The stock market kicked the week off on a strong note as investors gained confidence that the Fed would cut rates later this year. This week’s focus will be on earnings reports from Disney, Uber and Airbnb.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped roughly 0.25%, or 96 points, to 38,771. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 both gained 0.5%.
AI makes Warren Buffett nervous
Warren Buffett admittedly isn’t an expert on artificial intelligence — but what he does know makes him nervous. Speaking at a question-and-answer session at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders conference Saturday, Buffett likened the advent of AI to his views on nuclear weapons.
In its latest earnings report, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire reported $21 billion in cash and Treasuries, bringing it to a record $189 billion last quarter — a 13% increase in just three months. In the same quarter, Berkshire offloaded a net $17 billion worth of stocks and bought back $2.6 billion worth of its own stock, up from $2.2 billion in the prior quarter.
The stock was flat in mid-morning trading with a 0.33% jump.
Micron Technology is growing strong
Micron Technology’s stock gained over 4.5% after Baird upgraded it to outperform from neutral, saying there is plenty of room for growth for shares. So far, in 2024, Micron Technology Inc. shares are up 40%.
Last month, the semiconductor manufacturing company was reported to receive $6.1 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funds to build chip fabrication plants (fabs) in central New York and Idaho. The Biden administration said the investments across New York and Idaho would create 70,000 jobs.
Spirit drops 9.5% over weak report
Spirit Airlines reported its 10th consecutive quarterly loss of $160 million and expects another loss next quarter. The airline still has $1.5 billion in debt that it has to pay off in the next couple of years. Its debt due 2025 is trading at 73 cents on the dollar, and its 2026 debt is at 55 cents.
Following the news, the stock declined 9.5% in mid-morning trading.
Bitcoin jumps to $64,000
Bitcoin rebounded to $64,000 on Monday morning after experiencing a significant decline last week. The latest surge in Bitcoin price comes amid the resurgence of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF has finally seen inflows. According to data compiled by Farside, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which is the biggest Bitcoin ETF in terms of assets, received $63 million from investors on Friday. This marks the end of daily outflows that had been occurring for almost four months since its conversion to a spot ETF structure in January.
-Rocio Fabbro, Melvin Backman, and Britney Nguyen contributed to the article
