CryptoCurrency

Markets bunker down as Iran-Israel tensions spark

Published

18 hours ago

October 2, 2024

NewsAdmin

Markets bunker down as Iran-Israel tensions spark

By Jamie McGeever

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.

The final quarter of the year is under way, and the sense of caution that characterized its open on Tuesday could not be further removed from the ebullience and optimism that marked the end of the third quarter 24 hours earlier.

Investors fled risky assets like stocks for the safety of U.S. Treasuries, gold and the dollar as Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The S&P 500 and global stocks had their worst day in a month, the 10-year U.S. bond yield registered its steepest fall in a month, and oil rose 3%, after being up 5% at one stage.

On top of the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran, the sense of gloom hanging over markets on Tuesday was heightened by the steep decline in a closely-watched tracking model estimate of U.S. GDP growth.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model estimate for third quarter U.S. GDP growth on Tuesday was cut to 2.5% from 3.1% last week. The fall of six-tenths of one percent was the biggest decline since the Q3 tracking estimates was launched in late July.

This will set the tone on Wednesday for markets across Asia. Chinese markets are closed for Golden Week, and the major economic releases will be inflation and manufacturing purchasing managers index data from South Korea, and consumer confidence from Japan.

Although oil spiked sharply on Tuesday, the deeply negative year-on-year price of oil is a major reason why inflation around the world is cooling, and much faster than many economists and policymakers had expected.

In many cases, like the euro zone, inflation is already at or even below the 2% target that many central banks aim for. Figures on Wednesday from Seoul are expected to show that annual consumer inflation in South Korea eased to 1.9% in September from 2.0% in August.

That would be the lowest, and also the first time below that 2% threshold, since March 2021.

Japan’s markets should be a little calmer on Wednesday, even though Nikkei futures point to a fall of more than 1% at the open, as the dust begins to settle on the major political upheaval of recent days.

Investors are getting used to what they might expect from new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, once considered a monetary policy hawk who now appears to have softened his stance.

He said on Tuesday that he hoped the Bank of Japan would maintain loose monetary policy “as a trend”, and that his administration will carry over the economic policy of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and “ensure Japan fully emerges from deflation.”

Here are key developments that could provide more direction to Asian markets on Wednesday:

– South Korea inflation (September)

– South Korea manufacturing PMI (September)

– Japan consumer confidence (September)

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever)

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CryptoCurrency

Tesla stock drops 3% after Q3 deliveries fall short of estimates

Published

42 mins ago

October 3, 2024

NewsAdmin

Tesla Q3 deliveries could drive 'further strength' in the stock

Tesla (TSLA) announced third quarter deliveries on Wednesday that slightly missed expectations, sending the stock down about 3%.

The EV maker delivered 462,890 vehicles in the three months ending Sept. 30, up 6.4% quarter over quarter to mark the first quarter of delivery growth this year. The numbers also came in ahead of the 435,059 EVs the company delivered in the year-ago period.

Wall Street had expected Tesla to deliver closer to 463,897, according to Bloomberg.

The Model 3 and Model Y represented the bulk of Tesla’s overall total, with those two vehicles combining for 439,975 deliveries.

Prior to the delivery numbers’ release, Tesla stock had been up around 20% in the past month, fueled by optimism about its upcoming robotaxi event on Oct. 10 and good news coming out of China indicating rising sales there.

But investors have also debated a “notably lower” annual vehicle growth rate, which Tesla warned about after the first quarter.

The company is currently dealing with stiff competition in China from Chinese automakers like BYD and Xpeng. Recent price cuts have also squeezed profit margins as competition intensifies.

Analysts have said next week’s robotaxi event will serve as a pivotal moment for the company’s future and its plans to further utilize artificial intelligence.

“We believe Robotaxi Day will be seminal and historical day for Musk and Tesla and marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future at Tesla,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Tesla will report third quarter earnings on Oct. 23.

Alexandra is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Palantir Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) stock may not have seen explosive growth but it has become a quite favorite with retail investors and as the company celebrates its fourth anniversary as a public company, here’s a look at how the company has rewarded its investors.

The Company: Palantir was co-founded by venture capital investors Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, its current CEO, and Stephen Cohen in 2003. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company provides data analytics software and services to government and business clients.

Check It Out:

The company currently has four platforms, namely

Gotham is primarily used across government functions and it helps users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants. It is also now offered to commercial customers. Foundry creates a central operating system for clients’ data. Apollo enables the rapid, secure delivery of software and updates across businesses, and also enables customers to securely deploy their own software in virtually any environment.

AIP allows responsible AI-advantage across the enterprise by using primary, core components built to effectively activate LLMs and other AI within any organization.

In the most recent quarter, Palantir reported revenue growth of 27% to $678 million, with government customers accounting for $371 million or roughly 55% of the total revenue. The commercial segment contributed $278 million. Lending credence to the ongoing momentum, the company closed 27 deals valued at over $10 million during the quarter and the customer count climbed 41%.

The company also raised its revenue guidance for the full year to $2.742 billion to $2.750 billion.

Palantir was added to the broader S&P 500 Index in September.

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Tech bull and Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives recently raised the price target for Palantir shares from $38 to $45, citing his increasing confidence in the enterprise-driven AIP Strategy. More enterprises are strategically discussing the potential deployment of AIP, in 2025, said Ives. “With AI spending expected to ramp significantly within IT budgets in 2025, we believe the Messi of AI – Palantir is in a prime spot to continue expanding its pipeline/deal flow,” he added.

The Palantir IPO: Palantir went public on Sept. 2020 through a direct listing, and the reference price was $7.25 apiece, giving the company a valuation of $16 billion. The shares opened the session at $10 and traded in a range of $9.11 and $11.41 before closing at $9.50.

The Palantir Stock: Although the stock did not get a post-listing boost, it topped at $39.22 in early Feb. 2021 and went about a broad consolidation move throughout the year. The stock pulled back along with the broader market in 2022 and turned into a muted performance until mid-2023. Since then, the stock has staged a nice recovery.

$1,000 invested in Palantir at the stock’s closing price of $9.50 on the debut session would have fetched an investor 105 shares. The same shares would be worth about $3,916 based on Monday’s closing price. The hypothetical investment would have fetched a return of about 292%. The S&P 500 has gained a little over 71% during the same period.

Wondering if your investments can get you to a $5,000,000 nest egg? Speak to a financial advisor today. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you up with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you.

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This article If You Invested $1,000 In Peter Thiel Co-founded Palantir When It IPOed 4 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You Would Have Now originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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