What’s News in Markets: AI Price Tag, New Oil Rules, Short-Squeeze Payback
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Hey listeners, it's Saturday, May 2nd. I'm Imani Moise for The Wall Street Journal. And this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's dive in. Markets extended a multi-week run of record highs, powered by a wave of earnings showing corporate America is still minting money, even in the face of war, higher oil prices, and more cautious consumer spending. No biggie. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished April with their biggest monthly gain since 2020 and kicked off May by hitting fresh records. All three major indexes finished the week higher. The Nasdaq was up 1.1 percent. The S&P rose 0.9 percent and the Dow inched up 0.6 percent. Big tech is making big money on AI, but they aren't the booming industry's biggest winners.
Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta all posted strong earnings this week, with AI driving growth in their cloud businesses. Amazon's cloud unit grew at its fastest pace in years, helping push overall revenue up 17%. Microsoft's revenue jumped 18%, and Meta reported its biggest revenue growth in nearly five years. But each of those companies also announced plans to increase their spending.
What are the latest trends in AI impacting big tech profits?
You may have heard, tech giants are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers, chips, and infrastructure to keep up with demand. And those costs are rising fast. In fact, the industry is expected to spend nearly $3 trillion on AI infrastructure over the next few years, according to Morgan Stanley. That spending frenzy has catapulted tech infrastructure stocks like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron into a whole new league. Those three companies alone are expected to generate around $350 billion in profit this year, with some now ranking among the most profitable businesses in the world. Shares in Micron and SK Hynix rallied about 9.5% over the week, respectively, while shares in Microsoft and Meta slid around 2.0% and 10%.
Google Parent Alphabet, which is playing both sides of the AI trade, was a standout. Its shares finished the week 12% higher.
Energy stocks were once again among the top performers this week. That came as crude surged to its highest level since the start of the conflict in Iran. Oil markets are settling into a new normal. The war isn't just pushing prices higher, it's pretty much reshaping the global energy system. Less driven by supply and demand, and more driven by power and politics. When the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it would leave OPEC — that, of course, is the alliance of major oil producers that help stabilize global prices — It kicked a leg out from an already unstable stool. Major oil importers in Asia and Europe are scrambling to reduce their reliance on the Mideast, while big producers, like the U.S., are competing for market share in an increasingly fragmented system.
Analysts say in today's oil market, it's every country for itself, which means investors should brace for prices that are... Predictably unpredictable. U.S. crude futures rose 8% over the week to about $102 a barrel, while the S&P Energy Index rose 3.2%. And a rental car company is accusing one of its major shareholders of taking its stock for a joyride. Avis is demanding that a Florida hedge fund return a portion of its trading profits following what some are calling the wildest short squeeze of the year. CEO Brian Choi says that Pentwater Capital Management fueled excess volatility as the stock rocketed from below $150 at the end of March to roughly $848 last week. Choi says the hedge fund was seemingly the only major investor that was active during that time, and that a niche short-swing profit rule requires the firm to hand over gains from shares it bought and sold within a six-month window.
Pentwater has already voluntarily agreed to return profits from 94,000 of the 4.3 million shares it unloaded during the rally. After last week's short squeeze, which sent Avis stocks surging more than 300% at their peak, shares came back to earth. and then lost another 9% this week.
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