Category: Entrepreneur Index

Trade-sensitive stocks rally as the trade war with China continues to drive prices this week. August 30, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The major stock indexes were down more than two percent last Friday after President Trump threatened to increase tariffs again on Chinese goods, but rallied yesterday after China responded with surprising moderation. The U.S.’s largest trading partner said it would forego further tariff increases on American goods and hoped to settle the dispute with a “calm attitude.” The two countries may still be a long way from a trade deal, but China’s response momentarily lifted investor sentiment. The Entrepreneur Index™ was up 0.52 percent in the last week while the Dow and S&P 500 indexes added 0.87 percent and 0.53 percent respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index had a decline of 0.23 percent in the last week. Related: Netflix and Chill […]

The stock market is hanging on for dear life as slowing global economies and the continuing trade war with China hurt investors’ appetite for stocks. August 16, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The Entrepreneur Index™ was down 3.03 percent in the last week with most of the losses coming on Wednesday — the worst day of the year in the stock market. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes fell 2.91 percent and 2.89 percent in the last five trading sessions while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 3.39 percent. U.S. Treasury bonds continue to be the favorite haven of skittish investors. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which moves opposite to the bond’s price, plummeted on Wednesday and briefly fell below the yield on the 2-year Treasury bond. Such an “inversion” of this part of the bond yield curve has been a […]

Technology and trade-sensitive stocks have a wild week on the Entrepreneur Index™. August 9, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. August is traditionally a quiet month in the financial markets. Not this year. The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China produced the most volatile week of the year in the stock and bond markets. Stocks had their worst day of the year on Monday as investors sold off risk assets and piled into the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which moves opposite to price, momentarily broke below 1.6 percent on Wednesday before stabilizing yesterday around 1.7 percent. Investors are now pricing in three more cuts in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board this year. The price of oil is also reflecting extreme pessimism on economic growth. West Texas crude fell below $51/barrel on […]

Federal reserve policy and the trade war with China produced a volatile week for the Entrepreneur Index™. August 2, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The Entrepreneur Index™ is feeling the heat. Monetary policy and trade relations have been the dominant factors moving stock prices for months, and they combined last week to produce one of the most volatile weeks in the market this year. Stock prices fell sharply on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve Board decided to cut interest rates by only 25 basis points. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the move was a “mid-cycle adjustment” and not necessarily the first of a series of rate cuts. Investors decided yesterday that more rate cuts would be forthcoming despite the relatively less dovish stance of the Chairman. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond plunged by more than 10 basis points to its lowest level […]

Tesla also announced the departure of another senior executive: its co-founder and chief technical officer. July 26, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Stock prices have stalled near all-time highs as the market digests second quarter earnings results and awaits the next move from the Federal Reserve Board. The Entrepreneur index declined 0.83 percent in the last five days as large numbers of companies reported uneven financial results for the second quarter. The Dow and S&P 500 index also had small losses on the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.38 percent gain for the week. The corporate earnings picture for the second quarter has — as expected — been spotty. While upwards of 75 percent of companies reporting so far have beaten lowered expectations, poor results have been punished by investors. Top on the list this past week was Tesla, […]

The Entrepreneur Index™ was also down this week as investors hope for Fed interest rate cut. July 19, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Netflix lost subscribers in the U.S. for the first time in eight years, and it added about half as many international subscribers as expected in the second quarter. The company did beat earnings estimates, but Netflix shares were down more than 10 percent after it reported results late on Wednesday. The stock was down 9.93 percent in the last five trading sessions. Netflix’s weak results, however, may be an aberration in the second quarter earnings season. Expectations were for a 2.7 percent drop in earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index in the second quarter, but actual results are trending better than expected so far. The banks and financial companies reporting earliest have posted significantly better numbers than expected […]

L Brands sinks on associations with alleged sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. July 12, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Don’t worry investors, the Fed has your back. That appears to be the signal Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is sending to the market as it continues its longest bull run on record. In Congressional testimony this week, the Fed Chairman expressed continuing concerns about international trade and global economic growth despite an unexpectedly strong June jobs report and slightly higher inflation than expected for the month. The Fed is still expected to cut interest rates at the end of the month. The major stock indexes all set new highs this week with the Dow and S&P 500 indexes topping 27,000 and 3,000 respectively for the first time and the Nasdaq Composite breaking above 8,200. The Entrepreneur Index™ is also in uncharted territory, up 1.47 […]

