Global stocks set for correction by year-end as rally fizzles: Poll
BENGALURU (REUTERS) - The blistering rally in global stocks is nearly over, any further gains will be limited and a correction is likely by the end of the year, a Reuters poll of analysts found. Global stocks have recovered by more than 90 per cent from the troughs hit during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the MSCI world equity index that tracks shares in 50 countries. But the rally is struggling to maintain its pace. The spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and the US Federal Reserve's pending plans to taper its asset purchases are likely to leave equity markets exposed to turbulence over the coming months. "The positive earnings season catalyst now behind us means some of the macro negativity is spilling over into equities," Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays in London, said. "Medium-term though, resilient economic/earnings growth and excess liquidity are likely to remain the dominant market drivers, in our opinion. This should continue to feed the 'buy the dip' mentality, although investors may stay on a wait and see mode for now, given the lack of meaningful correction in the past 12 months." Last week, world stocks suffe...
GameStop says SEC is investigating trading of its shares
NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - GameStop, one of the popular "meme" companies whose stock has soared this year, said US securities regulators are looking into the trading of its shares. The video-game retailer said on Wednesday (June 9) that staffers from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) contacted the company on May 26, for voluntary production of documents and information related to the stock. "We are in the process of reviewing the request and producing the requested documents and intend to cooperate fully with the SEC staff regarding this matter," the company said in a quarterly filing. "This inquiry is not expected to adversely impact us." Since February, securities regulators have been combing social media and message-board posts for signs that fraud played a role in dizzying stock swings for GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings and other companies, people familiar with the matter said at the time. GameStop is one of a handful of stocks that have been fueled by Reddit traders who invest based on social-media buzz. Shares of the money-losing chain have gained 1,500 per cent this year, closing on Wednesday at US$302.56. The stock fell as much as 13 per cent in extend...
Ethereum hits new record high again, dogecoin slumps
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Cryptocurrency ethereum climbed to a new peak for a third straight day on Monday (May 10) on continued optimism about further growth in decentralised finance or "DeFi", although some analysts said it was overvalued at current levels. Ethereum has soared this year, fuelled by the boom in DeFi, which are platforms that facilitate crypto-denominated lending outside traditional banking. Many DeFi applications are embedded in the ethereum blockchain. Ethereum, the second-largest coin by market capitalization, hit an all-time high of US$4,200 (S$5,570) and was last up around 5.2 per cent at US$4,133.40. "The myriad possibilities of decentralised ledger technologies should be likened to a technological force of nature that will continue to disrupt finance and other businesses," said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. An upcoming technical change to its software seen as reducing its supply has also provided a boost, while new institutional investors in the crypto sector have warmed to it amid a tepid quarter so far for bitcoin. "(Crypto has) got a lot more institutional involvement than people who haven't followed the market be...
Samsung Electronics flags 44% surge in Q1 profit, matching analysts’ estimate
SEOUL (REUTERS) - Samsung Electronics on Wednesday (April 7) said first-quarter profit likely rose 44 per cent, which analysts attributed to brisk sales of home appliances, smartphones and TVs, though chip earnings likely fell after a winter storm halted US output. The South Korean technology giant forecast January-March operating profit of 9.3 trillion won (S$11 billion), in line with a 9.3 trillion won analyst forecast from Refinitiv SmartEstimate. Revenue likely rose 17 per cent from the same period a year prior to 65 trillion won, the firm said in a short preliminary earnings release. Samsung is due to release detailed earnings later this month. Analysts said Samsung's mobile division likely saw operating profit soar more than 1 trillion won to about 4.15 trillion won after its flagship Galaxy S21 smartphone series outsold the previous version by a two-to-one margin in the six weeks since its January launch, according to research provider Counterpoint. A lower starting price for the flagship helped sales for the world's largest smartphone maker during the quarter, with the S21 priced US$200 lower than the S20, Counterpoint said. In its chip division, analysts said profit likely...
Zoom projects annual sales signalling growth after pandemic
NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications projected annual revenue that would top analysts' estimates, signalling the video meeting service expects to remain a ubiquitous presence in daily life even as the pandemic recedes. Shares jumped about 10 per cent extended trading. Sales will be as much as US$3.78 billion (S$5 billion) in fiscal year 2022, the company said Monday (March 1) in a statement. While the projected annual revenue growth of 43 per cent is far short of Zoom's 326 per cent increase in the fiscal year ended Jan 31, it topped the 37 per cent average estimate of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, will be as much as US$3.65 a share. Analysts projected US$2.97. Investors have feared the software maker couldn't continue the dramatic growth in 2020 that came as people forced home in coronavirus lockdowns connected remotely on the service to work, school, friends and family. While Zoom's stock jumped almost fivefold last year as it became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, it had gained just 11 per cent during the first two months of 2021 before surging almost 10 per cent Monday to close at US$409.66 in New...
Bitcoin soars to new high above US$52,000; sustainability concerns rise
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Bitcoin surged to yet another record high on Wednesday (Feb 17), a day after the virtual currency vaulted to the US$50,000 (S$66,390) hurdle, even as analysts warned against the sustainability of such prices amid elevated volatility. The world's biggest digital currency, with a market capitalization of over US$900 billion, hit a record of US$52,577.50, fueled by signs it is winning acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla, Mastercard and BNY Mellon. Bitcoin was last up 6.3 per cent at US$52,233. Despite the flurry of mainstream acceptance this year, some analysts warned that bitcoin was still far from becoming a widely used form of payment. "Bitcoin presently is not an efficient manner for high-volume transacting, and it is certainly not a store of value as its price volatility at 80 per cent is a dozen times higher than the euro and sevenfold of the Russian rouble," said Harley Bassman, managing partner at Simplify Asset Management. "That said, it is a perfectly legitimate speculative asset, quite similar to Dutch tulips in 1636. Will it meet the same fate? That is unclear. As such, size your risk appropriately." Dutch tulips in the 1...