Daily Newsletter - December 3, 2024

Daily newsletter for Financial Advisers by Financial Advisers.

1. Apple joins the crypto madness.

Remember Apple, the company we were all worried about because it “lacked innovation,” and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold a large portion of its shares?

Well, it’s once again the largest company by market cap at $3.62 trillion, adding a partnership with Coinbase to allow users to buy crypto via Apple Pay.

The addition to Coinbase Onramp will allow the 60M+ U.S. users of Apple Pay to instantly bring money on-chain, giving Apple a piece of the recent crypto craze.

2. “Magnificent 7” earnings revisions.

Wall Street strategists have been forecasting a broadening of the stock market rally away from the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks toward the other 493 stocks in the index.

"We’ve given an edge to the broadening of market leadership or the shift into Value, but think it’s a close call," RBC Capital Markets head of US equity strategy Lori Calvasina wrote, emphasizing that another strong year of economic growth could help support the S&P 493.

But not everyone agrees. Barclays head of US equity strategy Venu Krishna pointed out that Big Tech continues to top earnings estimates each quarter. And as long as that streak continues, Krishna argued "Big Tech is likely to remain as critical of an EPS growth driver for the S&P 500 as the group was this year."

To Krishna's point, while the broadening is expected to take place throughout next year, earnings revisions remain more positive for many Big Tech names than the rest of the S&P 500.

3. Meanwhile, European stocks have had a flat month in November.

Contrarian bulls are starting to wake up to the depressed sentiment and extreme underperformance.

The Stoxx 600 extended its underperformance versus the S&P 500 in November in what is already one of the worst years on record for relative returns. Euro-area equities have been plagued this month by political uncertainty in France and accelerating outflows from the region.

But: December has been positive for the region about 70% of the time over the past 25 years.

4. Cybersecurity spending is growing double-digits annually, exceeding $260B in 2025.

But still just under 7% of overall IT spend, with more room to grow.

Source: IDC Worldwide Security Spending Guide (July 2024), Gartner Worldwide IT Spending (October 2024)

5. The Belgian property market is having a bad year.

6. Gold has been moving sideways in November, as the dollar got stronger.

Prices are still up about 30% this year, with gains supported by the Fed’s monetary easing cycle, purchases by central banks and heightened geopolitical and economic risks.

“Gold’s perceived status as a safe-haven asset could continue to support demand in the long run”, NAB Group analysts said in a note.

7. China's thermal coal imports have risen 80% in the last 2 years and are showing no sign yet of peaking out.

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