Dow Jones Today: Stocks Tick Up While Treasury Yields Rise; Bitcoin Near $72K

Cryptocurrencies Surge Ahead of Bitcoin Halving

33 minutes ago

Cryptocurrencies surged on Monday as markets awaited a highly anticipated Bitcoin halving, the first in nearly 4 years. 

Bitcoin traded just below $72,000 Monday afternoon, while the price of Ethereum surged to nearly $3,700.

This year’s halving, which is when the reward for mining bitcoin is cut in half, is expected to take place around April 20. It will be the cryptocurrency’s fourth halving and its first since May 2020. 

This halving, experts say, could be vastly different from prior halving, considering the recent launch of spot bitcoin ETFs has “fundamentally changed” the market dynamics for bitcoin.

“If we assumed that the pace of new inflows into US-based ETFs slowed from $6 billion in February to say a steady state of $1 billion of net inflows per month, a simple mental model suggests that measured against ~13.5k BTC mined per month (in a post-halving environment) the equilibrium price for bitcoin should be closer to around $74,000,” Coinbase analysts wrote.

See here for more insights on what makes this halving unique. 

–Kyle Torpey

GE Vernova Jumps After Getting First Upgrade From JPMorgan Analysts

1 hr 22 min ago

GE Vernova (GEV) shares jumped in intraday trading Monday after the recently spun-off energy division of conglomerate General Electric received its first upgrade, from JPMorgan (JPM) analysts.

The analysts upgraded GE Vernova to “overweight” from “neutral,” indicating their confidence that the stock should perform better in the future. Analysts held their year-end price target at $141, about 15% above where GE Vernova closed last week at $122.70.

JPMorgan analysts wrote Monday that they view GE Vernova’s 14% stock-price pullback from last week’s debut as an “attractive entry point for what we believe will be a core holding for investors in the US/global electrification theme.”

They also wrote that the company could benefit from increased electricity demand from things like data centers that power artificial intelligence (AI) models.

GE Vernova stock was up 5.5% at $129.43 Monday afternoon.

–Aaron McDade

Tesla Stock Jumps on Planned Robotaxi Unveiling

2 hr 2 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) shares climbed Monday as the market responded to CEO Elon Musk‘s announcement Friday afternoon that the electric vehicle (EV) maker would unveil its long-awaited robotaxi on Aug. 8.

The announcement on Friday came just hours after Musk denied a report that the EV maker was canceling plans to build a lower-priced car, and would instead focus on an autonomous vehicle that would render other vehicles obsolete.

The robotaxi is a next-generation self-driving vehicle that Musk has said owners could rent out while not personally in use, a taxi service akin to Uber or Lyft from which Tesla, like those companies, would take a cut of the fare.

Since its announcement, the robotaxi project has been severely delayed. Musk said at an investor event in 2019 that robotaxis would be on the road in 2020.

Tesla stock surged nearly 5% to $173 on Monday after sinking 3.6% Friday.

–Kevin George

Blackstone To Take Rental Housing Owner AIR Communities Private in $10B Deal

2 hr 53 min ago

Blackstone (BX) said Monday that it was taking Apartment Income REIT (AIRC) private in an all-cash deal worth about $10 billion, sending shares in the real estate investment trust (REIT) known as AIR Communities skyrocketing.

AIR Communities shareholders will receive $39.12 per share, a nearly 25% premium over the REIT’s closing price on Friday. AIR Communities owns 76 rental housing communities, primarily in U.S. coastal cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C.

Blackstone said that it plans to spend more than $400 million “to maintain and improve the existing communities in the portfolio and may invest additional capital to fund further growth.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

AIR Communities shares surged 22.6% to $38.40, their highest level in more than a year, on Monday. Blackstone shares were up 0.9% at $128.74.

–Bill McColl

Midday Movers

3 hr 34 min ago

Apartment Income REIT Corp. (AIRC): Shares jumped more than 20% after Blackstone (BX) agreed to acquire the apartment building owner for nearly $10 billion. 

Tesla Inc. (TSLA): Shares of the EV maker rose more than 5% after Elon Musk on Friday said the company would unveil its robotaxi on August 8. 

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN): Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange climbed more than 5% as Bitcoin surged to nearly $72,000 ahead of a highly anticipated halving that’s expected to take effect in mid-April. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM): Shares of the chipmaker rose more than 2% after it was awarded up to $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding for its Arizona factory. 

TSMC Shares Rise on News of Billions in CHIPS Act Funding

4 hr 59 min ago

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) rose in early trading Monday following the announcement of up to $6.6 billion in direct federal funding for the Arizona factory complex the company started construction on in 2021.

The project is the latest announcement of funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 piece of legislation supported by President Joe Biden that earmarked over $50 billion for investment in semiconductor research and manufacturing facilities to be built in the U.S. after the industry mostly has moved overseas in recent years.

Biden’s administration has said it wants to make the U.S. a leading semiconductor manufacturer because of how important the chips are in everyday objects like smartphones and cars, and to address weaknesses in the global supply chain that were revealed by the pandemic.

The federal funding announcement also came with TSMC’s own announcement that it would build a third factory at the Phoenix site, growing the company’s total investment in the area to at least $65 billion by the time the factories are completed, the company said in a statement. It also is eligible for up to $5 billion in loans.

TSMC shares were up 2.2% at $144.50 half an hour into Monday’s session. The stock is up 40% since the beginning of the year.

–Aaron McDade

Solar Eclipse Provides Big Boost To Cities in its Path

5 hr 33 min ago

Monday’s total solar eclipse is possibly a once-in-a-lifetime event for the 30 million people who live in its path, and the millions more who are traveling to see it. It’s also a chance to spend money, and a lot of it.

The total economic impact, including secondary downstream effects, could be as much as a $6 billion boost to the U.S. economy, according to an analysis by The Perryman Group. The economics consulting firm says the eclipse is likely to generate more interest than North America’s previous total eclipse in 2017 because its duration is longer and the next opportunity to view a similar event in North America won’t come until 2044

Indeed, visitors from all over the world are flocking to the 115-mile-wide band of the U.S., stretching from Texas to Maine. They’ll be spending on everything from accommodations to food, fuel and memorabilia, providing a burst of economic activity for cities and towns across the country.

For hotels and short-term rental hosts along that strip, the effect is like a Taylor Swift concert taking place simultaneously in every city and town, said Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA, a company that provides data about AirBnBs (ABNB) and other short-term rentals.

The occupancy rate for rentals along the total eclipse path Sunday night is 92%, compared to 30% in the same places during a typical week, Lane said.

Read more about the economic impact of the eclipse, including the experience of one city that has had the good fortune of being in the “path of totality” two times in a row.

–Diccon Hyatt