The Dow lagged other US indices overnight but still managed to reverse early losses and close within striking distance of a new high. Technology stocks rallied strongly overnight after upbeat guidance from Snowflake (NASDAQ: SNOW) reignited enthusiasm around the AI thematic. Shares in the cloud-based data platform surged +36.5% after delivering strong earnings and issuing better-than-expected second-quarter guidance, helping lift broader enterprise software names and driving the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) 2.8% higher – theoretically a good read through for the ASX tech heavyweight names.
Elsewhere, we saw two positions held by MM in our International Equities Portfolio rally by more than +10%:
- Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU) closed up +10.5% following bullish comments from Chevron at a Bernstein conference: “coal-fired generation is up, people that can burn coal are burning coal, and it’s on an increase around the world” – CEO Wirth said.
- First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) closed up +10.9%, advancing for a sixth straight session amid growing demand for long-term solar energy as the war drags on.
The energy sector may have slipped 0.1% in the US overnight, but that was all about oil & gas; the world remains hungry for reliable energy solutions as the demand from AI surges.
- We continue to believe the path of least resistance is on the upside for US stocks, which is the direction in which surprises are likely to unfold.
MM is bullish towards the Dow around 50,500
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