Author: Cattolica Investment Club

Dec 28th, 2023 - The S&P 500 closed marginally higher Thursday, on a new all-time high in the penultimate day of trading, as it added 0,04% to finish at 4,783.35. Also the Dow Jones increased, ending the day at 37,710.10 with a +0.14%. On the other hand Nasdaq decreased by 0.03% closing at 15,05.14.  Shares of Boeing (BA) dropped more than 1% in afternoon trading  after the company began to urge inspections on 737 Max to look for a “possible loose bolt” in the rudder control system. This is the latest quality issue that affects the manufacturer’s bestselling jetliner and  was found when “an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance on a mechanism in the rudder-control linkage”. The inspection will take about two…

Dec 27th, 2023 - Today the Dow Jones rose .30%, the S&P 500 increased .14% and the NASDAQ progressed further, up .16%.  Portfolio holding Eli Lilly (LLY) (Purchased 0.2 units @ $582.99) spiked 1.9% after it finished the acquisition of POINT Biopharma Global. A company with a focus on therapies for the treatment of cancer. Our portfolio holding is looking to increase their production capacity in the coming years in order to keep up with the demand for their Zepbound drug, which hit markets a few weeks ago.  Today, portfolio holding Microsoft (MSFT) (Purchased 0.1 units @ $374.44) was sued by the New York Times. The media company decided to take legal action, following allegations that Microsoft used copyright-protected pieces of texts from the NYT to train their chatbot (Chat…

Dec 22nd, 2023 - Micron Technology (MU) shares climbed 8.6%, marking one of this week top performance among S&P 500 stocks, after the company reported better results than the ones expected. The semiconductor maker benefited from higher prices and strong demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Carnival Corporation (CCL) shares added 6.2% when the cruise line’s loss was less than expected, and its revenue exceeded estimates as cruise demand remained steady. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global (PARA) fell 1.5% and 2.8%, respectively, following reports that the two entertainment giants are discussing a possible merger.  India is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance climate models for improved weather forecasting amid escalating extreme weather events. Global warming has intensified weather clashes in the country, causing floods and droughts, leading to approximately…

Dec 20th, 2023 - On Wednesday, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq ended their 9-day winning streaks, decreasing by 1.27% to 37,082 and 1.50% to 14,777.94, respectively. The S&P 500 also slipped by 1.47% to 4,698.35. The Conference Board announced that the consumer confidence index increased to a 5-month high of 110.7 in December. It shows us that American consumer's optimism about future labor conditions is growing. November existing home sales increased by 0.8%, to 3.82 million units, however Economists were expecting a fall of 0.8% to 3.76 million. One of our portfolio holdings, Toyota (TM) (Purchased 0.5 units @ 186.34) announced that they will recall about 1 million cars because of a possible risk of malfunction of airbags, increasing the risk of injury. They also announced that they will stop…

During this week’s Fed Meeting, it's very likely main interest rates will remain unchanged. But even if they don't do anything, what these decision-makers talk about, or don't talk about, can still affect the stock market. Currently, the Fed's benchmark interest rate is at its highest since 2001, a result of 11 rate hikes since March 2022 aimed at curbing inflation. Despite positive signs in inflation rates nearing the 2% target, speculation arises about the Fed potentially lowering interest rates soon. Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently cautioned against premature speculation on rate cuts, emphasizing the possibility of raising rates further if inflation worsens. The Federal Reserve is in a delicate situation, acknowledging the economic slowdown resulting from increased interest rates while refraining from premature cuts. It underscores the role of…

Dec 19th, 2023 - While experiencing a current negative trading trend (-0.45% at 12:30 EST), portfolio holding  International Business Machines (IBM, 0.1693 units @ $151.04) announced the forthcoming  acquisition of 2 major platforms, Software AG’s StreamSets and WebMethods, paying $2.3 billion  cash. The decision taken by the tech giant will contribute to the increase of its dominance in the AI and Hybrid Cloud sectors, with positive outcomes on its market performances in the near future.  StreamSets and WebMethods together form one unique tech super platform owned by Software AG,  serving more than 1500 customers worldwide.   Portfolio holding Boeing (BA, 0.15 units @ $251.28) is currently trading at $263.93 as of 12:46 EST (+1.35%). One of the main reasons behind this upward trend in the stock behavior is represented by an…