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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 15, 2023 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
Last burst before a break
U.S. stocks ended Wednesday in positive territory before going on break today for Thanksgiving. Treasurys briefly fell to a two-month low before inching up again. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell about 0.6% as flash estimates showed the country’s business activity contracting at its fastest pace in 27 months. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3%.
Altman’s back
Sam Altman has returned as the CEO of OpenAI, less than a week after he was ousted by the company’s previous board. There’s also a board reshuffle, with Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce and Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, joining. Separately, OpenAI researchers reportedly warned the board of an AI breakthrough ahead of Altman’s ouster.
Binance outflow
Binance has seen outflows of more than $1 billion in the past 24 hours — and that figure doesn’t even include bitcoin — according to data from blockchain analysis firm Nansen. Still, more than $65 billion worth of assets remain on Binance, Nansen noted, and there hasn’t been a “mass exodus” of funds. The withdrawals come after founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges Tuesday.
Smartphone sales rebound
Global smartphone sales rose 5% year on year in October, reversing a downward trend that lasted 27 months, according to data from Counterpoint Research. “The growth has been led by emerging markets with a continuous recovery in Middle East and Africa, Huawei’s comeback in China and onset of festive season in India,” the research firm said.
[PRO] New AI trend
Generative artificial intelligence relies heavily on computing power, typically hosted on cloud servers. Some companies are trying to change the way consumers use AI, which would save costs, reduce latency — and help those companies’ shares outperform in 2024 and 2025, according to Morgan Stanley.
The bottom line
A slow day in U.S. markets as investors turned their thoughts to turkey rather than Treasurys.
To be sure, it was exciting in Treasury land for a while. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.369% during the day, its lowest since Sept. 20. But it rebounded to 4.41%, essentially unchanged from U.S. trading on Tuesday.
The same trajectory of sudden intensity followed by a reversion to the norm seems to have played out across various events this week.
Sam Altman’s back as OpenAI’s CEO less than a week after his ouster. Oil prices clawed back most of their losses after they slumped around 5% Wednesday on the news that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed their meeting by four days. Jack Ma’s holding off his previously announced plans to sell Alibaba shares after they tumbled around 9% last week.
The dust seems to have settled for now — but that doesn’t diminish the volatility of those situations. Oil prices could shoot up again following the OPEC+ meeting. New developments could crop up at OpenAI.
Still, investors took a breather yesterday. Trading volume was muted: The SPDR S&P 500, which tracks the broad-based index, traded 59.3 million shares, below its 30-day average of 84.6 million.
Major indexes managed to end the day in positive territory. The S&P 500 added 0.41%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.53% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.46%, despite Nvidia dropping 2.46% after reporting earnings.
U.S. markets close for Thanksgiving on Thursday, and return for a shortened session the next day. Investors might be thankful for that, too, after a hectic week in markets and business.
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