Wall Street is clearly in trouble, having lost the support of its technology segment. I've put the 15 biggest US companies in my basket to see how they've performed over the past week: only 3 have moved in the green. There’s Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, a beacon of caution. JPMorgan Chase, America's biggest bank, remains in a "win-win" configuration as long as rates are high and the economy is strong. And then UnitedHealth, the health insurer that once again surprised everyone with its unshakeable performance, even when its rivals were struggling. UnitedHealth is the Dow Jones' most heavily-weighted stock, which partly explains the +0.3% posted by America's oldest index over the week, while the Nasdaq 100 fell by 5.4%.

On the side of the spectrum, Nvidia fell by nearly 14% over the week, as did Tesla. Exxon Mobil's capitalization has just overtaken that of Elon Musk's group. It's another illustration of the match between the old world and the new. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta held their own, but lost more than 5%. The semiconductor sector, beyond Nvidia, felt the ground opening up beneath its feet after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) revised its forecasts downwards.

Meanwhile, hopes of a Fed rate cut this year have all but disappeared. Inflation is simply too strong right now. Even the central bank's doves had to come to terms with this. And with high rates and no immediate prospects of cuts, tech stocks are in trouble. Since these are by far the most heavily-weighted stocks in the United States, we end up with indices in the red.

It's worth pointing out, however, that European markets, which are less at the forefront of AI and have fewer tech champions, are doing very well. The French CAC40 gained 0.1% over the past week, thanks to the reassuring performance of LVMH and L'Oréal. What's more, the European Central Bank is still likely to cut rates in June. The EURO STOXX 50 has gained 8.8% since January 1, while the Nasdaq has trimmed its gains to 1.2%.

This week is a bit of a pivotal one, because it's going to be packed with corporate results. There are around fifty groups weighing over 100 billion on the agenda. Which means there will be hundreds of smaller ones. Tesla, Meta, IBM, Qualcomm, Boeing, Microsoft, Alphabet and Intel are some of the names this week. It goes without saying that tech stocks will be the focus of attention.

In other news, US lawmakers have reached a bipartisan agreement to release funds for Ukraine. The package is not as ambitious as expected, but it remains substantial.

The situation between Israel and Iran did not escalate over the weekend, helping to keep oil prices down. The Wall Street Journal devoted a well-documented article to how the White House worked behind the scenes to avoid a conflagration.

The 4th halving of bitcoin took place on Friday. This halving of the remuneration paid to the miners who create the cryptocurrency takes place every 210,000 blocks. The reward for mining a block fell from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins. The next halving will take place in 2028. The most famous cryptocurrency is currently trading at just under USD 66,000 apiece.

On the week's economic agenda, we find the first estimate of 1st-quarter GDP (Thursday) and March PCE inflation (Friday). The market will also be interested in the Bank of Japan's rate decision (Thursday), with a status quo in sight but an updated inflation outlook. April's leading PMI indicators (Tuesday) complete the picture.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is back up 1%, after dropping more than 6% last week. South Korea, India and Australia gained 0.7% to 1%. Hong Kong is up by almost 1.7%. European leading indicators are in the green and US futures also point to a recovery after the previous week's purge.

Economic highlights of the day:

The Chicago Fed's national activity index is today’s main indicator. The full agenda is here. 

The dollar is up to EUR 0.9401 and GBP 0.8122. The ounce of gold loses ground to USD 2344. Oil is easing, with North Sea Brent at USD 86.70 a barrel and US light crude WTI at USD 81.66. The yield on 10-year US debt reaches 4.66%. Bitcoin is trading at USD 65,887.

In corporate news:

  • Tesla has reduced the price of certain vehicle models in China by almost $2,000, following on from price cuts in the United States and several European countries, according to the official website of the American carmaker, which is facing declining sales and intensifying competition. Tesla's share price is down 2.7% on fears of a price war. 
  • Salesforce has terminated discussions with a view to acquiring data management software group Informatica in the absence of an agreement between the two parties, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday. Salesforce shares gained 3.4% in pre-market trading.
  • Blackstone offered around $1.5 billion to buy Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the owner of the music rights of Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers, outbidding the $1.4 billion offer from Apollo-backed Concord.
  • Quanex Building Products is to buy Tyman in a deal that values the British window and door specialist at around 788 million pounds ($976 million), the two groups announced on Monday.
  • Nike will lay off around 740 employees at its global headquarters in Oregon, according to a letter published on Friday, as the sports equipment maker seeks to cut costs after reporting in March a drop in revenues for the first half of fiscal 2024-2025. Nike employed around 83,700 people worldwide as of May 31, 2023.
  • Lululemon Athletica announced on Friday that it would close its distribution center in Washington State at the end of the year and lay off more than 100 employees.
  • Verizon gained 0.6% in pre-market trading ahead of Monday's publication of its first-quarter results, expected before the Wall Street opening.

Analyst recommendations:

  • Amd (Advanced Micro Devices): Punto Research upgrades to buy from hold with a target price of USD 174.26.
  • Cisco Systems, Inc.: JP Morgan resumes coverage with a neutral rating and a target price of USD 53.
  • Ppg Industries, Inc.: Evercore ISI downgrades to in-line from outperform with a target price of USD 152.
  • Devon Energy Corporation: Susquehanna maintains a positive recommendation with a price target raised from USD 52 to USD 65.
  • Spotify Technology S.a.: Loop Capital Markets maintains its hold recommendation and raises the target price from USD 200 to USD 250.
  • Alphabet Inc.: KeyBanc Capital Markets maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from USD 165 to USD 175.
  • Apple Inc.: Morgan Stanley maintains its overweight rating and reduces the target price from USD 220 to USD 210.
  • Netflix, Inc.: DZ Bank AG Research maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 700 to USD 685.
  • Bytes Technology Group Plc: HSBC upgrades to buy from hold with a price target reduced from GBP 6.75 to GBP 6.25.
  • Hsbc Holdings Plc: Keefe Bruyette & Woods upgrades to market perform from underperform with a target price raised from GBX 700 to GBX 730.
  • Tyman Plc: Investec downgrades to hold from buy with a price target raised from GBX 350 to GBX 400.
  • Standard Chartered Plc: Keefe Bruyette & Woods downgrades to underperform from market perform with a price target reduced from GBX 790 to GBX 700.
  • Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.: Paradigm Capital downgrades to hold from buy with a target price of CAD 17.50.