- Markets rally.
- Apple in talks to add Google AI to iPhone.
- Eyes turn to Fed decision.
4:15pm: Tech rally drives Nasdaq higher
Tech stocks drove the Nasdaq higher at the close on Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision, with investors focusing on hopes around AI advancements despite concerns about stalled interest rates.
The Nasdaq led the charge to finish 0.8% higher at 16, 103, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.6% at 5,149 and the Dow added 0.2% at 38,790.
Tesla stock surged nearly 7% after announcing price hikes for its Model Y electric vehicles in Europe and the United States. Other tech stocks were boosted by Nvidia's developer conference and reports of Apple potentially incorporating Google's AI engine into its next iPhone.
The market has been volatile due to worries about inflation and uncertainty regarding the Fed's policy direction. Eyes are now on the Fed's meeting starting Tuesday, expecting them to keep rates unchanged.
2:49pm: Stocks hold gains
Markets continued to enjoy strong gains into Monday afternoon, with the Nasdaq leading the rise on the addition of 193 points to reach 16,166.
Gains were buoyed by Alphabet and Apple’s strong performance on the back of reported discussions to roll out the latter’s Gemini AI chatbot on iPhones in the coming months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 160 points to 38,874, and the S&P 500 by 44 points to 5,161, thanks to the resultant rally in tech stocks, meanwhile.
Elsewhere, Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP) held 1.8% gains after advisor Glass Lewis said prospects under the firm’s current regime looked strong amid an ongoing advance by activist investors Trian Fund Management and Blackwells Capital.
Manufacturer Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT, ETR:CAT1) climbed 1.6% on positive comments around its e-commerce wing by services group president Bob De Lange, including that it had added 100,000 customers last year.
And Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0) also marked strong gains on plans to hike Model Y prices in the States and in Europe.
12:35pm: Nasdaq leads rally into afternoon
The Nasdaq led strong gains throughout the markets into Monday afternoon, as news of talks over a potential AI partnership between Apple and Google lifted tech stocks.
By the afternoon, the Nasdaq Composite was up 204 points at 16,177, followed by 148 and 47-point gains to 38,863 and 5,164 by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 respectively.
Google owner Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) led the day’s risers with gains of over 5.6% to US$150.21, after news emerged of talks with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) to incorporate its AI chatbot Gemini into iPhones.
Apple climbed 1.6% to US$175.36 on the news, while AI chipmaker Nvidia gained almost 1% to reach US$886.47 as its week-long GTC conference got underway.
“Artificial intelligence continues to excite investors,” IG analysts noted on Monday, "and the [Apple and Google] news has helped the stock to recoup almost all the losses from late January”.
That said, “the Fed meeting and Nvidia conference this week are still potential short-term hurdles for the broader market,” analysts added.
Federal Reserve policymakers will meet on Wednesday to discuss US interest rates, with markets expecting no changes just yet but awaiting any insight on stubborn inflation.
Elsewhere, Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP) climbed 2.2% to US$114.36 after proxy advisor Glass Lewis advised shareholders to reject bids from activist investors Trian Fund Management and Blackwells Capital for spots on the entertainment giant’s board, noting prospects under the current regime looked strong.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0) added 5.6% to reach US$172.64, meanwhile, on weekend news it was to raise prices of the Model Y across Europe and the US after heated competition and dampened demand has led to cuts over the past year.
9:43am: Wall Street opens higher as tech stocks lift
US stocks have opened higher on Monday after gains from Nvidia helped lift the leading indexes ahead of the Fed meeting later this week.
The Dow Jones lifted around 112 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained around 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.
Nvidia shares are 4% higher after a couple of negative sessions last week, with investors experiencing the early benefits of the AI chipmaker's week-long GTC conference.
Apple shares are up around 2%, while Google owner Alphabet is trading 7% higher after reports revealed the two were in talks to bring the search engine's AI chatbot to iPhones.
Google is negotiating with Apple over plans to implement its Gemini chatbot into the iPhone's built-in AI tools such as Siri.
It would provide a huge boost for Google after its AI chatbot has come under criticism for it overly-diverse instructions which led to it producing images of black Nazis.
Apple is believed to also be working in-house on its own version of generative AI technology, aiming to provide Siri with similar capabilities to ChatGPT and Gemini.
8:33am: US stocks to open higher ahead of Fed meeting this week
Wall Street is set to open slightly higher on Monday ahead of the Fed's interest rate announcement on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones is set to open around 100 points higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also expected to jump.
Interest rates are expected to remain unchanged at 5.5%, with hotter-than-expected inflation data from last week leaving investors unsure about a June rate cut.
Nasdaq said it suffered an issue regarding connectivity and stock orders, however, this issue has now been resolved.
Nvidia shares are up around 3% in premarket trading ahead of its GTC conference, which will see leading figures in the AI community showcase their latest developments.
Google owner Alphabet lifted around 5% after reports said it was in talks with Apple to implement its Gemini AI chatbot into future iPhones.