Trending tickers: The latest investor updates on Nvidia, TSMC, Apple, Honda and Vistry
December 24, 2024
Much investor optimism continues around major tech stocks, including chipmaker Nvidia, as a key enabler of the AI boom. The stock closed Monday’s session nearly 4% higher, with the stock now up 182% year-to-date.
Investor enthusiasm for Nvidia had cooled after the release of its latest results in November, which disappointed slightly against expectations on certain metrics.
However, analysts remain confident about the stock, particularly around demand for its AI Blackwell chip.
Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks push higher as traders prepare to wind down for Christmas
US markets rallied on Monday in a shortened trading week, with chip stocks leading gains. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed Monday’s session up 0.7%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose nearly 1%, with investors hoping for stocks to rally further ahead of the Christmas break.
Markets tend to see a seasonal surge around the Christmas period, also known as the “Santa rally“. In the last 30 years, the S&P 500 has posted gains 23 times in December.
Following the rise in US chip stocks, the Taiwan-listed shares of TSMC touched a fresh record high on Tuesday.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chipmaker, rose as much as 1.4% in Taipei before closing Tuesday’s session flat, according to Reuters.
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Kevin Net, head of Asian equities at Financière de l’Échiquier, reportedly said: “For us, TSMC remains the best way to play the AI theme without having to pick a winner or a technology, at a reasonable valuation.”
TSMC’s role in the semiconductor market, manufacturing the designs of the likes of Nvidia, has meant it is consider a bellwether for the sector.
TSMC stocks rallied on the release of better-than-expected results last month. TSMC’s shares are up 82% year-to-date.
Another tech stock that has continued to push higher is the world’s most valuable company Apple. The company is closing on a historic $4tn valuation, with its market capitalisation currently standing at $3.86tn (£3.07tn).
Despite being overtaken as the world’s most valuable company at one point by Nvidia, Apple’s shares have since rebounded, rising 11% over the past month.
Sales of Apple’s iPhone have been closely watched by investors, along with the rollout of its Apple Intelligence AI platform.
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Apple’s most recent results showed that iPhone sales had beaten forecasts, at $46.2bn for its fiscal fourth quarter, against expectations of $45bn.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.L), said: “With the first wave of Apple Intelligence features being rolled out, this bodes well for customer upgrades ahead.
“Innovations on phones have been fewer and far between so there is a lot riding on the appeal of these new integrated tools.”
The Tokyo-listed shares in carmaker Honda continued to rally on Tuesday, rising 12%, as investors digested the details of its proposed deal with with Nissan (7201.T).
On Monday, the carmakers announced plans to form a joint holding company, which will aim to list shares in August 2026. According to a Bloomberg report, while the two firms announced the deal as a merger, Honda is set to take the lead in creating the new company, as well as in nominating most of its directors.
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The memorandum of understanding signed by the companies to begin talks also includes Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T), a smaller member of the Nissan Alliance, in the discussions about the proposed integration.
Nissan shares closed Tuesday’s session up 6%, while Mitsubishi rose 7%.
The potential deal could create the world’s third-largest carmaker by sale and the new entity could be valued at more than $50bn, based on the market valuation of the three companies.
Back in the UK, shares in housebuilder Vistry slid nearly 18% on Tuesday morning, after the company issued a third profit warning.
Vistry said it now expected adjusted profit before tax to come in at around £250m ($313m) for the year, lowering this figure from previous guidance of £300m.
The housebuilder said it had seen a number of agreements with partners, which were expected to complete in its current fiscal year, take longer to conclude. Vistry said it had also decided not to proceed with a number of proposed transactions and seen a delay to some open market completions.
Read more: Top trending global stocks of 2024
Back in October, Vistry issued an initial profit warning after it discovered costs in one division of its business had been understated.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “This marks the group’s third profit downgrade of the year, a troubling trend driven by a string of poor management decisions and forecasting missteps that have left investors feeling far from jolly.
“As the year ends on a sour note, Vistry faces a long winter of rebuilding trust, leaving investors with little choice but to mull over their options.”
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