Stocks are hovering near highs to close out the week. Crude oil is dipping, while gold and silver are mixed. The dollar and Treasuries are flatlining.
From semiconductor stocks to the entire South Korean stock market, the AI boom has been sending select assets higher. Today, Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) is capturing the spotlight! Dell stock is soaring another 38% – on top of a 150% year-to-date rally – amid surging sales for AI servers. The firm boosted its full-year revenue target by $27 billion to $167 billion, with CEO Jeff Clarke saying, “The AI opportunity shows no signs of slowing.”
DELL, GOOGL, AVGO (YTD % Change)
Data by YCharts
Speaking of AI, the private equity and credit titans Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO) and Blackstone Inc. (BX) are reportedly trying to arrange a massive $36 billion AI infrastructure deal. They’re lining up investors to raise money to buy Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which the Claude maker Anthropic PBC would lease to ensure it has adequate computing power. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) would provide a payment backstop to help facilitate the transaction.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures are on track for their biggest monthly drop since the pandemic in 2020. The decline of more than 18% to around $90 a barrel stems from optimism about an extended ceasefire deal between the US and Iran. One is allegedly close, though similar reports have emerged for weeks – and ultimately come to naught.
The relief couldn’t come fast enough for American families. The US personal savings rate plunged to 2.6% last month from 5.8% a year earlier as higher costs pressured wallets and pocketbooks. That was the lowest the savings rate has been since mid-2022, and before that, the mid-2000s.