The Entrepreneur Index™ starts the second half of the year on a high note. July 3, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Tesla reported record vehicle deliveries of 95,200 in the second quarter yesterday, leading to a more than seven percent jump in the stock price in after-hours trading. More than 77,000 of those deliveries were of its mass-market Model 3, the vehicle that most analysts see as key to Tesla’s future. Investor sentiment on the pioneer in electric vehicles has been as volatile as its chief executive Elon Musk this year. The shares were down nearly fifty percent on the year to a low of $177 in early June, but have staged a sharp rebound in the last month. They are up 27 percent since then though they are still down 33 percent for the year. The broader market has also shown resilience […]

The office collaboration company’s stock fell on its second trading day. June 21, 2019 2 min read Slack shares opened at $38.50 on Thursday, the company’s first day of trading, up 48 percent from a $26 reference price Wednesday. That massive win gave the San Francisco-based tech startup a $19.5 billion valuation, almost triple its private valuation of $7.1 billion. That seems like a high number, considering that Slack itself estimated the market for its industry (workplace collaboration services) at $28 billion in its offering paperwork. Friday saw the startup fall back to earth, as Slack stock fell 3.63 percent to 37.22. However, the true question about Slack’s value won’t be determined in its first week of trading (just as Uber’s fate wasn’t decided by a disastrous IPO). The Entrepreneur Index™ as a whole was down slightly, falling 0.13 percent as Amazon, Comcast and Adobe Inc. saw losses on the day. […]

The escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf didn’t kill investors’ enthusiasm. June 20, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The Fed’s clear signal yesterday that a rate cut could be coming outweighed worries about rising risks in the Middle East. The apparent shooting down of an American drone by Iran, however, did cause another spike in the price of oil today. West Texas crude oil was up 5.8 percent today and has risen nearly ten percent in the last two days. Shares in oil and gas producer Hess Corp. were up 4.07 percent. The S&P 500 index set an all-time high late in the day and closed with a gain of 0.95 percent. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite indexes were up 0.94 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index™ rose 0.79 percent today. Alexion Pharmaceuticals had the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur […]

The tech giant’s cryptocurrency reportedly has backing from traditional payment firms and other billion-dollar businesses. June 14, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. A late rally in the stock market fizzled and left the stock indexes with losses on the day. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were down 0.07 percent and 0.16 percent respectively while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.52 percent. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day down 0.12 percent. Semi-conductor stocks were down sharply after Broadcom reported weaker than expected revenues today. The chip-maker also lowered guidance for 2019, blaming weak global demand and the U.S. crackdown on Chinese telecom firm Huawei for its deteriorating outlook. Chipmakers NVIDIA Corp. (-2.7 percent) and Analog Devices (-1.66 percent) had the biggest declines in the tech sector on the Entrepreneur Index™. NVIDIA, which produces high-end graphics chips, is up 8.3 percent this year but down 45.8 […]

The broader stock market was flat. June 11, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Stocks opened higher but fell through most of the day. The indexes ended the session with declines of less than 0.1 percent. The Entrepreneur Index™ fared slightly better, closing the day with a gain of 0.08 percent. Tesla had another good day, posting the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™. It was up 1.98 percent after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas suggested that investors were undervaluing the company’s potential upside from its autonomous driving technology. Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk said that autonomous driving fleets of Teslas would eventually give the company a market cap of $500 billion. The shares are up more than twenty percent in June after losing nearly fifty percent of their value in the first five months of the year. The technology sector once again […]

Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell has the economy’s back. June 4, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell said today that the Fed “will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion” of the economy. The market is currently pricing in two cuts in interest rates by the Fed before year-end. Powell’s message along with encouraging comments from Chinese and Mexican officials about reaching trade deals with the U.S. put a charge in stock prices today. The Nasdaq Composite index was up 2.65 percent after a sharp drop yesterday. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up 2.06 percent and 2.14 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day with a gain of 2.29 percent. The technology sector led the market today after one of its worst days of the year yesterday. The tech stocks most sensitive to the […]

The president’s latest trade bombshell lobbed at Mexico sent investors scurrying for cover. May 31, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Stock prices were down sharply after the President, a self-described “tariff man,” threatened via Twitter to impose a five percent tariff on all imports from Mexico unless “the illegal immigration problem is remedied.” The White House later issued a statement saying that unless Mexico “substantially stops” the number of illegal entrants across the southern border, the tariff would increase to 25 percent by October. The Dow index was down 1.41 percent while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes fell 1.32 percent and 1.51 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day 1.55 percent lower. The President’s threat exacerbated fears about slowing global economies and sent interest rates and the price of oil plummeting. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell more […]

