$BABA bounced 9% in spite of its massive multi-billion-dollar fine. 💸
Tale of the Tape
Good evening, y’all! Welcome back to the market of stocks. 😈
The market was mellow this Monday. Every major index closed lower.
Consumer dictionary, real estate, and consumer staples were the strongest sectors. Financials followed closely— $XLF flew 0.4%.
Energy was the weakest sector. $XLE closed at its lowest price since February 22. 🤷♂️
The cryptos crept along. Bitcoin and Ethereum both bopped just under all-time highs.
Alibaba got slapped with a multi-billion-dollar fine, but the stock didn’t care. 🙅♀️ $BABA bounced 9% and closed at its highest price since February 24.
YETI yeeted to an all-time high. The cooler company gained a cool 6.7%.
Nvidia nestled up 5.6% following the company’s investors day. See more below.
Microsoft marched to an all-time high. 🥁
Pot stocks plopped. The US cannabis ETF $MSOS dropped 2.5%, closing at its lowest price of the month.
Here are the closing prints:
| S&P 500 | 4,127 | -0.02% |
| Nasdaq | 13,849 | -0.36% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,233 | -0.43% |
| Dow Jones | 33,745 | -0.16% |
Uber Is Healing
Vaccination rates are up. Nature is healing. Uber just posted its best month for ride bookings since 2009. 😌
Uber Technologies had its highest number of bookings last month since it was founded in 2009. Covid crushed the ride-sharing app’s business in 2020, although Uber’s food-delivery services flourished during the lockdown.
While the uptick in bookings sounds great, Uber and Lyft still face a common problem— there aren’t nearly enough drivers to meet soaring customer demands. Earlier this month, Uber even debuted a new $250M program to attract new drivers.
Will ride-sharing apps fully recover in the post-pandemic era? 🚗 Here’s the WSJ with more.
Status of the Semis
All products nowadays are “smart,” meaning everything needs a semiconductor. 📱 ⚡ Unfortunately, semiconductor suppliers and factories can’t keep up with demand… so there’s a massive shortage right now that even the likes of GM, Tesla, and Apple can’t control.
To address the semi shortage, President Biden held a ‘Semiconductor Summit’ featuring 19 different CEOs and top foreign and domestic policy advisers. While the meeting prioritized semiconductors, President Biden also used the meeting to garner support for his infrastructure bill. The President said:
These chips, these wafers— batteries, broadband— it’s all infrastructure. This is infrastructure.
While Washington talked semis, Nvidia also held its annual investor’s day today. Here’s Nvidia’s daily chart:
Will the US solve the chip shortage? 🤔 All we know is this chip talk is making us crave some salsa. 😋
Some Good and Bad News
The US just reported a record 4.6M vaccines administered on Saturday. 🙌 Another 3.6M Americans were vaccinated on Sunday.
With the average number of administered vaccines approaching 3.1M per day, the US is improving its immunization rates… but the country still sees ~70,000 new Covid cases each day, close to last July’s peak of 67,000 per day. 🙁
At ~7,400 new cases each day, Michigan’s sky-high infection rate is the highest in the country, restricting in-person classes and activities. The governor has asked residents to stop frequenting sporting events and restaurants.
Right now, 11.9M Americans (about 35.9% of the population) have received at least 1 dose of a Covid vaccine. About 72.6M people are fully vaccinated. 💉 Stay safe out there, ya’ll. 😷
Party Responsibly, Folks
As the weather improves and the (Covid-19) shots flow like tequila at a rapper’s bday party, more and more people feel the urge to party. Yeah, it’s fun to party hard, but everyone knows the best parties are the responsible ones. 🍾
Today, Airbnb launched its ‘Summer of Responsible Travel Campaign’ outlining an “8-point plan to help hosts, guests, and communities they call home stay safer.” The 8-point plan squashes parties which could endanger public health or disturb neighbors.
Airbnb’s plan includes strict rules for the 4th of July, which is dubbed the “reopening of the nation.” Around the 4th, Airbnb will investigate one and two-day bookings at “heightened risk for parties.” Airbnb will also provide Superhosts with noise detection devices to deter partygoers.
As you plan your summer bashes, make sure you’re responsible. After all, it’s not a great party if you can’t remember it, right? 💁♀️
The First of Many?
72 holes later and we finally have a winner. 🏆 For the first time in the 87-year-old tournament’s history, the Master’s champion— Hideki Matsuyama— is from Japan.
The 29-year-old broke out with a 4-stroke lead on his last day, but the final round was anything but easy. At one point, Matsuyama shot in the water and saw his lead fall 2 strokes, and later down 1 more. With nerves of steel, he kept momentum to win his first major in over 1,344 days— 10 years after being named 2011’s low amatuer at Augusta.
Matsuyama has an immense respect for the game, so he normally lets his clubs do the talking. But after the tournament he shared:
I want to be a pioneer.
We have a feeling he will be. You go, Hideki! 👏 👏
Want to watch the champion’s best shots from last weekend? Check out this link.
Earnings This Week
Be sure to know when your stocks report earnings. Here’s the earnings calendar.
Links That Don’t Suck
☂️ Trapezoidal “Umbrellas” Form Roof of Matamoros Market by Colectivo C733
⚡ This Amazing DIY Electric Jeep Is The Coolest Electric Car You’ll See All Week
📈 New Dow Theory Revisited
🛹 Skate, Eat, Party & More | GET LOST: New York City
🤭 A Couple Accidentally Defaced a $400,000 Work of Art in South Korea
🎶 Thelonious Monk – Live In Paris 1964
💵 Visualizing Biden’s $1.52 Trillion Budget Proposal for 2022
