A strategist has predicted that “smart money” is leaning towards a Donald Trump victory and a likely Republican landslide in the upcoming elections. The financial markets responded with enthusiasm on Monday, as the Nasdaq experienced a significant increase of 1.5%, gaining 277 points. This uptick followed President Joe Biden’s recent announcement to withdraw from the presidential race, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his preferred successor. In the same trading session, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 saw rises of 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
In the realm of political predictions, the betting platform Polymarket is currently backing Harris for the Democratic nomination, while PredictIt from New Zealand forecasts her as the likely 47th president of the United States.
Market movements were not limited to politics alone. Shares of Nvidia climbed by 4% after reports surfaced announcing the company’s plans to create a version of its new Blackwell AI chips for the Chinese market. Nvidia intends to collaborate with local partner Inspur to launch the chip, tentatively named “B20,” with shipments anticipated to begin by the second quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock saw a nearly 5% surge ahead of its earnings report, where CEO Elon Musk is expected to update the public on the company’s anticipated robotaxi rollout. Musk indicated that Tesla aims to have useful humanoid robots in low production for internal use next year, while larger-scale production for external companies may commence by 2026.
Conversely, CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm involved in a significant global tech outage earlier in the week, reported that it is still addressing the challenges from the incident, although many affected devices are gradually coming back online. The company’s stock took a hit of over 13% during Monday’s trading.
Verizon faced challenges after releasing its quarterly earnings report, with stock prices dropping nearly 6%. The telecommunications company missed revenue expectations as consumers hold on to their old phones longer, affecting upgrade rates for new mobile lines. Verizon’s second-quarter revenue came in at $32.8 billion, slightly below the expected $33.06 billion, while earnings per share were in line with forecasts at $1.15.
In summary, the financial landscape is currently influenced by significant political shifts, promising advancements in technology, and the fluctuating performances of major companies, reflecting a complex interplay of factors shaping the market outlook.
Overall, while there are challenges ahead for some companies, the excitement surrounding advances in technology and political dynamics can provide hope for growth and adaptation in the financial markets.