Beat the street: NFP; JOLTS; factory output; Xiaomi; Microsoft; Gold

Plus, Microsoft is set to sell Teams and Office separately amid antitrust scrutiny. Plus, gold hits a fresh record high.

(AI Video Summary)

Today's overview

In this episode of "Beat the street", Angeline Ong presents an overview of the market trends and news before the Wall Street opens. She highlights important topics such as employment data, investor focus, factory output, and the JOLTS report. She also discusses Xiaomi's entrance into the electric vehicle market with their SU7 model and questions whether it can be successful in this competitive industry. Another focus is Microsoft's decision to sell its Teams and Office products separately to address potential antitrust issues.

Indicies and upcoming NFP report

Ong also mentions the performance of equity markets, particularly the Dow Jones. While the market seems to be going up, the price movements are becoming narrower. The upcoming non-farm payroll (NFP) report is then discussed, with expectations of 200,000 jobs being added in March. This report could have an impact on the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates and the strength of the US dollar. Ong provides charts of the dollar index and explains the concept of inverse polarity. She emphasizes the significance of the NFP report and other labor market data releases.

Next, Axel Rudolph, another IG analyst, joins the discussion and talks about the technical indicators for the S&P 500. He points out signs of negative divergence, which could indicate a possible consolidation or change in the trend, even though the index is still experiencing an upward movement. Rudolph suggests monitoring key support levels to assess the market.

Fed offical speeches

The episode moves on to speeches given by Federal Reserve officials, such as John Williams, Loretta Mester, and Mary Daly. Investors are eager to hear any hints about the timing of the first rate cut or a potential extension.

Xiaomi

Ong also mentions the competition in the electric vehicle market, with Xiaomi's entry and its pricing strategy. She notes that Xiaomi's valuation is quite significant compared to traditional US automakers.

Microsoft

Lastly, Ong discusses Microsoft's decision to sell its chat and video app Teams separately from Microsoft Office, due to regulatory concerns. She presents a chart displaying Microsoft's strong performance driven by the AI sector.

Oil

Ong touches on the rising price of Brent crude oil caused by geopolitical conflicts and the record-high gold prices attributed to a weak US dollar. The episode concludes with a brief overview of market conditions leading up to the release of economic data.