Nasdaq leads market slide as Bitcoin touches new record

Live6 updates

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 10:05 AM MST

  Nasdaq leads broader market declines

  Market losses escalated by early afternoon trading with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) leading the broader declines. The tech-heavy index sank about 1.8% as a retreat in Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) continued to drag on stocks more widely.

  Apple shares fell roughly 3% on a report that iPhone sales fell 24% in China. Tesla’s stock declined 4.5% as a shutdown at its Berlin Gigafactory added to concerns over a shipment slump and a Chinese price war.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved roughly 0.8%.

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 9:45 AM MST

  Gold hits new highs on expectations of rate cuts, geopolitical tensions

  Bullion rose to new highs on Tuesday on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates along with continuing geopolitical tension.

  Gold futures (GC=F) reached a high of $2,150.50 earlier on Tuesday after April contracts settled at a record $2126.30 per ounce in the prior session. On Tuesday Spot gold touched a record of $2,141.79 before retreating.

  The precious metal is considered a safe haven during times of uncertainty, usually moving up when the US dollar moves lower and interest rates decrease.

  Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to start cut rates later this year.

  Gold has held up above the $2000 level over the past couple of months despite a higher for longer interest rate environment. Central banks have been buying up gold for their reserves at historic levels, helping drive up demand.

  Adjusted for inflation, gold hit a record in 1980 when it hit $850 per ounce, which would equal close to $3,200 in today’s dollars.

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 9:01 AM MST

  Bitcoin touches new record high

  Bitcoin (BTC-USD) reached a fresh all-time high of $68,991 to briefly surpass its previous record of $68,789 from November 2021. It’s since retreated to trade around $67,000 a coin.

  The run-up in prices comes amid US regulators’ approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, which launched in January. According to Bloomberg, the ETFs generated more than $4.2 billion in net new flows in just one month.

  Prices of other cryptocurrencies like ethereum (ETH-USD) have also seen a boon amid the bitcoin surge. Ether prices have increased 66% since the start of the year to trade around $3,800 a coin.

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 8:15 AM MST

  The macro setup and election season

  It’s a day likely to be full of Super Tuesday analysis from various market pundits and other experts.

  So why not join in the fun here at Yahoo Finance?

  A good note from one of my favorite economists, Michael Schumacher over at Wells Fargo, just crossed my inbox. I found it helpful to see how he is thinking through potential market moves months before the election, with a specific focus on fiscal and monetary policy.

  Schumacher’s thoughts:

  Republican sweep

  “In our opinion, a Republican sweep is the scenario that would cause the biggest increase in the deficit and Treasury’s financing need after 2025. We expect easier fiscal policy under a Trump administration, especially if Republicans gain control of Congress. President Trump quite likely would want to extend, if not expand, his previous tax cuts. We expect this scenario to have the largest impact on Treasury term premium and the yield curve (e.g. 5s/30s). As we noted previously, the curve probably will steepen if Trump wins big over the next few weeks and a Republican sweep becomes increasingly likely.”

  Democratic sweep

  “This scenario also seems quite likely to involve a larger deficit and steeper Treasury curve, but by a smaller margin than in a Republican sweep. Our economists say “Even if Democrats sweep on Election Day, we doubt they would allow the TCJA to completely expire as scheduled”. Tax rates could conceivably rise even more for top income earners. Furthermore, corporate income tax increases are also more likely in this scenario. Although some of the individual income tax provisions are likely to expire as planned we expect more meaningful spending packages to accompany the expiration of the tax cuts.”

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 7:32 AM MST

  Stocks pull further back from record highs

  US stocks slipped on Tuesday, once again retreating from record highs.

  At the opening bell, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved about 0.3% lower after a losing start to the week. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank roughly 0.8% amid continued drags from Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA).

• Tue, March 5, 2024 at 5:30 AM MST

  It’s Super Tuesday, Target’s CEO mentions the word election

  Super Tuesday is unlikely to move markets.

  Totally get it, besides there is a lot more happening this week in markets from wild moves in bitcoin to the slide in Tesla’s (TSLA) stock.

  But at some point this year, what’s shaping up to be a contentious US presidential election will move markets. That’s why I am banking comments on the election from top leaders today in order to help guide investors through the murky waters months from now.

  Target (TGT) chairman and CEO Brian Cornell — who I last physically saw inside the White House a few months ago before a meeting with the Biden administration —didn’t give me a lot on his macro views on Super Tuesday. He did give me just enough in a phone chat, however, to begin thinking how the consumer stock trade may act in the months before November.

  Here’s what he told me:

  “We’re watching [the election] like you are, really carefully. We’ve looked at past trends during election years. I think that it makes sure we bring that little bit of joy to the guests during uncertain times. Make sure we make Target a special place for them to shop, filled with relevant product and great value. But we know they’re still going to consume, and we want to be a destination during what could be a very challenging and uncertain period of time.”