Stocks were flattish yesterday and they’re flattish again this morning. Ditto for Treasuries. Meanwhile, gold and silver are pulling back along with crude oil, while the dollar is popping.
It’s gametime after the close. Technology giant Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) will report second-quarter earnings this afternoon, with analysts expecting sales of $28.7 billion and earnings per share of 65 cents. Investors will also be looking for an update on NVDA’s newest Blackwell chip – and guidance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) spending across the tech industry. Options pricing ahead of the report implies the stock could swing as much as 10% in either direction in tomorrow’s trading session.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
IPOs? This year, it’s more like IP-NO. Only $25 billion in traditional Initial Public Offerings have been launched so far in 2024, compared with an average of $55 billion per year over the last decade. Wall Street was hoping things might pick up after Labor Day, but companies like WeRide and StubHub are postponing their offerings and could push them all the way into 2025.
Tighter money post-2021 and lackluster performance from many IPOs launched in the past two years have drained enthusiasm for companies coming public. The hope is that conditions will loosen up as August market volatility fades into the past and the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates.
Speaking of lower interest rates, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage just slumped to 6.44%. That was down 6 basis points from a week earlier and the lowest going all the way back to April 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rates are declining due to slowing inflation and expected Fed cuts.
