Stability on Wall Street; Taiwan Semiconductor jumps by 6%, Camtech by 5%

Trade review: current reports, trends, indices, stock prices, bonds, foreign exchange and commodities and analyst recommendations

16:54

After the mixed opening, the indices moved into small declines, the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the technology-biased indices unchanged, the Dow Jones down 0.2%.

The shortist research company Hindburg, which exposed the failures in the chip company Super Micro Computer which led to a fall in the stock, closes its operations. Nate Anderson, the founder and driving force of the company, announced its closure after about six turbulent years of activity, in which he shook the markets, exposed suspicions of fraud and became a household name on Wall Street.

In a farewell letter published on the company’s blog, Anderson explained the decision: “This is not a legal threat or a health problem, but a desire to stop for a moment and live longer,” in his words.

Anderson, 40, started out without financial backing, Wall Street connections or a coveted degree. Before founding Hindenberg, Anderson worked in several “under the radar” positions on Wall Street that did not belong to well-known investment firms or hedge funds, while at the same time trying to make a living filing reports for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program.

This period, according to him, was characterized by financial difficulties and early lawsuits against him. Without a traditional financial background or industry connections, he developed his analytical skills independently, primarily through investigating whistleblower cases and presenting them to regulators.

Despite everything and with personal determination, he founded Hindenberg in 2017 with one goal: to expose corporate frauds and scandals in public companies.

While other prominent shorts have stepped away from the spotlight in recent years due to concerns about lawsuits, squeezes and even government investigations, Anderson has remained in the picture and earned a reputation as the bravest “bear” still active. As part of its activities, Hindenberg dropped bombs on huge companies and influential shareholders:

Adani Group: A report that created the headline “the biggest corporate fraud in history,” knocked the value of the concern by tens of billions of dollars and shook the position of Gautam Adani, then the fourth richest in the world.

Nikola: Disclosure that the company misrepresented electric truck technology. The result: the stock plummeted and the regulators went into action. The company’s founder Trevor Milton was convicted of defrauding investors with actual imprisonment and financial fines.

Block (SQ): Criticism of financial transparency in Jack Dorsey’s company, claims that remain partly disputed, but Wall Street investors certainly heard and responded.

Carvana (CVNA): One of Anderson’s latest revelations, in which he accused the Garcia family of “major accounting fraud.” The company denied, the stock recovered, but the tremor was there.

Along with these successes, there were cases where the claims did not lead to conclusive proof. However, Anderson has always emphasized that his goal is to surface hidden issues of sorts and to hold companies accountable.

The combative tone and direct reports gave Anderson a reputation as a fearless “bear”. However, in his letter he describes how much the journey required of him and his team personal sacrifices and intense lives around the clock. According to him, the company’s disclosures contributed to the filing of indictments against nearly 100 people, including billionaires and oligarchs. Despite the criticism against him (especially from the entities attacked in the reports and also from investors), Anderson presents himself as a person who acts out of a true passion for financial justice and transparency, and not as a predator looking only for a quick profit.

16:30

Trading on Wall Street opened this afternoon with a mixed trend after yesterday the S&P 500 index experienced its best day since November and is on its way to the fourth consecutive day of gains, following the inflation data published yesterday and the surprising quarterly reports for the banks.

Nasdaq and S&P 500, the technology-biased indexes are up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively, Dow Jones is down 0.2%.

Additional macro data published yesterday improves the optimism regarding the interest rate cut in the US and therefore the appetite for stocks – retail sales rose this month by less than expected and the number of unemployed rose this week.

Report season: Profitable Morgan Stanley More than doubled in the fourth quarter, thanks to a wave of transactions and share sales that brought the company’s revenues to an annual record.

The earnings capped a strong quarter for Wall Street banks, which benefited from a surge in mergers and acquisitions amid a strong U.S. economy, interest rate cuts and expectations of looser regulation under President-elect Donald Trump. Morgan Stanley’s investment banking revenue in the quarter rose 25% to $1.64 billion, in line with results reported earlier this week by competitors Goldman Sachs andJPMorgan Chase .

Morgan Stanley’s earnings grew to $3.7 billion, or $2.22 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.5 billion, or 85 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts on average expected a profit of $1.7 per share.

