US stock markets continue to make all-time highs but with smaller and smaller gains as the number of bears on the sidelines continues to fall.
Overnight it was a return of the safety in big tech theme with the Nasdaq jumping 0.2% after a strong report from Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).
The S&P 500 was up by the same amount whilst the Dow Jones continues to underperform, adding 0.1%.
The central bank summit traditionally held in Jackson Hole was expected to mark the beginning of higher interest rates but the Delta variant has clearly put a stop to that.
Chinese tech recovers
Shares in JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) continue to rally as the Chinese tech giant that specialises in supply chains and additional services reported adding 32 million new users and boosted revenue by over 26%. The likes of ARK Invest are now reallocating capital to China in the hunt for bargains.
Salesforce smashes expectations
Similarly, customer relationship management platform Salesforce.com delivered once again, reporting a US$535 million profit, as both revenue and earnings jumped 20%. The company is benefitting from more groups taking their customer communications online.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks fared on Wednesday.
- Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) up 5.3%
- Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) up 4.4%
- American Express (NYSE: AXP) up 3.1%
- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) down 0.8%
- Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) down 1.1%
- Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) down 2.3%
Back home on the ASX, get ready for the biggest day of reporting season with more than 20 popular names set to hand in its results. This includes a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) – as per Rask Media’s ASX reporting season calendar.
Despite the positive lead from US markets, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is expected to take a backwards step when the market opens on Thursday. For all the latest, check out my ASX 200 morning report.
