Oil futures and stocks decline as Saudi Arabia cuts prices
29 minutes ago
Oil futures fell on Monday after Saudi Arabia cut prices for February shipments of crude oil amid increasingly strong global supplies.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 4% on Monday to trade below $71 a barrel. Brent crude, the European benchmark, fell just over 3% to trade around $76.
State-owned Saudi Aramco reduced the prices of its Arab Light crude by $2 per barrel for its Asian customers, its largest market. It also reduced delivery prices to Europe and North America. While analysts were expecting lower prices, the cuts made on Monday were larger than expected.
This move comes as demand for oil moderates in Asia and the entry of large quantities of oil into the market despite a series of production cuts by Saudi Arabia and its allies in OPEC+. In particular, US oil, pumped at record rates at the end of 2023, has helped keep a ceiling on oil prices even amid rising geopolitical tensions that threaten to disrupt supply and trade.
Shares of some of the world’s largest oil companies fell sharply on Monday. Exxon Mobil (XOM) lost about 2% while Chevron (CVX) fell about 1%.
Apple shares rose after the Vision Pro launch date was set for February 2
1 hour and 13 minutes ago
Apple Inc. shares rose. (AAPL) during intraday trading on Monday after the iPhone maker announced a launch date early next month for its Vision Pro virtual reality (VR) headset.
The spatial computer headset will launch in the US on February 2, with pre-orders opening on January 19. It will cost $3,499, with additional prescription lenses costing $149.
The Vision Pro could allow Apple to compete with Meta’s Quest 3 headset, which captured 55% of the VR headset market share in the third quarter of 2023, according to IT market intelligence firm International Data Corp.
Securities analysts at Jefferies Group expect Apple to capture just 4% of the VR headset market share, with about 400,000 units shipped in 2024. The company noted that the Vision Pro will sell at a higher price than other similar headsets like the Meta Quest 3 , which starts at around $500.
Apple shares were up nearly 2% Monday afternoon.
-Naomi Buchanan
Nvidia shares hit record high after unveiling artificial intelligence chips for PC
2 hours and 26 minutes ago
Nvidia (NVDA) on Monday unveiled three new graphics processing units (GPUs) designed to power artificial intelligence on personal computers, adding to its portfolio of market-leading AI chips.
Announced today ahead of the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the GeForce RTX 40 SUPER Series “delivers up to 836 trillion operations per second, delivering transformative AI capabilities for gaming, creativity and everyday productivity.”
The company also said that major PC makers, including Dell, HP and Samsung, will launch laptops with an AI GPU, “bringing a full range of generative AI capabilities to users right out of the box.”
The announcement comes as Nvidia, a major supplier of AI chips to data centers, seeks to expand its AI offerings and fend off competitors eager to grow its share of the massive AI pie.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of Nvidia’s strongest competitors, unveiled its AI PC chips on Monday. She said that the Ryzen 8000G series chips are the first personal computer processors to contain a neural processing unit dedicated to artificial intelligence. Intel ( INTC ) got ahead of both Nvidia and AMD when it launched its lineup of PC AI chips in December.
Chipmakers were among the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Monday. Nvidia shares were up more than 4.5% Monday afternoon, while AMD shares were up more than 5%. Intel shares traded up more than 3.5%.
Boeing shares fell after the Federal Aviation Administration decided to ground the 737 Max 9 fleet
3 hours and 36 minutes ago
Shares of Boeing (BA) fell in early trading Monday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily grounded some Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes for inspections.
The FAA’s guidance comes after an incident on Friday in which an Alaska Airlines (ALK) Max 9 lost a panel mid-flight, forcing it to make an emergency landing. About 171 Boeing aircraft in the United States or operated by American airlines outside the United States are affected by the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigation to address potential door safety issues before flights resume.
“We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to conduct immediate inspections of 737-9 aircraft in the same configuration as the affected aircraft,” Boeing said in a statement.
Boeing shares were down 6.8% at $232 a share at midday Monday, but have remained up about 13% in the past year.
-Fatima Al-Tarwala
Crocs shares jump on record sales expectations
4 hours and 24 minutes ago
Crocs Inc. (CROX) shares jumped 20% Monday morning after the casual shoe maker said full-year sales would exceed its previous guidance after a strong holiday season.
The company said in a statement that it expects sales to grow by 1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, exceeding its November forecast for a sales decline between 1% and 4%.
Later, the company estimated that total sales for the full year would reach about $3.95 billion, a record high and an increase of more than 11% year-over-year. The company had previously expected full-year sales growth of between 10% and 11%.
Despite Monday’s gains, Crocs shares have lost about 8% of their value in the past year and remain well short of their record high of about $180.
One chart to watch on Monday: Berkshire Hathaway
5 hours and 21 minutes ago
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) may appear on watch lists on Monday after the multinational conglomerate settled a $1 billion lawsuit with the Haslam family over the truck stop company.
The trial scheduled to begin today in Delaware was to determine whether Berkshire Hathaway used top-down accounting techniques to reduce the value it had to pay for the family’s remaining 20% stake in Pilot Travel Centers (PTC), the largest truck stop operator. Significantly. In the US, Berkshire alleged that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam enticed top PTC executives with side payments to inflate the company’s value to obtain a more attractive takeover from the financial conglomerate.
Berkshire has been increasing its stake in PTC from the Haslam family since 2017, taking majority ownership of the company in January last year.
Source: TradingView.com.
Berkshire Hathaway shares have trended mostly higher throughout 2023 apart from several corrections to the 200-day moving average. Currently, the stock is trading between the 15-month uptrend line and its all-time high (ATH). If the price moves above current levels, watch how it responds to an ATH of around $373. Conversely, during periods of correction, keep an eye on whether buyers can defend the uptrend line and the 200-day moving average, which is currently located near $351.
See here for more charts to watch today.
-Timothy Smith
Stocks make the biggest moves pre-market
6 hours and 11 minutes ago
Gains:
- (CROX): Shares of the footwear maker jumped 8% after it said it expects total revenue in 2023 to reach $3.95 billion, a record and more than analysts expected.
- (DASH): Shares of the meal delivery service rose more than 3% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold,” citing cost controls and its strong market position.
- (DELL): Shares of the computer maker rose 2% after analysts at JPMorgan upgraded shares to “overweight,” citing the possibility that the company’s server business could benefit from investment in artificial intelligence.
losses:
- Boeing (BA): Shares of the plane maker fell more than 7% after US regulators grounded more than 170 737 MAX 9 planes following an accident in which part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane broke off mid-flight. Shares of its supplier, Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), fell by 14%.
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN): Shares of the drug company fell more than 2% after it said it sold $1.34 billion of its blockbuster eye drug Eylea in the fourth quarter, about $200 million less than Wall Street expected.
- ExxonMobil (XOM): Shares of the oil giant fell more than 1% as oil prices fell in early trading.
Futures are mixed with Boeing slowing on Dow Jones
6 hours and 56 minutes ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 0.3% in pre-market trading Monday, dragged down by Boeing.
S&P 500 futures were little changed about an hour before markets opened.
The Nasdaq 100 index rose by about 0.2%.