The Tesla Inc. Model Y electric vehicle during the launch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Samsul Said | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
Dow outperforms
U.S. stocks traded mixed Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average the only major index to notch a win. Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost around 0.3% after the country’s core inflation rate climbed to 3.3% year over year, ten basis points higher than May’s reading. Separately, TSMC shares sank about 3% after it reported its first quarterly profit drop in four years.
Rice prices rise
Whether your carbohydrate of choice is rice, bread or noodles, expect to pay more for it. India has banned the export of non-basmati white rice effective Thursday, in an attempt to rein in high food prices domestically. Global rice prices are already at a record high because of shortages. Wheat prices have also been rising this week, after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Elon Musk, CEO, CTO, founder
Elon Musk is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; CTO of Twitter; founder of Neuralink, The Boring Company and now xAI. Those overlapping roles at multiple ventures worry some analysts and investors, who think Musk might grow distracted or that his various companies might end up competing with each other.
Breach by China-linked hackers
China-linked hackers breached the email account of U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, NBC News has confirmed. The hackers also accessed the email account of Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of State for East Asia, and Gina Raimondo, secretary of Commerce. The attacks are part of a recent targeted intelligence-gathering campaign, two U.S. officials confirmed.
[PRO] Undervalued global stocks
Global stock markets are not attracting as much attention as U.S. markets — so there are often overlooked bargains to be had. Morgan Stanley picks a list of global stocks it thinks will beat the market — and are priced less than the bank thinks they’re worth.
The bottom line
Since late May, when the frenzy around Nvidia started building, technology stocks have been pushing the Nasdaq Composite higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which comprises fewer tech stocks, has languished.
Yesterday was a reversal of that trend.
The Dow advanced 0.47%, its ninth straight day of gains and its longest winning streak since 2017. The blue-chip index was juiced by Johnson & Johnson, which popped 6% after the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its outlook for the year. Goldman Sachs, another Dow constituent, climbed 3%.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq slumped 2.05%, its worst day since March, putting it on pace for a negative week. The tech-heavy index was dragged down by falling shares of Netflix and Tesla. Netflix tumbled 8.4% after posting revenue that disappointing analysts, while Tesla sank 9.7% as the company’s earnings call failed to clarify delivery and production plans for the year. Other tech stocks, like Amazon and Nvidia, fell in sympathy and lost more than 3%.
The S&P 500 also slipped 0.68%.
Still, this might be a temporary aberration because of earnings reports. There’s no indication that investor excitement over artificial intelligence has simmered down — recall how Microsoft’s stock hit a record high Tuesday after the tech company announced its subscription plans for AI.
Moreover, the Dow’s up 6.3% year to date while the Nasdaq has popped 34.4% in the same period. It’d take much more than one bad day to halt the momentum of tech stocks.
