sad start to the year

Anxiety on the first day
U.S. markets were mostly down on the first day of trading in 2024, with the Nasdaq Composite index suffering its worst day since October. Meanwhile, US bond yields rose. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index fell 0.11%, erasing a nearly 0.7% gain earlier in the day, as data showed that factory activity in the euro zone contracted in December.

Tesla makes it happen
Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla reported deliveries of 484,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter, bringing total deliveries for 2023 to 1,808,581 vehicles. This is a 38% year-over-year growth, and has almost achieved the 1.8 million-delivery goal set by Tesla executives at the company’s previous financial results conference in October 2023.

apple falls
Apple shares fell 3.58% after Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight. The bank also lowered its price target for Apple from $161 to $160. Barclays analyst Tim Long said in a note to clients that Apple’s iPhone 15 sales have been “lackluster,” particularly in China, and Long said this weakness is due to Apple’s other product lines. He said he thought it would extend to

Extension of delivery detour route
Maersk has announced it is suspending all shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until further notice after one of its ships was attacked by Yemen-based Houthi militants over the weekend. The Danish shipping giant’s decision highlights how the U.S.-led effort to protect shipping lanes in the region, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, faces challenges. Oil prices fell on Tuesday.

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It wasn’t the bright start to the new year that investors had hoped for.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose about 8 basis points to 3.941%, again nearing the 4% level, while the yield on the 2-year note rose more than 7 basis points to 4.324%.

That put pressure on stock prices. The S&P 500 fell 0.57%, dashing hopes of a new closing high to start the new trading year, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.63%, its worst reading since October.

Several major stocks fell, weighing on the ratio of high-tech stocks. Apple’s stock price fell after Barclays downgraded the company, and other Magnificent Seven stocks fell along with it. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 3.6%.

Meanwhile, Rivian’s stock price fell more than 10% on news that the electric car company’s fourth-quarter deliveries were down about 10% from the previous quarter.

Still, yesterday wasn’t all bad news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to hold its own, posting a modest gain. Moderna shares also jumped 13.12% after Oppenheimer said the coronavirus vaccine maker could launch several new products over the next 12 to 18 months.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin traded above the $45,000 barrier for the first time since April 2022, adding to its surge of more than 170% in the past 12 months.

Analysts say the long-term outlook for the stock remains positive.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities says an “AI monetization cycle” could push the Nasdaq to $20,000 in 2024. Separately, Scott Rabner, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, said inflows into stocks last year were just $172 billion, the lowest level since 2019, and he expects stocks to fall this year. He pointed out that this suggests there is surplus cash left to boost the market.

There’s also the expected first rate cut, which has historically driven stocks to “average gains of about 12% for six to seven months,” said Joe Kalish, chief global macro strategist at Ned Davis Research. he writes.

Investors shouldn’t be discouraged by the disappointing start to the new year. Despite perhaps a slow start, this year still holds promise.

Correction: This report has been updated to correct the countries where Maersk is based.