Nasdaq News

Millions more Americans likely filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs continue to be cleared and disruptions from the novel coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.

Asian shares stepped back slightly and U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday as lingering caution about the long-term impact of the coronavirus outbreak offset some of this week's enthusiasm over re-opening of economies.

HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - China could be the hero of the developing world if it took the lead on restructuring their debts. But when it comes to aid, Beijing likes playing poor at times, rich at others, and opacity deters coordination with other creditors. If i

Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services firm, will reshuffle top executives and operations in coming months to deal with this year's historic decline in the oil industry, according to a memo to employees.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has begun work on a sixth domestic contract chip production line, the company said on Thursday, to make logic chips for mobile phones and computers as it looks to cut reliance on the volatile memory chip sector.

Gold fell on Thursday, pressured by hopes of a swift recovery from the coronavirus-driven recession although losses were capped by prospects of more stimulus and bleak data.

Retailer Canada Goose Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it has laid off 125 workers, about 2.5% of its global workforce, as part of steps to cope with the impact of COVID-19 on its business.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Gold eased on Thursday as equities gained on hopes for a swift recovery from the coronavirus-induced economic slump, although losses were capped by optimism over further stimulus measures.

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude inventories fell again, easing concern about a supply glut, though lingering fears over the global economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic capped gains.

The dollar nursed broad losses on Thursday and riskier currencies held gains as investors looked to a bright recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, shrugging off diabolical forecasts and rising Sino-U.S. tension.

Asset managers lending out of their securities can be compatible with investment on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, an industry body said on Thursday, adding it was working on drawing up guidelines.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc has laid off about 250 workers, as the COVID-19 pandemic saps demand for the company's luxury parkas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

South Korean exports for the first 20 days of May tumbled 20.3% from the same period a year earlier, as U.S.- and E.U.-bound shipments continued to collapse, highlighting the damage on global demand from the coronavirus pandemic.

Mastercard Inc will not ask employees to return to its worldwide corporate offices until they are comfortable that the sometimes fatal coronavirus is under control with vaccines or other measures, a senior executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting more than 160 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,900-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Thursday.

The Rio de Janeiro government criticised Brazilian champions Flamengo for returning to training on Wednesday, with the city's health secretary saying clubs were not yet permitted to restart ball work or physical drills.

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Japan's exports in April fell the most since the 2009 global financial crisis as the world's third-largest economy braced for a deeper slide into recession, with the coronavirus pandemic taking a heavy toll on external demand.

Which mega-cap has benefited the most from COVID-19? Amazon? Netflix? Nope. Nvidia (NVDA) is the answer. Shares are up 50% since the turn of the year as the GPU leader has surfed the waves of a global crisis that has inadvertently played to its core strengths. 

Ahead of Nvidia’s first quarter earnings report on Thursday, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland points out the key areas to focus on. Naturally, these are Nvidia’s two main revenue segments - Datacenter and Gaming. 

Based on Intel's DCG and strong results from Mellanox, which was recently acquired by NVDA, Rolland anticipates a strong showing from its Datacenter segment. The analyst’s contacts in Asia have suggested that heading into the quarter’s final stretch, enterprise demand remained healthy and most supply issues were resolved by the end of March 

As far as Gaming goes, Rolland says “data points were mixed,” as a result of a small market share loss to rival AMD in aftermarket GPUs and the impact of lower average selling prices, although GPU attach rates should act as a counter to these “modest declines.” 

COVID-related supply constraints also played a part in February, “adding a wild card to the print,” although these issues, like in Datacenter, were worked out by March. 

Looking ahead, Q1’s long awaited closing of the Mellanox deal should play its part as the year progresses. Rolland anticipates the new addition “should contribute ~$400 million of revenue and a 50-plus bps tailwind to GMs to NVIDIA’s C2Q20 guidance.” This should set the stage for overall July revenue guidance of $3.6 billion. 

In conclusion, the 5-star analyst said, “We expect NVIDIA to fare better than most this earnings season. Slower consumer demand from China could weigh, but strong DC results are likely to overcome… Overall, we expect generally in-line (to slightly better) results and guidance as stronger demand for DC likely offsets any weakness in consumer (potentially hindered by early supply chain constraints).” 

Rolland keeps his Positive (i.e. Buy) rating as is and gives the price target a $55 bump, with the new target landing at $410. Investors stand to pocket a 14% gain, should the target be met over the next year. (To watch Rolland’s track record, click here) 

The rest of the Street isn’t betting against Nvidia, either. 3 Holds and a Sell are trounced by 17 Buys. A Strong Buy consensus rating comes with a $327.18 average price target. Although the figure implies shares could decline by 7%, it is likely analysts will retune Nvidia models shortly. (See Nvidia stock analysis on TipRanks) 

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