A deal between the world’s two biggest economies looks less likely. May 23, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The U.S. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures business activity in the manufacturing and service sectors, fell to its lowest level in nine years this month. At a reading of 50.6, the PMI suggests the economy may currently be close to flat. Interest rates and the price of oil plunged on the weak economic news. So did stock prices. The major indexes were all down sharply with the Nasdaq Composite index falling 1.58 percent. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day with a loss of 1.69 percent. Technology stocks were once again hammered on the trade front. There is growing fear that the blacklisting of Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies could cause a “tech cold war” between the two biggest producers and consumers of technology products. […]

Plus, Under Armour stock jumps based on an analyst upgrade. May 17, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The report yesterday of a third fatal accident possibly involving the company’s autopilot feature sent Tesla shares plummeting 7.46 percent. CEO Elon Musk recently suggested that autonomous driving vehicles would eventually give Tesla a $500 billion market cap … the company is currently worth $37 billion. An email from Musk to Tesla employees about the need for a “hard-core” cost-cutting effort also shook investor confidence. The stock set a new 52-week low today and MKM Partners analyst JC O’Hara suggested that the shares had no technical support in the market until the $185 level — another 13 percent drop from the current price. The shares are now down 36.6 percent this year. The broader stock market recovered from a poor start to the trading session thanks […]

Tesla shares were down after a third crash potentially involving the company’s Autopilot system occurred in March. May 16, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The U.S. economy continues to outdo expectations helping the stock market push back toward all-time highs set earlier this month. Housing starts jumped 5.7 percent to 1.235 million units last month, significantly higher than expected and the labor market continued to show surprising strength. Jobless claims fell to 212,000 last week versus estimates of 220,000, according to data from the Labor Department. The stock indexes all had solid gains today. The Dow and S&P indexes were up 0.84 percent and 0.89 percent respectively while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.97 percent. The Entrepreneur Index™ closed the day up 0.95 percent with strength across most sectors of the market. After diving on Monday when China imposed retaliatory tariffs on American goods, […]

Plus, a delay in auto tariffs lifts investors’ spirits. May 15, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The stock market continues to swing based on trade tensions with China and other major trading partners of the U.S. Share prices were down in early morning trading but rallied after President Trump’s administration indicated that it planned to delay tariffs on automobiles and auto-parts from numerous countries for up to six months. The major indexes all posted solid gains. Technology stocks, and particularly the internet giants, once again led the market higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 1.13 percent and the Entrepreneur Index™ gained 1.14 percent. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up a more modest 0.45 percent and 0.58 percent respectively. The FAANGs found their footing today and posted the biggest gains in the technology sector. Alphabet Inc. (3.91 percent), Facebook (3.09 percent), […]

President Trump may be comfortable with tariffs and trade wars, but investors aren’t. May 13, 2019 3 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Stock prices fell hard today after China announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of American exports to the country today. Higher U.S. tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports when into effect last Friday. The market, clearly expecting a trade agreement between the world’s two biggest economies, had its worse day since early January. With a trade deal now looking less likely, investors are fleeing risk. Related: Uber Stock Tumbles After IPO, Leading to Disappointing First Day as Public Company The technology sector was hit hardest, dragging the Nasdaq Composite index down 3.41 percent. The Dow, down more than 700 points in the morning, fell 617 points on the day or 2.38 percent. The S&P 500 index declined 2.41 percent. The Entrepreneur Index™ […]

The ride-sharing company was valued at over $82 billion on its first day of trading. May 10, 2019 2 min read Uber raised over $8 billion in its first day as a publicly traded company and still managed to fall short of expectations. The company opened its first day of trading with an initial public offering price of $45, but finished the day at $41.52 — down 7.7 percent. According to The New York Times, “Since 2000, only 18 companies valued at more than $1 billion and listing on American exchanges have opened below their IPO price.” It’s been a tough month for ride-sharing apps, given how Lyft announced losses of over $1 billion in its first quarter as a publicly traded company just days before. Many of the other major players in the tech industry also had moderate losses on the day. Amazon shares fell by 9.89 points (-0.52 percent on the […]