A mix of economic data impacted Wall Street and the crypto market as the last full week of Q3 drew to a close.
Meanwhile, robust earnings from Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) boosted future artificial intelligence (AI) expectations, and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) unveiled new AI features and products.
At OpenAI, executive departures and rumors about a restructuring have sparked speculation.
1. Strong US jobs data closes the week
The week began on a positive note as Wall Street’s major indexes opened slightly higher on Monday (September 23). The flash S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers’ Index for September came in at 55.4, marginally ahead of the expected 55.2, reinforcing positive sentiment regarding the health of the economy.
However, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management CEO Phil Blancato cautioned that the market is anticipating more rate cuts that the US Federal Reserve is likely to deliver, which could lead to volatility in the coming weeks.
China announced aggressive stimulus measures to support its economy on Tuesday (September 24), including issuing special sovereign bonds worth about 2 trillion yuan, news that boosted stocks around the world.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX), S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) all set new closing records. Gains to chip stocks including Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) boosted the PHLX Semiconductor Sector (INDEXNASDAQ:SOX) by 1.23 percent.
Stocks traded flat on Wednesday (September 25) morning, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping by 0.13 percent after the opening bell. By midday, gains in major players NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had reversed earlier losses for the tech-heavy index. It ultimately closed just 0.17 percent above its opening score, while the S&P 500 and S&P/TSX Composite Index both lost ground.
Thursday’s (September 26) weekly initial jobless claims data for the US shows 218,000 new claims compared to estimates of 225,000, signaling a strengthening in the labor market.
The tech sector was among the top gainers by midday, boosted by Micron’s upbeat forecast, which the company shared just after Wednesday’s closing bell. The S&P/TSX Composite Index logged a new record close above 24,000, its second this week. Meanwhile, gains to chips stocks boosted the PHLX Semiconductor Sector by 3.77 percent, while the S&P 500 hit an intraday record of 5,767.37 before retreating slightly to 5,745.37, still up by 0.4 percent. However, it was the Russell 2000 (INDEXRUSSELL:RUT) that led gains on Thursday, closing 0.62 percent ahead.
Friday’s (September 27) Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index report shows inflation rose slightly in August, leaving stocks largely unchanged. The S&P 500 ended the week down 0.13 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) were down 0.39 percent and 0.53 percent, respectively. Small-cap stocks outperformed again, with the Russell 2000 ahead by 0.67 percent at the closing bell.
2. Bitcoin breaks free from price lock
The digital asset market opened the week buoyed by the Fed’s rate cut. While US$65,000 was seen as a key resistance level, favorable market conditions and historical price data were hinting at a potential breakout.
Bitcoin and Ether remained relatively stable on Tuesday and Wednesday, while altcoins saw modest gains. Their lack of movement as Asian stocks rallied suggests a stronger correlation with US economic data.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) maintained momentum for the second week in a row, attracting inflows of US$136 million on Wednesday, the largest in almost a month.
Ether’s price dipped after the US Securities and Exchange Commission decided to delay its decision on whether to approve options trading for spot Ethereum ETFs until November 11. This choice came after the government body approved a similar product for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) last week.
The crypto market performed strongly on Thursday, propelled by positive jobs data. Bitcoin surged, with its upward momentum continuing into Friday, when it passed US$65,000 to trade above US$66,000 for the first time since July. Ethereum performed similarly, hitting a weekly high of US$2,721 midday on Friday.
As of Friday afternoon, Bitcoin was up 1.6 percent over the past 24 hours, trading at US$65,836, while Ether was up 2.4 percent over the same period, reaching a level of US$2,697.
3. Micron delivers uplifting Q4 results
Micron reported results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full 2024 year on Wednesday, prompting an 18 percent increase in its share price on Thursday morning. As of Friday’s close, shares of Micron stood at US$107.47, reflecting a 16 percent increase for the week and a 9.82 percent gain for the month.
The company’s revenue for Q4 reached US$7.75 billion, exceeding the US$6.81 billion reported in the previous quarter. Micron’s revenue for the same period last year was US$4.01 billion.
Revenue for the full year came in at US$25.11 billion, up from US$9.57 billion during the previous year.
“Micron delivered 93 percent year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal Q4, as robust AI demand drove a strong ramp of our data center DRAM products and our industry-leading high bandwidth memory. Our NAND revenue record was led by data center SSD sales, which exceeded US$1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra in a statement shared by the company.
“We are entering fiscal 2025 with the best competitive positioning in Micron’s history. We forecast record revenue in fiscal Q1 and a substantial revenue record with significantly improved profitability in fiscal 2025.”
Micron Technology performance, September 23 to 27, 2024.
Chart via Google Finance.
Guidance for the company’s first fiscal quarter of 2025 outlines revenue of approximately US$8.7 billion, plus or minus US$200 million, indicating continued confidence in demand for semiconductor chips.
Micron’s positive results also impacted other chip stocks last week.
Shares of NVIDIA were up 2.72 percent at Thursday’s bell, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSMC,TPE:2330) rose by 3.37 percent. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) saw their share prices rise by 3.22 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
4. Meta unveils new AI innovations at Connect event
Shares of Meta sank 0.44 percent this week following the Meta Connect event, held on Wednesday and Thursday.
The company showcased a lineup of new products, including a US$299 budget-friendly version of its Meta Quest 3 reality headset, the Quest 3S, which will replace its Quest 2 and Quest Pro models by the end of the year. It also revealed limited-edition Wayfarer Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with live AI-powered reminders and translations.
In addition, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled upcoming AI features for Meta, such as tools that will create lip-synced translations of Reels and voice chat capabilities. The event also showcased Meta’s full holographic augmented reality glasses, Orion. This provided the first glimpse of a product that has been in development for years, though Zuckerberg stated that it’s not yet ready for consumers and offered no release timeline.
Finally, Meta released the newest version of its language model, Llama 3.2, which includes small- and medium-sized versions designed to fit onto edge and mobile devices. Both versions can understand and process text and images, handling larger amounts of text while maintaining context over extended conversations or documents. It comes with improved multilingual support for eight languages: English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Spanish and Thai.
Meta’s share price fluctuated during the two day event, briefly rising 0.97 percent to US$575.40 before returning to its pre-event level, offering limited insight into investor sentiment.
5. OpenAI rumored to be restructuring
Speculation about the future of OpenAI intensified this week following a Thursday report from Reuters on the company’s alleged plans to restructure into a for-profit corporation. Experts see the anticipated move as an attempt to make the company, which is not publicly traded, a more attractive option for investors.
The news came just a day after Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati announced she will be departing from OpenAI, along with two other executives. Sources told Reuters that the non-profit will persist, but hold a minority stake.
The restructuring would also grant CEO Sam Altman his first equity stake in the company, potentially valued at US$150 billion if the plans materialize. No specific timeline for the restructuring was provided by the source.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.