This week in the markets
- On Thursday, Apple Inc. officially won the race to become the first publicly traded US company to hit a stock market valuation of $1 trillion.
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a more humbled tone, and even apologized to reporters and investors during his second-quarter earnings call, helping to raise shares by 12% during Thursday’s trading.
- US and China trade tensions are back in the spotlight. But investors seem to have shrugged off concerns, with most US stocks trading slightly higher on Thursday.
- The Fed met Wednesday, and although it didn’t raise interest rates, it did hint at a possible September rate hike.
##Apple hits $1 trillion stock market valuation
This week, after releasing a strong third-quarter earnings report, Apple’s stock rocketed past the finish line in the race to hit $1 trillion in stock market valuation. Apple’s stock price rose by 3% on Thursday, briefly reaching a high of $207.05 per share. Analysts previously thought Amazon might be the first company to hit $1 trillion, but unfortunately it may have to settle for second place.
Elon Musk realizes that being nice does pay
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, learned a life lesson on apologies — they really do pay off. During a conference call on Thursday, he issued apologies to reporters for whom he had previously had some choice words, saying, “There is no excuse for bad manners.” Musk also announced slightly higher revenues than anticipated and a profitable outlook for the second half of 2018. After the call, shares of Tesla rose 12% during midday trading.
Trade tensions with China back in the spotlight
On Wednesday, the Trump administration threatened to raise trade tariffs to 25% (up from 10%) on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The administration didn’t state a reason for the increase, potentially causing a moderate fall in some Chinese markets. US Investors didn’t seem too concerned, with most US stocks closing slightly higher on Thursday.
The Fed put off a potential rate hike
The Federal Reserve didn’t raise interest rates after Wednesday’s ==Federal Open Market Committee== meeting, but did hint at a possible rate hike in September. Interest rates have already been raised twice this year, and the Fed suggested two additional increases before the end of 2018. The delayed rate increase gives consumers the opportunity to secure their finances by paying off credit cards or personal loans with variable interest rates before rates go up any higher.
And now for your weekly ==Lionomics== wrap-up. ?
Lionomics: finance made easy
Building on last week’s portfolio basics of ==asset classes, this week we talked about **exchange-traded funds== (ETFs) as portfolio building blocks, ==personalized asset allocation, and **risk tolerance==. Allocations can be personalized based on investors’ objectives, and risk tolerance is one of the key factors to consider when determining your ideal allocations. ETFs can be a good solution to fill in those allocations.
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Did you miss last weeks market update? Check it out ==Market update: Facebook nosedives, the US and EU make nice==
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