Latest Updates:
- Nasdaq Dips to Close Wednesday
- 5 Market Movers to Watch
- Guggenheim: Bitcoin Could Hit $600,000
- Midday Update: Dow Reverses Course
- Space Stocks: What Impact Will Jeff Bezos Have?
Nasdaq Dips to Close Wednesday
[Wednesday, February 3, 4:05 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.10%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.12%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 0.02%
- The Russell 2000 closed higher by 0.22%
5 Market Movers to Watch
[Wednesday, February 3, 4:02 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
If you want to make sense of the market and know how to profit next, follow these five movers and shakers:
- Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev
- Outgoing Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos
- Incoming Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) CEO Rosalind Brewer
- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk
- Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
Guggenheim: Bitcoin Could Hit $600,000
[Wednesday, February 3, 2:32 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
The latest bullish Bitcoin (CCC:BTC) price prediction calls for the leading cryptocurrency to hit $600,000 in the long term. With BTC gaining in the last 24 hours, what else do you need to know?
According to Scott Minerd, the chief investment office at Guggenheim Partners, Bitcoin has been paving its path to gains over the last several years. When it first debuted, it was too speculative. It received very little institutional support, and the market was rather small. All that has changed, especially with the crypto setting a new all-time high above $40,000 at the start of the year. With the market booming and mainstream players like Visa (NYSE:V) and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) throwing their weight behind digital currencies, things are looking up.
If the stars continue to align, Minerd thinks more institutional investors will hop on board. And if that happens, his prediction of $600,000 could be right around the corner. For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
Midday Update: Dow Reverses Course
[Wednesday, February 3, 1:26 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 is up 0.36%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.05%
- The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.45%
- The Russell 2000 is down 0.11%
Space Stocks: What Impact Will Jeff Bezos Have?
[Wednesday, February 3, 1:19 pm]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
News that Jeff Bezos will soon step down as the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO raises many questions. How will Amazon fare? What comes next for AMZN stock — and for its many dominate initiatives?
However, news that Bezos is making this career move in part to focus on Blue Origin may be even more influential for investors. After two decades in existence, his space company will now receive more attention, and may be able to fully rival SpaceX. At this point, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that privately held Blue Origin and SpaceX will continue to face off, eliminating pressure from publicly traded rivals. The second is that, instead of hampering companies like Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE), the Bezos space boom will lift the entire industry. In that case, space stocks like SPCE look rather hot.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
Major Indices Open Mostly Higher
[Wednesday, February 3, 9:34 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.33%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower by 0.2%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened higher by 0.75%
- The Russell 2000 opened higher by 1.19%
Ethereum Sets All-Time High Above $1,500
[Wednesday, February 3, 9:09 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
Today Ethereum (CCC:ETH) hit a new all-time high at $1,573.95. According to cryptocurrency experts, this move suggests two things. First, the milestone follows broad strength in crypto and decentralized finance circles. All throughout 2020, macroeconomic catalysts were aligning to send Bitcoin (CCC:BTC), Ethereum and small digital currencies higher. Those catalysts, including ongoing stimulus spending, a Democrat-controlled Congress and growing mainstream support, are still in place.
Second, the r/WallStreetBets rally and the response of trading platforms like Robinhood sparked new interest in cryptocurrencies. As we reported last week, trading bans angered many customers, prompting interest in DeFi. Cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE) and XRP (CCC:XRP) rallied. That interest continues today with this new all-time high.
For more on Ethereum price predictions, read the InvestorPlace.com brief here.
3 Big Stories to Watch Today
[Wednesday, February 3, 8:47 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- Jeff Bezos steps down. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced he will be stepping down from the helm during the third quarter. Andy Jassy, who currently leads the cloud-computing division, will replace him. This move follows a previous attempt by Bezos to step away from day-to-day operations, and also in many ways signals the growing power of AWS. During the rest of the fourth-quarter report, Amazon shared revenue of $125.6 billion, with net income of $7.2 billion. AWS is pulling its weight, representing $12.7 billion of that Q4 revenue. Investors seem to be taking the news well, sending AMZN stock up in pre-market trading.
- Private payrolls. Although not the most exciting metric, the private payrolls report has been another closely watched measure of the economy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This morning, we learned that those payrolls added 174,000 jobs in the month of January. That seriously beats estimates for 50,000 jobs, and reflects big gains in healthcare and professional services roles. Another thing to watch? According to the report, private payrolls added about 35,000 travel and leisure jobs. That remains below pre-pandemic levels, but could hint at a recovery as the vaccine rollout continues.
- The Reddit stocks fallout. Just as quickly as the r/WallStreetBets stocks soared, yesterday brought them crashing down. GameStop (NYSE:GME) closed down 60% at $90, while AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) ended the day down 41% just above $7. This comes as short interest on those stocks fades, and as many investors wake up to the reality of the rally. Although the turnaround story and retail investor enthusiasm around GME is powerful, the actual video game business is still struggling. So what should you do now? Several of the most influential Redditors continue to hold onto their shares, and one reported a loss of $13 million from Tuesday trading alone. Watch for what happens to GME and AMC today, but more importantly, look for what is to come. What will happen to Robinhood? And where will investor attention move next?
Stock Market Futures Suggest Mixed Open
[Wednesday, February 3, 8:20 am]
Contributed by Sarah Smith
- S&P 500 futures are up 0.29%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.06%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are up 0.62%
- Russell 2000 futures are down 0.25%
