Alphabet, the parent company of Google, saw its shares surge by 4% in pre-market trading after reports emerged that Apple is considering using Alphabet’s Gemini AI model to power features in the upcoming iPhone. According to Bloomberg, Apple and Alphabet have been engaged in active negotiations for Gemini to run certain features expected to be included in the new iPhone software later this year. This news sent Alphabet’s stock soaring, while Apple’s shares also saw a modest increase of about 0.3%.
In other news, India’s equity fund inflows hit a 23-month high in February, with monthly inflows reaching $3.2 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The country also saw strong foreign inflows of $2.2 billion in the week ending March 15. Despite this positive news, India’s Nifty 50 index dipped slightly on Monday after a decline of over 2% the previous week.
Meanwhile, China reported better-than-expected retail and industrial numbers for the first two months of 2024, with retail sales rising by 5.5% and industrial production up by 7%. Investment into real estate dropped, while manufacturing saw an increase during the same period.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose over 2% on Monday, driven by gains in manufacturing and health-care stocks. Financial technology company Rakuten Group was the top gainer on the index, surging by 7.38%. Other notable gainers included automaker Nissan and pharmaceutical firm Chugai Pharmaceutical.
Looking ahead, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to offer less transparency during the central bank’s policy meeting this week, according to EY chief economist Gregory Daco. Powell may provide less clarity on potential rate cuts but is likely to discuss policy easing and the timing of tapering the balance sheet quantitative tightening process.
Overall, stock futures were relatively unchanged on Sunday as investors await further guidance on interest rate cuts ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped slightly, while Nasdaq-100 futures edged up and S&P 500 futures remained near the flatline.
