Key 10 points to observe in the stock market on Tuesday

Market Insights for July 15

Here are my thoughts for Tuesday, July 15. Core rates, which leave out food and energy prices, aligned as expected. The S&P 500 seems set for a higher open today, buoyed by neutral CPI figures and some unexpected gains at Nvidia.

Nvidia announced it has secured an export license from the US government to sell H20 chips in China. This is quite a significant move, especially in such a large market. They’ve also rolled out another China-compliant chip, the RTX Pro, designed for digital twin factories and logistics. The stock saw a jump of over 4% following this news. CEO Jensen Huang is set to hold a media briefing tomorrow while attending supply chain meetings in China.

Meanwhile, BlackRock reported impressive revenues for the second quarter, surpassing expectations, although their total revenues came in slightly lower at $5.42 billion. Their managed assets reached $12.53 trillion, but inventory saw a decline of 3%. Notably, operating expenses were higher than anticipated, totaling $3.69 billion.

Wells Fargo’s stock dropped by 3% after missing its net interest income (NII) targets for the second quarter, prompting a downward revision of its full-year NII outlook below $47.7 billion. The bank is undergoing some changes after lifting restrictions set by the Fed. Honestly, it feels a bit tedious focusing on NII; what really matters is the growth in loans and investment banking. Still, they managed to report an EPS of $1.60 with $20.82 billion in revenue.

On the other hand, JPMorgan exceeded expectations across the board, including on loan loss provisions. Bond trading and investment banking performed well, despite a slight dip in stock values. They’ve adjusted their NII Outlook for the year, though, which might be a concern.

Citigroup shares rose a bit after they updated their full-year revenue guidance to the higher end of what was previously indicated. They beat EPS and revenue expectations in the second quarter, and they have revised their NII outlook upwards, excluding market fluctuations.

A research analyst stated that Meta Platforms, another club name, performed well in the second quarter, maintaining their buy ratings and setting a stock price target of $803. Meta closed at nearly $721 yesterday.

In a broader context, after evaluating 40 companies, Jeffries identified Microsoft as the frontrunner in Artificial Intelligence, giving it a buy rating and a price target of $600. Microsoft ended the day at $503, still below its record peak.

CoreWeave has pledged $6 billion to develop a new AI data center in Pennsylvania, which spurred a 7.5% increase in their stock. Alphabet’s Google is also enhancing its operations in Pennsylvania.

Lastly, Morgan Stanley has increased its price target for Abbott Institute from $127 to $137. Fourth-quarter revenues will be reported ahead of Thursday’s market opening. Analysts regard the industry setup favorably, maintaining equal weight on their evaluations.