Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Arm l Microsoft l BHP l Nvidia
A look at the stocks making headlines on Tuesday
Arm IPO
SoftBank-owned (9984.T) chip designer Arm is set to list on the Nasdaq (^IXIC) in the US and will list under the ticker symbol “ARM.”
The UK-based company made the filing to IPO on Monday but didn’t provide a projected share price in its paperwork.
Arm was bought by SoftBank in 2016 in a $32bn (£25bn) deal.
The company develops central processing unit (CPU) products and related technology, and also provides other chips and software development tools.
CPUs are hot property as many of the world’s leading semiconductor companies rely on them to develop their products — and Arm's customers already include Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), and Mercedes-Benz (MBG.DE).
“The starting gun being fired on the IPO of Nvidia’s peer Arm on Nasdaq, having snubbed London as a listing destination, may help provide further fuel for the momentum behind the artificial intelligence story,” AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft has submitted a restructured proposal to the CMA for approval of its Activision Blizzard (ATVI) deal under UK law after its original $69bn deal was rejected by competition authorities.
In its new proposals, Microsoft will no longer buy the rights to Activision’s games stored in the cloud. Instead, Activision’s games such as Candy Crush will be sold to games publisher Ubisoft (UBI.PA) who will supply the content to Microsoft and its competitors.
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That new development means, Microsoft won’t be able to release Activision Blizzard’s games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, opening up this offering to the wider market.
“By no longer purchasing the rights to Activision’s cloud games, Microsoft is hoping that this will appease the CMA and address its concerns over competition, potentially allowing the tie-up to cross the line this time. The deal has divided regulators globally, with Microsoft winning the antitrust greenlight in the EU while facing hurdles in the US and the UK," Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said.
“When the CMA blocked the deal in April, Microsoft’s president Brad Smith described it as the tech giant’s ‘darkest days’ of working with the UK and said the decision was ‘bad for Britain.’ While today’s update is a step in the right direction towards regulatory approval, it is not a done deal just yet. Next, the CMA said it will ‘carefully and objectively assess the details.”
BHP (BHP.L)
Australia’s biggest mining company BHP, which shifted its primary listing to Australia in 2022, has cut its dividend in half and reported its lowest annual profit in three years — a 37% fall to $13.4bn.
The company noted lower commodity prices and inflationary pressures.
However, BHP said commodity demand has remained relatively robust in China and India “even as developed world economies have slowed substantially”.
“China’s trajectory is contingent on the effectiveness of recent policy measures. We expect buoyant growth in India with strong construction activity underpinning an expansion in steelmaking capacity. More broadly, there is increased recognition of the importance of critical minerals and strategies across the globe to incentivise investment in supply and demand, which provides opportunities and challenges," BHP said.
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BHP also said it is continuing with efforts to sell the Daunia and Blackwater coking coal mines in Queensland, Australia.
“The relatively muted reaction on the part of investors to this news reflects an acceptance that last year was something of a one-off as the invasion of Ukraine led to a short-term bump in commodity prices. Today’s results from BHP reflect a move back to something like reality,” Mould said.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Shares in Nvidia closed up nearly 9% at the end of trading in the US on Monday ahead of the US software company’s latest earnings release on Wednesday.
The tech giant, which makes graphics processing units (GPUs), had its stock boosted after HSBC analysts lifted their price target for the company’s stock from $600 to $780 on an increasing sales forecast for fiscal 2024.
It also comes after Morgan Stanley analysts recently said that Nvidia’s stock is the firm’s top pick following its most recent earnings report.
Nvidia, which is now valued at over $1tn (£786.9bn), has seen its shares surge nearly 200% so far this year due to the company positioning itself as a key player in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
However, strategists at Morgan Stanley also recently highlighted that the AI bubble could be nearing a peak.
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