【Morning report】Nvidia hits all-time high, semiconductor stocks rise with good TSMC results. Dollar at 150 yen range, with solid US consumer spending leading to reduced rate cut expectations

On the 17th, the US stock market showed mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to rise, reaching a record high on a closing basis. The S&P 500 index declined, while the NASDAQ Composite Index continued to rise. Semiconductor-related stocks rebounded from the previous day's decline. Retail sales exceeded expectations, and initial jobless claims fell below economists' expectations, leading to an improved economic outlook. As a result, there was an increase after the market opened. TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor contract manufacturer, announced strong earnings during Asian hours, boosting sector buying due to strong demand expectations. However, NASDAQ lost momentum towards the end of the day as interest rate concerns receded. By sector, semiconductor and manufacturing equipment rose, while transportation declined. $Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$On the 18th, a wide range of stocks were bought back in the Tokyo stock market, and the Nikkei Stock Average is expected to rebound for the first time in three days. Despite a nearly ¥1000 drop in the previous two trading days, today is likely to see predominant buying aimed at rebounding, following the gains in European and US stocks.
On July 18th, the Tokyo stock market saw a broad range of stocks being repurchased, with the Nikkei Average expected to rebound for the first time in three days. Despite showing almost a ¥1000 drop over the previous two trading days, today is likely to be dominated by buying aimed at rebounding following the strong performance of European and US stocks.

Top news
Nvidia hits record high on TSMC's earnings.
$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$Reached a record high on the 17th, hitting $140.89 for the first time.
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Taiwan's TSMC wins across the board in financial results! Net profit increases by 54%, a "reverse move" in the semiconductor industry.

TSMC to start production at the new Arizona plant early next year.
$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$(TSMC) has revealed plans to start semiconductor production at the first new plant under construction in Arizona from early 2025. TSMC announced plans to invest $65 billion (about 9.8 trillion yen) in the construction of a new plant in Arizona in 2020, and construction began in 2021. In the future, they plan to build three semiconductor plants in the vicinity of Vistancia, a suburb of Phoenix in the same state.

US Meta begins layoffs, reportedly restructuring specific teams.
The operator of platforms such as Facebook in the USA. $Meta Platforms (META.US)$has started laying off employees in multiple departments including the messaging app WhatsApp, the social networking site Instagram, and the Metaverse (virtual space) division Reality Lab. This was reported by The Verge, an IT media outlet citing sources familiar with the situation.

Google's top executive in the search and advertising division is stepping down.
Rice $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$Prabhakar Raghavan, who has been responsible for Google's search engine and advertising division for four years, is stepping down. The search and advertising division are core revenue sources for Google. Nick Fox, a veteran executive at Google, has been appointed as Raghavan's successor. Raghavan will collaborate with Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Google, in his new role as Chief Technologist.

Netflix's stock rose after-hours as the number of paid streaming subscribers increased more than expected.
$Netflix (NFLX.US)$In after-hours trading, Netflix's stock rose. The company announced its earnings for the July-September quarter (Q3) after the market close, exceeding expectations for earnings per share and revenue. The net addition of paid streaming subscribers also increased by 5.07 million, surpassing expectations. Despite the impact on new program planning due to last year's strike in Hollywood, the financial results exceeded expectations.
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Netflix reports increased revenue and profit in the 3rd quarter: revenue increased by 15% to $9.82 billion, operating profit increased by 52% to $2.9 billion, and EPS reached $5.40.

ドル円は150円台を回復した。9月の米小売売上高が予想以上に強い内容となったことで為替市場はドル買いが優勢となった。短期金融市場ではFRBの利下げ期待を若干後退させている。11月は80%超の確率で0.25%の利下げを見込んでいるものの、12月については60%程度まで確率が低下。米国債利回りも上昇する中、ドル円はここ数日拒まれていた150円を突破した。

1年で株価4倍以上の米独立系発電会社株、まだ“買い”の理由
●JPモルガンのアナリスト、ジェレミー・トネット氏は、今年すでに株価が2倍以上に上昇しているにもかかわらず、米国の独立系発電会社3社の株を買うよう投資家に勧めている。中でも株価が過去12ヶ月間ですでに317%上昇している $Vistra Energy (VST.US)$が「優位」に立っているとみている。これに $Talen Energy (TLN.US)$and $Constellation Energy (CEG.US)$が続くとしている。
●トネット氏は顧客向けメモで、「製造業の国内移転、より広範な電化の傾向（輸送、暖房など）、そして電力需要のパラダイムシフトを支えるデータセンター開発など、構造的な追い風が吹くと見ている」「安定した炭素排出のない電力に重点を置いたハイパースケーラーの需要が急増し、原子力発電が、かなりのプレミアムが付くユニークで希少な電力供給に変貌するだろう」と記している。
●トネット氏はビストラ株の目標価格を178ドルに設定した。これは現在の水準から約31％の上昇を意味し、ファクトセットが調査した同社担当のアナリスト15人の中でトネット氏は2番目に強気なアナリストとなる。