Sharesies investors find their mojo and taste for crypto; AMD soars on OpenAI deal
France has lost another prime minister.
The more than 870,000 users of investment platform Sharesies felt a little perkier in the September quarter, with rising confidence tracking stock markets higher through the period, as investors racked up record trading volumes, and a growing appetite for crypto assets.
Meanwhile, stocks on Wall Street were spurred by a 26% rally for Advanced Micro Devices after it struck a multi-billion-dollar supply deal with OpenAI that will give the artificial intelligence startup a 10% holding of the chipmaker if all things go to plan.
Across the Atlantic, French stocks sank after prime minister Sebastien Lecornu announced his resignation after less than a month in the job, raising concerns among rating agencies about the European nation’s political instability.
And domestically, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s quarterly survey of business opinion is expected to show some improvement when it comes out today in one of the final pieces of data before the Reserve Bank makes its rate call on Wednesday.
Shares and share alike
Investor sentiment moved into the confident bracket for the first time this year in in the latest Sharesies quarterly index, tracking gains on the US, New Zealand and Australian stock markets available through the DIY investment platform.
Trading through the portal hit an all-time high $3.35 billion in the September period, with the value of crypto-related assets surging seven-fold and investors showing a growing preference for companies.
“This shift in sentiment suggests customers are sticking to their investing strategy despite economic challenges here at home and globally,” says Sharesies co-chief executive Leighton Roberts said in a statement. “As interest rates drop, investors are looking for the potential for better returns in shares and managed funds.”
Meanwhile, tech stocks rallied on Wall Street as the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% in late trading, with AMD driving gains among chipmakers and semiconductor firms as the company surged 26% on signing a multi-billion-dollar supply deal with OpenAI.
The AI startup will buy six gigawatts of AMD chips over the next five years, and receive warrants for roughly 10% of the chipmaker if it hits certain milestones.
Nvidia, which climbed a spot to be the second-most held company by Sharesies users, fell 1.1% with the AMD deal seen as potentially loosening its dominance in supplying AI chips.
“Deals like this are fuelling concern about a developing AI bubble, with ‘circular’ financing deals concentrated within a few key players,” Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note. “The WSJ recently noted that over the past three years, leading tech firms have committed more toward AI data centres, chips and energy, than it cost to build the interstate highway system over four decades, when adjusted for inflation.”
Into the stratosphere
Rocket Lab, which broke into the top five held companies on the Sharesies platform, pushed to a new record, and was recently up 3.9% at US$58.37, after a profile of the company and founder Peter Beck in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Across the Atlantic, France’s CAC 40 sank 1.4% after prime minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned after less than a month in the job, claiming opposition parties were unwilling to compromise over the makeup of his cabinet, making the job untenable.
Rating agencies warned the political instability stymied the government’s ability to balance its books, with France’s fiscal deficit almost twice the European Union’s 3% limit and the debt-to-GDP ratio pushing towards 115%.
The kiwi dollar traded at 49.87 euro cents at 7am in Auckland from 49.77 cents yesterday.
Australian futures are pointing to a 0.2% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 index when trading opens across the Tasman, while the kiwi dollar traded at 58.40 US cents from 58.35 cents yesterday.
Local data today include the NZIER’s quarterly survey of business opinion, which is expected to show some improvement in activity indicators, in line with the ANZ’s monthly business confidence gauge.
That’s the last major piece of data for the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee, which is widely expected to cut the official cash rate a quarter-point to 2.75% on Wednesday, although there’s an outside chance of an even larger reduction.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Kanchanara on Unsplash.
