Asia stocks set for steady open; Yields, dollar up
Asian stocks looked set for a steady start Wednesday as traders weigh a climb in Wall Street shares, Treasury yields and the dollar amid robust U.S. economic data and more calls for tighter monetary policy.
Futures for Japan rose, while Hong Kong's dipped. Australia slipped at the open. U.S. futures fluctuated after equities extended their rally overnight, buoyed by robust retail sales and factory output and generally solid reports from Walmart and Home Depot. But concerns linger that high inflation could eventually bite, and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard called for more hawkish monetary policy.
JPMorgan says tech investment to power 2022 market
Stock investors looking to 2022 should keep technology in mind not just as a growth play, but as the engine for better profit margins across the whole market, says David Lebovitz of JPMorgan Asset Management.
Investors next year are likely to see "investment spending kick in as a key driver of economic growth," the firm's global market strategist said in an interview Tuesday on Bloomberg TV's Surveillance. "A lot of that has to do with technology."
Day traders pile into EV stocks even as Tesla sells off
Retail investors bought $378 million in shares of electric-vehicle carmakers over the past week, including high-flying $Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US)$ and $Lucid Group (LCID.US)$, and also $Ford Motor (F.US)$, according to data compiled by Vanda Research.
Rivian in particular has been a focus since its initial public offering, as the stock has doubled its $78 IPO price and the company now sports a market value of around $150 billion, which is more than Volkswagen AG.
Retail sales rose by 1.7% in October despite high inflation
American consumers withstood rising inflation to power a strong start to the holiday shopping season, with big retailers reporting higher sales and expectations for a solid finish to the year.
Sales at U.S. retail stores, online sellers, and restaurants rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in October compared with the previous month, the Commerce Department said. Consumers continued their stepped-up spending despite continued Covid-19 fears and inflation concerns.
Walmart falls behind soaring Home Depot in market value
$Walmart (WMT.US)$ has fallen behind $Home Depot (HD.US)$ in market value despite having much higher revenue. Home Depot climbed 4.5%, while Walmart fell 2.1% on Tuesday.
The shift reflects investors' growing concerns about Walmart this year, even as $Costco (COST.US)$, $Target (TGT.US)$ and $The Kroger (KR.US)$ have outpaced the broader U.S. stock market. After Walmart stock posted double-digit returns last year and in 2019, the shares have stagnated amid questions about its prospects for long-term growth.
Qualcomm hits record high after it tells investors it will grow without Apple
$Qualcomm (QCOM.US)$ stock closed up 7.9% Tuesday after it issued bullish forecasts at an investor’s conference in New York. Qualcomm is best known as a supplier of wireless chips and processors for mobile phones but said on Tuesday that it had diversified its business.
Qualcomm currently supplies wireless connectivity chips for $Apple (AAPL.US)$’s devices but Qualcomm said it predicts it will only supply 20% of the modem chips needed for the 2023 iPhone.
JPMorgan sues Tesla for $162m over Musk's 'funding secured' tweet
$JPMorgan (JPM.US)$ has sued Tesla for $162m, alleging that the automaker failed to make a required payment that was triggered after chief executive Elon Musk's 2018 announcement that he was considering taking the company private.
Netflix begins reporting viewer numbers for its biggest hits
$Netflix (NFLX.US)$ will begin regularly reporting viewership numbers for its top programmes and films, a major shift in strategy for the streaming company that has carefully guarded its data over the past decade.
The company said it will report every week how many hours people spent watching its top 10 TV shows and movies, for both English and non-English titles, including Netflix originals and content licensed from third parties.
Source: Bloomberg, WSJ, CNBC, Financial Times

Will I still get free $BlackBerry (BB.US)$ stock card if I participate in paper trading for 7 days for season 2 if I already received one in season 1?

Stocks rise on hope for good news and anticipation. FAANG has been doing well and many blue chips too, but be cautious as when all good news are out, investors may profit take and thus there’s this Chinese saying “7 up 8 down. whether it’s true , only time will tell. History will always repeat, but not in the exact same way. $Meta Platforms (FB.US)$  $Apple (AAPL.US)$  $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ im long for u guys!