Day: 5 August 2024

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Global stock market rout intensifies as Dow futures dip over 1200 points

Stock rout

U.S. stock futures slumped Monday 5th August 2024 as global markets sell-off centered around potential U.S. recession fears.

About one hour before U.S. stocks open – here’s the situation

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 1250 points following a 611point loss on Friday 2nd August 2024.

S&P 500 futures are down 4.6% after the benchmark lost 1.8% on Friday 2nd August 2024.

Nasdaq-100 futures lost 6% as big tech stocks take a hit in early trading.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 12% in its worst day since the 1987 Black Monday crash.

If the Dow Jones decline continues it would be the first 1000 point decline since September 2022.

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Short-sighted policy U-turn as the UK Labour government cancels £1.3 billion of computing projects

AI supercomputer mainframe

A real set-back for UK AI global ambition

The new Labour government has withdrawn £1.3bn in funding previously pledged by the Conservatives for technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives.

This includes £800m allocated for the development of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh University and an additional £500m for the AI Research Resource, which provides computing power for AI. These funds were announced less than a year ago.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) stated that although the funds were promised by the former administration, they were not included in its budget. The decision has faced criticism from some within the industry.

Another blow for the UK’s homegrown tech sector.

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Bitcoin and Ether sink as $270 billion wiped off Crypto

Crypto sell-off

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant plunge on Sunday/Monday, 5th August 2024, losing approximately $270 billion in value within a 24-hours.

Both Bitcoin and Ether underwent substantial declines as investors moved away from high-risk assets. This downturn followed the Nasdaq’s worst three-week performance in two years and occurred as the Nikkei 225 reached a low not observed since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

Bitcoin chart – CoinMarketCap – 5th August 2024

Nikkei chart – one year

Nikkei index
Nikkei index one year chart
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Berkshire Hathaway sold nearly half its stake in Apple

Sell stocks

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway significantly reduced its Apple stake last quarter, a surprising decision from the investor known for his long-term focus.

The conglomerate, headquartered in Omaha, reported in its earnings filing that its investment in the tech giant was worth $84.2 billion at the end of the Q2, indicating it sold just over 49% of its Apple shares. Despite the sale, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest equity holding by a wide margin.

It was widely reported that the sale is part of a larger trend of asset liquidation by Buffett during the second quarter, with Berkshire Hathaway divesting over $75 billion in stocks, thereby increasing its cash reserves to a staggering $277 billion.

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Japan’s Nikkei suffers worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987

Japan stocks crash!

Japanese stocks entered a bear market on Monday 5th August 2024 as the sell-off in Asia markets continued from the previous week. The Nikkei 225 fell over 12%

These benchmark indices have now declined more than 20% from their peak on 11th July 2024 – the index then touched 42000.

The Nikkei suffered over a 12% loss, closing at 31458, marking its worst performance since the ‘Black Monday’ of 1987. This drop of 4451 points is also the largest point loss in its history.

Year to date, the Nikkei has relinquished all its gains, shifting into a negative territory.

Nikkei one year chart

Nikkei one year chart

Nikkei one day chart – down 12.4% on the day a total of 4451 points

Nikkei one day chart – down 12.4% on the day a total of 4451 points