Home Improvement Companies Cry in Their Beer
Positive re-ratings in Korean and Japanese stocks; and the Australian, New Zealand and Norwegian currencies.
Key Takeaways
Nvidia’s Strong Results Don’t Move the Market: One thing we are learning in the overnight trade is that Nvidia does not move the market needle like it used to. Concerns of AI overcapacity, disruption to other sectors, balance sheet issues, and financial irregularities are factors undermining sentiment that were not around six months ago. The times they are a changin’.
Hardware Firms Worry About the Consumer: While the President was gushing over the state of the economy in the State of the Union address, the downbeat comments on the consumer from both Home Depot and Lowe’s are serving as an important backcheck.
Korean and Japanese Equities Are Still Surging: The boom in semiconductors and memory prices, along with new policies aimed at bolstering shareholder returns (in Abe-like fashion), are making the Korean stock market the world’s darling for the second year in a row. Japan is also hitting new highs as it gains favor from being a HALO destination for global capital. As for the FX market, hard-asset currencies like the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, and Norwegian krone are all undergoing a fundamentally positive re-rating.
