Today's News
U.S. stock index futures on Thursday pointed to a higher open, as market participants digested more data on the labor market and looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's second day at Capitol Hill. The anticipation around Powell's appearance and a positive outlook on job reports have set a hopeful tone for the day's trading session.
Shares of Kroger (KR, Financial) gained nearly 5% in pre-market trading after the supermarket chain reported Q4 2023 identical sales excluding fuel decreased 0.8%, surpassing analysts' expectations of a 1.5% fall. The company also exceeded quarterly top and bottom line estimates, with revenue rising almost 7% Y/Y to $37.1B. This performance was attributed to increased demand for food-at-home items, with food-at-home prices in January being 1.2% higher than the same month in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Mizuho raised its price targets on Nvidia (NVDA, Financial), Arm (ARM, Financial), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Financial), and Broadcom (AVGO, Financial), citing growing opportunities in the artificial intelligence and custom silicon landscapes. Arm's expansion in mobile and data center businesses and the recent foundry collaboration between Arm and Intel (INTC, Financial) were highlighted as positive developments.
Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) is on the brink of adding $1T to its market cap this year alone, a testament to the booming interest in AI technology. The company's stock is just a modest up day away from reaching this milestone, reflecting the significant market enthusiasm around Nvidia's AI chip capabilities.
New York Community Bancorp (NYCB, Financial) announced a significant investment from a group led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's firm, raising more than $1B. This move is expected to bolster NYCB's financial standing and market position.
Lytus Technologies (LYT, Financial) saw its shares rally more than 200% in premarket trading following the announcement of Lytus Cloud, a suite of cloud infrastructure services aimed at tapping into the global data center market. This marks Lytus Technologies' ambitious move into the cloud computing sector.
Micron Technology (MU, Financial) received an upgrade from investment firm Stifel, which noted that consensus estimates for 2025 are significantly undervalued. The firm's positive outlook on Micron is based on tightening supply in the dynamic random access memory market, expected to recover by mid-year.
The U.S. government is poised to invest $3.5B in Intel (INTC, Financial) for the production of advanced semiconductors for military and intelligence programs. This investment underscores the strategic importance of bolstering domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) announced an upcoming event focused on artificial intelligence initiatives via Copilot, along with updates to its Windows and Surface product lines. This event highlights Microsoft's commitment to integrating AI technology into its product ecosystem.
Amazon (AMZN, Financial) CEO Andrew Jassy sold 50,000 shares of the company, a transaction effected pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. This move comes as Amazon continues to navigate the evolving e-commerce and cloud computing landscapes.
Kroger's (KR, Financial) strong quarterly performance and Nvidia's (NVDA, Financial) impending $1T market cap milestone underscore the dynamic nature of the current market, driven by technological advancements and strategic corporate maneuvers.
