Wall Street is edging closer to setting new all-time highs.
The Nasdaqjumped 0.6% on Wednesday, advancing for the fifth day in a row. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, while the Dowadded 39 points.
All three major indexes are trading 3% or less away from their all-time highs.
Chip stocks helped spur the rally on Wednesday. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surged 8% after Nomura slapped a “buy” rating on the company. Nomura said AMD’s “elevated” valuation is justified by “rapidly improving” profitability and high revenue growth.
Rivals Applied Materials (AMAT) and Micron Technology (MU) also rose more than 3% apiece.
Blue Apron (APRN) climbed 7% after the meal-kit delivery company replaced CEO Brad Dickerson with former Etsy (ETSY) exec Linda Findley Kozlowski. GameStop (GME) declined 5% on a gloomy outlook and disappointing results.
Here’s what you missed on today’s “Markets Now,” CNN Business’ live show from the New York Stock Exchange:
Could there be a few more years left in this already decade-old bull market?
According to Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of OppenheimerFunds, the answer is yes.
Memani told CNN’s Alison Kosik during the CNN Business “Markets Now” live show that growth may slow down in the first two quarters of 2019. But the market will pick back up again in the second half, and that’s what investors should pay attention to, Memani argues.
IMF Global Growth estimates are looking good, and signs of a looming trade deal could quell fears of the ongoing trade skirmishes. That means a lot of the hangups investors may have been feeling at the start of this year could go away.
OppenheimerFunds does expect the growth rate to slow to 2% and stay there through 2019 and into 2020.
Lack of consumer demand isn’t the issue, nor is lower government spending, Memani said. It’s the fact that so many companies bought back shares last year rather than putting extra cash into expanding their businesses.
“It’s lack of investments that have kept us at a low level of growth,” he said.
Memani is also happy about the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady. But refusing to hike rates for the rest of the year could be a policy mistake, he said, because it limits the options the central bank will have later on if the economy starts to look worrisome.
On CNN Business’ “Markets Now” live show Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of OppenheimerFunds, told CNN’s Alison Kosik that the stock market can keep growing for five more years.
So where should you invest?
“The cyclical companies that do well in a good economy are where the action will be. So tech certainly is in that group,” he said.
Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of OppenheimerFunds, told CNN’s Alison Kosik on CNN Business’ “Markets Now” live show that the Fed may have overcompensated for its hawkish stance last year, but that’s better than being too stringent.
Mobile, streaming and the death of the American mall are hurting GameStop (GME), which reported miserable earnings Tuesday.
It has a chance the way the Blockbuster didn’t, but it has to adjust to the new reality, says CNN Business’ Paul R. La Monica on “Markets Now.”
Teddy Weisberg, founder of Seaport Securities said on “Markets Now” he doesn’t agree with the Fed’s decision to stop raising rates. But that’s good news for the markets.
You can watch the show live at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet.
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Tune in today at 12:45 pm ET for this week’s live edition of “Markets Now,” hosted by CNN correspondent Alison Kosik. She’ll be joined by Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of OppenheimerFunds.
Here’s what he’ll talk about:
How to watch: You can watch the show live at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet.
If you can’t catch the show live, check out the highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
The American stock market has nearly recovered from last year’s nose-dive.
The Dow was up 80 points to 26,260 in early afternoon trading on Wednesday. That means the index is less than 700 points away from the intraday record high set in early October.
The Nasdaqsoared 1.1%, leaving the index just 2.5% below its all-time high.
And the S&P 500, up another 0.6% on Wednesday, is even closer. It needs to climb just 2% higher to take out the record set in September.
The remarkable recovery from last year’s near-bear market reflects fading recession fears, optimism about US-China trade talks and enthusiasm for the Federal Reserve’s sudden shift in policy.
Tech stocks helped lead the latest rally on Wall Street. Chip stocks jumped on a bullish analyst note on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which surged 10%. Rivals Micron Technology (MU), Applied Materials (AMAT) and Nvidia (NVDA) posted sharp gains.
Packaging maker Dow Inc. (DOW) joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday, replacing DowDuPont (DWDP), the chemicals conglomerate that’s spinning it off next month.