15:34

US macro – after the drop in inflation yesterday, the retail sales index surprisingly rose by only 0.4%, the expectation was for a 0.6% increase and last month there was a 0.7% increase.

There was also a surprise in the number of unemployed – their number rose this week to 217 thousand compared to the expected 201 thousand.

14:53

Bank of America Showed strong results than expected thanks to the investment banking segment and better than expected interest income. The profit per share for the quarter was 82 cents compared to the early expectation of 77. The bank’s revenues amounted to 25.5 billion dollars compared to the early expectation of 25.19 billion dollars. Bank of America’s net profit jumped 47% to $6.67 billion compared to the corresponding period.

13:00

The mixed trend in Europe continues. The Dax falls by 0.1%, the Putsy adds to its value by 0.8% and the Kakka jumps by 2%.

Against the background of the surge in the Paris stock market, Richemont’s share jumps sharply and pulled the other luxury stocks up with it. This after the Swiss group reported a 10% increase in sales in the fiscal third quarter, despite the slowdown in demand from China. Sales rose to 6.2 billion euros ($6.38 billion) as the Swiss luxury brand called the quarterly sales figure its “highest ever.” The results are seen as a positive signal for Europe’s luxury sector during the holiday shopping period, after a period of underperformance in recent years.

11:08

The trading day in Europe opened with a mixed trend. The Dax rises by 0.1%, the Putsy adds 0.6% to its value and the KAC jumps by 1.4%.

Macro Europe: The annual GDP in Great Britain was about 1%. This is a decrease from the previous figure which was 1.1%. The early expectation was 1.3%. In Germany, the annual inflation was 2.6% in line with the expectation. At an annual rate the index rose by 0.5%.

09:00

This morning in Asia, the main indices are trading in a positive trend. The Nikkei rose by 0.3%, the Shanghai Stock Exchange rose by a dozen, the Hang Seng rose by 1.1% and the Kospi added 1.2% to its value.

US futures are currently trading in a mixed trend.

Wall Street registered sharp increases last night (Wed) following the publication of the Consumer Price Index which did not surprise and indicated that prices are nevertheless under control just before the entry of a new president into the White House. Nasdaq jumped by 2.4% and this after five consecutive days of declines, Dow Jones by 1.6% and S&P 500 by 1.8%.

The report season for the last quarter of the year on Wall Street officially opened last night when several major banks in the US published their financial results.

bank Goldman Sachs Reported a significant increase in profit both in the fourth quarter of the year and in its annual results: the profit in the fourth quarter jumped by 105% and amounted to 4.1 billion dollars, the annual profit increased by 68% and amounted to 14.2 billion dollars.

Blackrock reported that the company’s assets under management (AUM) reached a record $11.55 trillion in the fourth quarter. The company reported a net profit of 1.67 billion dollars, an increase of 21% compared to the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share were $11.93, higher than forecasts of $11.24.

Citigroup Presented an increase in profit, mainly thanks to an increase in revenues in divisions such as equities and investment banking. The net profit was 2.9 billion dollars, compared to a net loss of 1.8 billion dollars last year. The bank earned $1.34 per share, higher than analysts’ forecasts of $1.22. Revenues increased by 12% to $19.6 billion.
In addition, the board approved a $20 billion share repurchase plan.

Last year, Citi posted a loss in the corresponding quarter due to a series of one-time expenses, including exposures to Argentina’s debt market, political instability in Russia and the bank’s restructuring plan.

JP Morgan Reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.81, significantly higher than the forecast of $4.11. In total, it earned $58 billion this year, a record for the company and a record for any bank in American history. Profit in the fourth quarter increased by 50% compared to last year.

This morning (Thursday) the chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor published strong quarterly reports that surprised early forecasts and indicated that the company is enjoying the momentum of AI: the chip giant’s revenues totaled $26.36 billion, compared to expectations of $25 billion. This is an increase of about 38.8% compared to the corresponding quarter. The net profit jumped by about 57% compared to the corresponding period and amounted to 11 billion dollars, also above the central forecasts.

TSMC’s reports signal good news for shares in the chip sector, indicating strong demand in the field of AI, in light of the fact that the company is considered the largest chip manufacturer in the world, and produces advanced processors for customers such as Nvidia anddark . Last week the chip giant posted a record in sales since the company went public in 1994. Despite the good news, the company is facing headwinds from President-elect Trump who is promoting tough trade policies by imposing tariffs on US imports and has repeatedly accused TSMC of “stealing” the US chip business.

