Following a quiet start to the week, stock market action is back in full force after strong retail sales buoyed the market. As such, the NASDAQ and S&P500 both ended trading higher on Tuesday:
| NASDAQ | S&P 500 | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| 15,973.86 (+0.84%) | 4,700.90 (+0.45%) | 60,557 (-5.2%) |
Electric vehicle companies are continuing to perform well, but the headlines have been grabbed by dramatic employee action at one of the world’s largest video game developers.
Tuesday saw the release of retail sales data for October, which yielded a better than anticipated increase of 1.7%. This will give investors confidence that consumers are happy to get out there and spend ahead of the all-important holiday season.
Here’s the top trends before markets open on Wednesday 17 Nov:
Video game publishing and development outfit Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) saw its share price slide after some management drama. Staff at the company staged a walkout after a Wall Street Journal report appeared to reveal that CEO Bobby Kotick has failed to act on sexual assault allegations. The company board released a statement backing the CEO.
Read more about this storyCanoo (NASDAQ: GOEV) shares climbed after the electric vehicle company said production will begin sooner than expected. While also reporting a narrower than predicted loss, Canoo said its first vehicles will be heading down the production line in autumn 2022.
Fellow EV manufacturer Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) continued its buoyant week, with its shares rising by over 23% on Tuesday and up by over 7% in Wednesday’s premarket trading. The Californian firm’s share price climb has come after confirming production targets for next year and noting an increase in vehicle purchase reservations.
Read more about this storyQualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) stock climbed by almost 8% after its chief technology officer announced plans for the company’s next generation of chips. Chief technology officer James Thompson said the chips would launch in 2023 and will rival the M-series processors developed by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
Biotech firm Progenity (NASDAQ: PROG) was also in the green. With no major news emerging from the company, it seems the almost 40% increase in share price on Tuesday was fuelled by a short squeeze, coordinated by online groups of retail investors.
Finally, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) saw its share climb on Tuesday after beating analyst estimates. The Chinese tech giant’s quarterly revenues and adjusted profits were ahead of projections, powered by strong growth in the company’s artificial intelligence and cloud-based offerings.