Stock Market Update - 1/7/24

It was not a great week for the stock market to start the year. Wall Street  had a rough week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.5% for the week, and the S&P 500 slid 0.6%. But Nasdaq was the worst performer falling 3.25% for the week.

QuantumScape (QS)

This stock was discussed in my Investment Meet and also in my January blog. The stock soared more than 43% after reaching an important milestone with Volkswagen (parent company of BMW).

The solid-state battery technology promises longer range, shorter charging time and maximum safety. The solid-state battery significantly exceeded the requirement.it’s expected to go more than 310,000 miles without any loss of range for the battery. If it works and can have mass production then it may change the EV paradigm and QuantumScape. So also the stock price!! But it may take a couple of years for mass production and moreover things may also go wrong, so one must do due diligence. Only risk taking and patient investors should think owning. With that said, this is NOT a recommendation to buy/sell rather just my personal opinion.

The ADP Employment report said US economy added 164,000 private jobs vs. 115,000 forecast exceeding expectations. Jobless claims also dropped to 202K vs. 220K expected.

The U.S. economy added many more jobs than anticipated in December, with nonfarm payrolls growing by 216,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 170,000 for last month.

In my view, we may see little more pullback till the next CPI report is published on Thursday. If that’s not terrible then we may see the stock market bounce back. Also, Q4 earnings will kick-off from this week. If earnings are good, we should see further high and Nasdaq may approach towards new highs.

Tomorrow JP Morgan healthcare conference starts in San Francisco. We will see if there will be any major announcements from any biotech companies..

Generative Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to take center stage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 technology trade show, which opens Tuesday in Las Vegas. Luminar (LAZR) is expected to debut its Automatic Emergency Steering (AES) capabilities using the new Iris+ LiDAR. Also, it the company is expected to show all new Polestar 3 equipped with Luminar LiDAR.

Q4 Earnings: The big banks will kick off the earnings season on Friday, 1/12/24. We’ll hear fromBank of America Corporation (BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo Company (WFC).

Key Economic Reports: There are two very important economic reports this week. On Wednesday, 1/11: CPI and 1/12 PPI report.

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