Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Market indexes fought back valiantly from a huge drop at the open of today’s trading session. The apparent escalation of the Russia/Ukraine war (into its 1000th day today) with long-term missiles striking inside Russia for the first time and President Putin’s lowering of the threshold for utilizing Russia’s nuclear arsenal, early morning traders were understandably nervous.

It turned out not to be overblown, but by the overnight hours in that part of the world, market participants found other things to occupy themselves today. Chief among them are big expectations for NVIDIA NVDA earnings after tomorrow’s closing bell, +4.89%, and Super Micro Computer SMCI having survived a potential delisting from the Nasdaq and surged +32.9% on the session.

The Dow was the only index to wallow in the red by the closing bell, -133 points or -0.31%. The S&P 500 gained +23 points, +0.39%, while the Nasdaq led the way, up +195 points or +1.04%. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose +18 points, +0.80%. Bond yields stayed well behaved at +4.396% on the 10-year and +4.285% on the 2-year.

What to Expect When NVIDIA Reports Wednesday

Over the past year or so, NVIDIA has not only become the biggest AI play on Wall Street, but in the process it has grown to the biggest publicly traded company in the world by market cap, at $3.6 trillion, surpassing Apple AAPL.

Things continue to look up for the microchip innovator, with earnings growth expected +85% year over year, +82.66% on revenue growth. Analysts fully expect the company to post its eighth-straight earnings beat Wednesday, and currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating going into the Q3 print. Year to date, shares are up nearly another +200%.

SpaceX Booster Lands in Ocean on Afternoon Launch

Tesla TSLA and X CEO — and now unofficial U.S. presidential cabinet member — Elon Musk has tried to make history again this afternoon, with the sixth test launch of its Starship booster, super-heavy and at nearly 400 feet long, attempting to be captured by mechanical “chopstick arms.” It was a tall order that Musk’s SpaceX succeeded at roughly five weeks ago.

This time around, with President-elect Trump by his side, the Starship booster was not successfully captured for reuse in the future, and crashed into the ocean off the coast of the launch at Boca Chica, TX. Expectations were high that the attempt would continue Musk’s incredible winning streak, including a +58% gain in Tesla stock over the past month.

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