That might sound confusing, but Dow Inc. CEO Jim Fitterling said the spin-off makes sense. He told “First Move” anchor Julia Chatterley that most of its units, ranging from plastics to consumer goods, are growing.
“We have a good track for the future,” Fitterling said. He added that the company is primed to handle external pressures, such as high oil prices, because it’s a “low-cost producer.”
Dave & Busters (PLAY) shares rallied 5% after a solid fourth-quarter earnings report:
Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser of Allianz, said the Federal Reserve made a “massive U-turn” to become more dovish in recent months. Other global central banks have followed suit. For that reason, El-Erian thinks that the current bull market could go on for another one or two more years.
But El-Erian said investors should brace for even more volatility as a result.
El-Erian added that recent economic data from China suggests that the global economy might wind up doing better this year than many had feared at the end of 2018 – when investors were nervous about a recession and that the Fed may keep raising rates.
Still, El-Erian remains skeptical about how much longer the good times will last.
US stocks continue to float higher.
The Nasdaq is on track for its fifth straight gain.
Global markets were carried higher on Wednesday by “positive sentiment related to the never-ending US-China soap opera,” Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, wrote in a note.
The Shanghai Composite rallied 1.2% overnight.
US investors largely ignored the disappointing ADP jobs report that showed that companies added 129,000 jobs in March. That’s well shy of the estimate for a gain of 175,000 jobs, and the weakest in 18 months.
GameStop (GME) plunged 9% after the video game retailer issued weak guidance and a decline in sales.
Blue Apron (APRN) soared 10% following the resignation of CEO Brad Dickerson and co-founder Ilia Papas. Signet Jewelers (SIG) climbed 3% on an earnings beat and better-than-expected sales.
Signet Jewelers (SIG), which operates Kay, Zales, Peoples and Jared stores, plans to close more than 150 stores this year as traffic slows to the mall retailer.
Signet closed 262 stores last year. It still has more than 2,800 stores in North America.
The retailer announced the plan on Wednesday. It also reported results for the holiday stretch.
Sales at stores in North America open for at least a year fell 1.4% in November, December and January compared with a year ago, including an 8.4% decline at Jared.
The company predicts same-store sales will fall by up to 2.5% this year.
Signet’s holiday results and guidance were not as bad as some investors feared. Signet’s stock was flat during pre-market trading.
It’s a critical week in the US-China trade war, with both sides inching toward a deal.
“We’re getting toward the end-game stage,” the US Chamber of Commerce’s Myron Brilliant told reporters Tuesday.
Stock markets certainly have been acting like it: The S&P 500 is up more than 14% this year and less than 3% from its record set last September.
Watch out for hurdles: The Chinese wants the US to drop all tariffs. Washington wants guarantees on implementation and enforcement. Also, a potential border closure with Mexico could sour any optimism about US-China progress.
The British pound has rallied after Prime Minister Theresa May said she would implement any Brexit deal that was agreed to by a majority in the UK parliament.
May also said she would ask the European Union for another short extension to Brexit, and work with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to find a compromise.
The political situation in the United Kingdom remains highly uncertain. It’s not clear whether the European Union will grant a short extension to Brexit, and there’s still no consensus in Britain on how to exit the bloc.
Bitcoin prices shot up 15% Tuesday and briefly rose above the $5,000 level for the first time since November. But good luck finding a reason to explain the sudden spike.
Green added that “this dramatic jump is likely to attract many investors who have been sitting on the sidelines,” including big institutions.
Wild swings for bitcoin are the norm. So this shouldn’t be all that surprising, argued Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst with TF Global Markets, in a report.
“Bitcoin is a kind of a beast which has the ability to score more than 20% gain on a daily basis and we have seen this kind of rally towards the end of 2017 before the price crashed,” Aslam wrote.
He added that the big bitcoin (XBT) spike “is going to attract many investors who have been sitting on the sideline and waiting for this moment.”
Crude oil futures were on track for a fourth consecutive positive trading session on Wednesday.
US futures added 0.3% to trade at $62.70 per barrel, pushing gains for this year to 38%. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 0.8% to just under $70 per barrel.
Fiona Cincotta, an analyst at City Index, said:
Recent positive manufacturing news from China has also eased fears of a dramatic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. Weak growth in China would have reduced demand for oil.
Here’s what investors are watching today:
