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Nasdaq falls despite surge in AI stocks

US stocks retreated Monday despite a rallying group of technology stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom.

The S&P 500 shed 0.12% to 5,130.95, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.41% to 16,207.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97.55 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 38,989.83.

Losses were mitigated by gains of more than 3% in AI darling Nvidia. Super Micro Computer soared 18% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it would join the S&P 500 later this month.

A handful of bitcoin-focused stocks including Microstrategy and Coinbase also posted sizable advanced as the cryptocurrency neared its 2021 all-time high. That offered further evidence of Wall Street taking on risk in Monday’s session.

But other technology laggards ultimately held the market back, with the S&P 500 communication services sector leading the index lower. Apple fell 2.5% after getting hit with a European Union antitrust fine of nearly $2 billion. The iPhone maker was accused of thwarting competition among music streaming rivals. It plans to appeal.

Tesla dropped more than 7% after announcing new price discounts and incentives late last week. Tesla has shipped 60,365 vehicles from its China factory in February, according to preliminary Chinese industry data, the lowest such figure since December 2022 and down almost 16 per cent month-on-month.

Outside of technology, Ford added more than 2% on the back of strong sales data. Macy’s soared more than 13% after Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management increased their offer for the department store.

JetBlue rose more than 4%, while Spirit Airlines tumbled more than 10%. The airlines said Monday that they would end plans to combine, weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that jeopardised the $3.8-billion deal.

Turning to US sectors, most closed higher overnight. Utilities was the best performer. Communication Services was the worst.

This week, traders will look for clues about the future direction of interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The central bank leader is expected to deliver monetary policy updates to the House of Representatives on Wednesday and to the Senate on Thursday.

The ADP Employment Survey and January job openings data will be released on Wednesday, providing further insight into the labour market. Manufacturing and nonfarm payrolls data for February are due Friday

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a flat start.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 8.45am was buying 65.09 US cents.

Commodities

Gold gained 1.36 per cent. Silver climbed 3.26 per cent. Copper fell 0.13 per cent. Oil lost 1.54 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE lost 0.55 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.11 per cent, and Paris closed 0.28 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.50 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.04 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.41 per cent..

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.13 per cent lower at 7,735.79.

Ex-dividends
Coles Group (ASX:COL) is paying 36 cents fully franked
Excelsior Capital (ASX:ECL) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
Endeavour (ASX:EDV) is paying 14.3 cents fully franked
Embark Early Ed (ASX:EVO) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Heartland Group (ASX:HGH) is paying 3.764 cents unfranked
Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Kina Securities Ltd (ASX:KSL) is paying 5.1 cents unfranked
Lynch Group Holdings (ASX:LGL) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX:LOV) is paying 50 cents 30 per cent franked
Orora Limited (ASX:ORA) is paying 5 cents unfranked
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) is paying 27.5 cents fully franked
Pengana Capital (ASX:PCG) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Qualitas Re Income (ASX:QRI) is paying 1.1285 cents unfranked
Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX:QUB) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Sequoia Fin Grp Ltd (ASX:SEQ) is paying 2 cents fully franked
SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX:SGF) is paying 9.6 cents fully franked
Veem Ltd (ASX:VEE) is paying 0.77 cents unfranked
Worley Limited (ASX:WOR) is paying 25 cents unfranked
Wotso Property (ASX:WOT) is paying 1 cent unfranked

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

Disclaimer

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