On today's episode of Catalysts, hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith break down some of the biggest stories of trading day.
All major US banks have announced their financial results. Morgan Stanley (MS) closed the group after beating analysts' expectations and significantly boosting its investment banking division's profits. Chana Schoenberger, editor-in-chief of American Banker, said the biggest takeaway from bank profits is that “investment banking is strong and trading is strong.” She attributes this trend to two factors. The market is rising and trading is increasing. He noted that M&A (merger and acquisition) activity has increased this year and will continue to do so as interest rates fall.
Regional banks Citizens Financial Group (CFG) and US Bancorp (USB) have announced their third quarter financial results. Citizens Bank's earnings were slightly below Wall Street's expectations for a decline in net interest income. Meanwhile, US Bancorp's net interest income exceeded expectations as it benefited from higher borrowing costs.
The major indexes (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) are rising during the third quarter earnings season. But questions remain about the sustainability of these gains in a bull market now in its third year. IG North America CEO JJ Kinahan is optimistic, viewing the broader market rally as a positive indicator. “We're facing a wall of fear. No one believes in a bull market,” he said, suggesting this skepticism could fuel further rally. But he highlighted some sector-specific concerns, particularly in semiconductor stocks. Kinahan called Intel (INTC) an “outlier” among semiconductor stocks, noting that it is difficult for the stock to maintain momentum.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) price surpassed $67,000 on Wednesday, its highest level since July. The rise was influenced by Vice President Kamala Harris' newly announced proposal to establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets. Cryptocurrency upward momentum has sparked a broad rally across crypto-related stocks, including Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK).
The US government is reportedly considering capping chip sales to certain countries. The move will impact chipmakers like Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Brian McCarthy, chief strategist and managing principal at Macrolence, told Yahoo Finance: “Yesterday's news suggesting possible tightening of regulations for the UAE and Saudi Arabia is a major threat to countries that may be funneling chips to China.'' We don't know if they're related, because it's very difficult to classify them.''It prevents China from accessing these chips through third parties. He explains that despite the United States restricting chip exports to China due to national security risks, widespread smuggling of the technology continues.
This post was written by Melanie Leal
