The World In A Week – The trillion dollar question?

Written by Millan Chauhan.

Previously, there were four other US stocks with a market cap greater than $1 trillion which included Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Apple. NVIDIA has now joined this exclusive club following its immense rally year-to-date. NVIDIA was founded by Jensen Huang in 1993 and it has taken thirty  years for it to eclipse the $1 trillion market cap. Its capabilities stemmed from being a dominant player in the video game chips segment which benefitted greatly from the pandemic as demand for gaming increased substantially. However, the Company pivoted into the AI chips market with NVIDIA producing one of the core crucial components which is the graphics processing unit (GPU). With AI’s potential being understood, adopted in practice, and realised, the demand for this type of technology has skyrocketed as companies are devoting significant resource towards increasing their longer-term efficiencies within their business. The stock has returned +175% year-to-date and its valuation has become significantly more expensive but those now willing to pay more than 50x next year’s predicted earnings presumably expect their competitive position to remain unchallenged for years to come.

Last Friday, we saw further signs of a strong labour market in the US with 339,000 jobs added in May which vastly exceeded expectations of 190,000. However, we did see the US unemployment rate increase to 3.7% from 3.5% which was also above forecasts of 3.5%. The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is in mid-June where the Committee will have received May’s inflation reading by then to make their interest rate decision.

Elsewhere, in Europe we saw eurozone inflation slow to 6.1% in May from 7.0% in April which was below forecasts of 6.3%. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) stated that inflation is still far too high and that it is set to remain elevated for much longer. The ECB is also set to meet next week and will make its interest rate decision.

Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 5th June 2023.
© 2023 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.