Quantum computing stocks soared last night (Wed) following Nvidia’s announcement of adding a “Quantum Day” event to the GTC conference scheduled for March. This was reported in the Wall Street Journal. The conference, which is sometimes called “the Woodstock of artificial intelligence”, is expected to increase the exposure of the field of quantum computing. The event will include the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, alongside executives from leading companies in the field of quantum computing such as Rigetti Computing, IonQ and D-Wave Quantum. Their shares jumped by dozens of percent last night.

● What are the quantum computing companies doing and why are they causing a stir on Wall Street?

The announcement comes just a week after Nvidia expressed doubts about the market’s enthusiasm for quantum computing. In a meeting with analysts at the CES conference last week, Huang addressed the potential of the emerging technology, but added that “very useful” quantum computers are still about 20 years away from reality.

Following Huang’s comments, many stocks in the quantum field lost ground after the rally following the breakthrough announced by Google last December, and suffered sharp declines. Rigetti and D-Wave shares lost more than 60% of their value in the days following the announcement, while IonQ shares fell 44%.

In addition, bMicrosoft Businesses are called to prepare for quantum computing and believe that 2025 is the year to prepare themselves for this technological leap. The company obviously has an interest in taking this side of the quantum computing debate: it operates in the field and has now also launched a new program, Quantum Ready, designed to help businesses deal with the challenges involved in preparing for quantum computing.

Nvidia’s announcement emphasized that quantum computing “promises significant breakthroughs” in areas such as drug discovery, materials development and financial forecasting. “However, no less exciting than the future of quantum computing are the breakthroughs that are already happening today in the fields of quantum hardware, error correction, and algorithms,” reads the company’s blog post published this week.

Following the inflation figures that were published last night and showed the cooling of the economy, speculations about the Fed’s expected interest rate cuts increased. CME Group data indicated that investors estimate a 16% chance that the Fed will not cut interest rates at all in 2025, down from 26% yesterday. Conversely, the chances of more than one reduction increased to about 50%, compared to 35% yesterday. The market expects that the first interest rate reduction will most likely take place in June, with the possibility of another reduction in December.

● Crisis around the corner: the increase in government bond yields in the world echoes 2008

Meanwhile, US government bond yields fell on Wednesday. The 10-year yield fell to 4.65%, and the two-year yield traded around 4.28%.

At Lombard Odair, they estimate that high-yield corporate bonds in the US offer an attractive investment opportunity in 2025. “The yield level of high-yield corporate bonds points in favor of the American market, where they hover around 7.5%, compared to 6% in Europe. The absence of a sharp recession in growth, alongside strong performance in the credit market, supports the assumption that corporate bonds with high yields in the US may show excess performance relative to other bond strategies in 2025,” the bank noted.

Bitcoin is nearing the $100,000 mark again after lower-than-expected US inflation data reignited appetite for risky assets, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. The digital currency has traded in a range of around $90,000-$100,000 over the past four weeks. This morning, Bitcoin climbed at a rate of up to 2.5% to $99,768 before pulling back slightly from the daily high.Bitcoin last hit $100,000 on January 7.

In the macro sector, last night (Wed) as mentioned, the US consumer price index was published, which ended the year with an annual rate of 2.9%, in line with forecasts and compared to an index of 2.7% in November. Core inflation, which removes the effect of fluctuating food and energy prices, dropped to an annual rate of 3.2%, compared to an expected 3.3%. This is the fourth month in a row that prices in the world’s largest economy are rising. After inflation was already at 2.4% in September, close to the Fed’s target (2%).

Yoni Penning, manager of the Mizrahi Tefahot trading room, noted that the figure is not “good news” for the American government or the Fed, but it “stands within the range of expectations.” Fanning emphasized that “core inflation is moderating, and still 3.2% is absolutely high and higher than the overall inflation. And most of all, one that is not clear when it will bring the annual inflation to the target.” In any case, it seems that this was enough for Wall Street investors, who were mostly afraid of more gloomy data.

Later today (Thursday), growth data in Great Britain, inflation data in Germany and retail sales data in the US are expected to be published.