 37% higher on an annual basis and 51.6% on a quarterly basis. Year-to-date, the indicator totaled US$17.961 billion, a drop of 9.1%.

Net sales revenue reached a level of US$ 13.054 billion, an increase of 9.3% compared to October to December of the previous year and a quarterly increase of 22.8%. Revenues were US$41.784 billion in 2023, a decrease of 4.6% compared to 2022.

Vale’s Board of Directors approved the distribution of dividends in the total gross amount of R$2.738617408 per share, referring to the quarterly balance sheet, with a cutoff date on March 11th and payment on March 19th.

“In our commitments, 2023 was a year of substantial progress in the repairs of Brumadinho and Mariana. Ultimately, we remain focused on disciplined capital allocation, consistently returning value to our shareholders, as evidenced by our recent dividend announcement.”highlighted Vale.

At 8am (Brasília time), the ETF (NYSE:EWZ) rose 0.03%. Vale’s ADRs (NYSE:VALE) gained 0.52%.

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With information from Investing Brasil.