Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week — here's a look at some of our top stories.
The three primary stock indices experienced their first week of losses in 10 weeks. The Nasdaq saw the most significant drop, falling by 3.25% — its largest weekly decline since September. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones also fell by 1.52% and 0.59%, respectively.
In December, the U.S. job market outperformed expectations, with the addition of 216,000 nonfarm jobs, surpassing the estimate of 170,000. The unemployment rate remained constant at 3.7%, indicating ongoing robustness in the labor market.
This strong employment data suggests that the Federal Reserve might postpone its anticipated interest rate cuts. Prior to this data release, market traders were optimistic about the Fed initiating rate reductions as soon as March, with up to six cuts expected in 2024. However, these expectations may now need to be adjusted.
Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.
The Bulls
"Tesla Model Y Is Bestselling Electric Vehicle Of All-Time, Passing A Record Previously Held By The Musk-Led Company" by Chris Katje, reports that Tesla Inc. TSLA has set a new record with the Model Y becoming the bestselling electric vehicle ever, surpassing the company's own Model 3.
"Amazon Is Analyst Clear Favorite For Wall Street Analysts for 2024" by Adam Eckert, reports that Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is the top pick for 2024 among Wall Street analysts, driven by optimism in AWS growth, AI potential and operating efficiency.
"Crypto Experts Eye Sky-High Bitcoin Values In 2024: What's Driving The Bullish Predictions?" by Bibhu Pattnaik, highlights the optimistic forecasts for Bitcoin BTC/USD in 2024, driven by factors like the Bitcoin halving event and potential ETF approvals, with predictions reaching up to $100,000.
For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:
EXCLUSIVE: Buy The Dip — There's A Lot More Upside To Come, Says Marc Chaikin
The Bears
"Tech Titans Tumble: 'Magnificent Seven' Shed $250 Billion in Market Cap On 2024 Day One" by Piero Cingari, reports that the "Magnificent Seven" tech companies, including Apple Inc. AAPL and Amazon, lost $250 billion in market cap on the first trading day of 2024, led by Apple's 4% drop.
"Cloudflare CEO Says Rivian Trucks 'A Disaster' When Something Goes Wrong, Reveals Staggering $4,200 Quote For Windshield Repair" by Ramakrishnan M, reports on Cloudflare Inc CEO Matthew Prince's criticism of Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN for high repair costs, citing a personal experience with an expensive windshield repair.
"Is the Streaming Bubble Bursting? Significant Portion Of Users Cut Multiple Subscriptions" by Anusuya Lahiri, reports that streaming giants like Netflix, Inc. NFLX, Paramount Global PARA, and Walt Disney Co DIS are facing increased customer churn due to rising prices and cost-of-living concerns, leading to a rise in subscription cancellations.
For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:
China Housing Shock: Property Shares Under Renewed Pressure After Weak Data
Nvidia Enjoyed AI Hype, But Now It's Approaching 'Trough Of Disillusion': Analyst
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© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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