• Shares to open higher today after another rally on Wall Street
  • Nvidia, Microsoft hit all-time highs again
  • Why the theme for microchip stocks is still intact

 

Aussie shares are poised to open higher on Tuesday in line with movements on Wall Street. At 8am AEDT, the ASX 200 index futures was pointing up by +0.3%.

In New York, the S&P 500 rose by +0.74%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.58%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed by +1.13%.

Equities have been on a bullish trend over the last few days as the soft-landing narrative gathers momentum.

“…It seems that the markets have become truly convinced of the end of the interest rate hike cycle,” said George Khoury, global head of Education and Research at CFI.

The Nasdaq has hit a 22-month high, with Nvidia and Microsoft hitting their all-time highs once again.

Microsoft was up 2% after announcing that it has hired ousted former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to head a new AI team at Microsoft. Meanwhile, nearly all of 700 OpenAI employees have signed a letter threatening to quit unless the current board resigns.

Boeing rallied almost 5% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares following the acceleration of new jet deliveries.

Giant pharmaceutical firm Bayer AG dropped the most in its history, down -18% last night after aborting a large late-stage trial testing a new anti-clotting drug.

Bristol-Myers Squibb also slumped 4% after saying the US FDA delayed a decision on the expanded use of its blood cancer treatment.

Back home, all eyes will be on RBA governor Michele Bullock today as she speaks to the panel of  ASIC Annual Forum in Melbourne at 10:30am AEDT.

 

Why you should hold on to Nvidia shares

Market darling and chipmaker Nvidia rose by 2% last night to its all time high of US$504.20.

The company’s Q3 earnings will be revealed later today (US time), and there could be some impressive numbers after a positive guidance given earlier.

According to de Vere’s Nigel Green, however, Nvidia faces challenges ahead.

“While we expect the revenue growth to still be hugely impressive and the company’s stellar rise will undoubtedly continue, its trajectory also faces challenges ahead,” Green said.

“There is growing and intensifying competition in the semiconductor market, and this will threaten Nvidia’s market share and, therefore, margins over the longer term.”

In addition, Nvidia is very exposed to China, and China is tightening regulations and cracking down on various industries, including technology, so the company may face headwinds in this critical market.

“Regulatory uncertainties and geopolitical tensions could impact Nvidia’s ability to sustain its mighty results, especially if there are disruptions to its business operations in China,” said Green.

Despite these potential challenges however, the overarching theme remains: semiconductors are a cornerstone of the contemporary tech-driven world, says Green.

“Almost every investor should recognise the strategic importance of semiconductor stocks in their portfolios.

“As the backbone of the digital era, semiconductors power a vast array of technologies, from consumer electronics to advanced computing systems,” Green said.

 

In other markets …

Gold price fell -0.15% to US$1,977.10 an ounce.

The benchmark US 10-year treasury yield fell 2 basis points to 4.42%

Oil prices surged another 2%, with Brent now trading at US$81.92 a barrel.

Oil traders are waiting to see whether the OPEC+ led by Saudi Arabia will intervene to bolster prices further after crude prices slumped by 10% over the past month.

Iron ore futures rose 0.28% to US$129.31 a tonne.

The Aussie dollar climbed 0.7% to US65.61c.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin was up 1.3% in the last 24 hours to US$37,418.

 

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Canterbury Resources (ASX:CBY)
Assays from the current core drilling program at the Briggs Copper Project in Central Queensland confirmed a higher-grade zone of copper-molybdenum mineralisation. Holes 23BRD0019 and 23BRD0020 both intersected thick zones of copper-molybdenum mineralisation along their entire length, other than in minor post-mineral intrusions.

Hazer Group (ASX:HZR)
Hazer announced that construction of the company’s Commercial Demonstration Plant (CDP) is complete, and hot commissioning activities are underway. Hazer confirms that the CDP remains on schedule to commence start-up and full hot operation, to produce hydrogen and graphitic carbon, in 2023.

Redstone Resources (ASX:RDS)
Prospectivity analysis completed by Mercator Geological Services has generated 18 Lithium‐Caesium‐Tantalum (LCT) pegmatite target areas across the Sakami Lithium Project, and  six LCT pegmatite target locations across the Radisson East Lithium Project. The targets were identified in areas where favourable lithology, mineralisation, structure and geochemistry for LCT pegmatites occur together.

Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM)
Multiple epithermal style veins were intersected in drill holes BX001 and BX002 which are open from surface, down dip and along strike at the Breccia Sinter Prospect. Drill hole BX002 intersected two broad vein intervals of low sulphidation epithermal style veins. The gold bearing potential of the Prospect area is supported by surface rock chips up to 32g/t Au, 196g/t Ag, and greater than 20ppb gold in soil anomaly 500m long and 250m wide.

Eagle Mountain Mining (ASX:EM2)
Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for Oracle Ridge increased to 28.2Mt at 1.35% copper, 11.06g/t silver and 0.16g/t gold using a 0.8% copper cut-off grade for 380,000 tonnes of contained copper. Measured and Indicated Resources account for over half of the new MRE, and better grades exist in higher confidence categories of the new MRE. EM2 says this expanded Mineral Resource will underpin technical studies including metallurgical, processing and mining evaluations.

 

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Eagle Mountain Mining is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

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