Stock market today: Nvidia inches higher as S&P 500, Nasdaq hold near records

Live5 updates

• Thursday June 6, 2024 at 6:33 am MST

  Stocks Steady as Nvidia Rises

  U.S. stocks were little changed Thursday morning after a technology-driven rally that sent the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) to the records.

  NVIDIA (NVDA) opened slightly higher after the AI ​​favorite surpassed the $3 trillion market cap level in the previous session.

  On Thursday morning, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered around the flat line. The Nasdaq rose about 0.1%.

  Investors have their eyes on the highly anticipated jobs report due out Friday morning.

• Thursday June 6, 2024 at 5:55 am MST

  The commercial PC market is recovering

  Two trendsetters, in my books.

  Recent results from major PC manufacturers have suggested a recovery in the commercial PC market, at long last.

  Loop Capital's John Donovan came out with a note this morning that provides more insight into the emerging trend:

  "The deeper we go into this sector, frankly, the news and updates become more and more interesting. All the ingredients are present for a long, drawn-out update cycle. Among the inputs are the finalization of the return to work doctrines, an extended and prolonged lack of updates since the pandemic (this is also at play on the consumer side to some extent), the renewal of Windows 10-11, and this is generating growing optimism. Add to this the simple fact that. that AI-enabled PC solutions will certainly have higher ASP performance, particularly on the business side of the ledger, and the optimism appears to be realistic. Keep in mind that corporations upgrading simply cannot go the "cheap route." , since innovations in AI would make “good enough solutions” obsolete, we see it as a roadmap to an “overbought” level in the near future. More good news for PC OEMs.”

  This is what HP Inc. (HPQ) General director Enrique Lores told me about this rebound.

• Thursday June 6, 2024 at 4:44 am MST

  A new face on the Walmart board

  A significant new business for one of the fast food industry's most popular CEOs.

  chipotle (CMG) CEO Brian Nicol has been officially elected as director of Walmart (WMT) board. He is now the fifth new, independent director Walmart has brought in since 2017, CEO Doug McMillon said Wednesday morning ahead of the shareholder vote.

  Niccol replaces longtime board member Rob Walton (son of Walmart founder Sam Walton), who retired Wednesday.

  This isn't Niccol's first rodeo as a board member outside of Chipotle's confines. He previously served on the boards of directors of KB Home (KBH) and Harley-Davidson (PIG).

  The addition of Niccol makes a lot of sense.

  Both Chipotle and Walmart have seen success in recent years as value-conscious consumers seek out items they believe stretch their dollars. Niccol has also led the push for digital ordering at Chipotle, while McMillon has led a digital renaissance at Walmart.

  While other food chains struggled to keep traffic high last quarter, Chipotle saw its same store sales increase by 7%, partly thanks to the efforts of Niccol.

  A similar vibe at Walmart: Its U.S. same-store sales were up 3.9% year over year.

  Shares of the burrito chain are up nearly 38% so far this year, while Walmart shares are up more than 26%. It's also worth noting that Walmart recently conducted a 3 for 1 survey stock splitwhile Chipotle is awaiting shareholder approval by its 50 by 1 division.

• Thursday June 6, 2024 at 2:53 am MST

  Hey, before you get excited about this Lululemon quarter

  Bears raided Lululemon's house (lulu) stock ahead of its earnings report last night, so I get the 9% premarket advance on results that weren't quite as brutal.

  But this was not a typical Lululemon quarter (strong double-digit growth in each division) by any means, and the positive reaction may be overstated.

  Worryingly, comparable sales in the Americas division remained unchanged compared to the previous year. The company pointed out customer errors regarding colors, which is generally not a good sign of future demand. (I used to cover stocks as an analyst; trust me, this is not a good indicator.)

  "We advise investors to be sellers on any strength, the Lululemon brand and its fundamentals have peaked, in our view, and we anticipate relentless competition going forward," Jefferies analyst Randal Konik said in a note to a client this morning.

  Konik reiterated an underperform rating on the stock.

  It makes a lot of sense.

• Thursday June 6, 2024 at 2:44 am MST

  It's good to learn AI terminology

  If you're going to invest in AI, it's good practice to understand the jargon.

  And that includes yours truly, who isn't investing in AI but is writing a lot more about it than I thought a decade ago.

  Useful information on the topic of "liquid cooling" below in my talk with HPE (HPE) CEO Antonio Neri on Yahoo Finance Live. I think you'll hear more about this, given the power the new AI chips generate.

  I also found what Neri said about Nvidia (NVDA) be of interest.