Oil deals ahead of Big Tech earnings

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Markets attempt comeback
The Nasdaq Composite snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday as Treasury yields retreated from their highs. Investors awaited the release of corporate earnings from tech giants including Alphabet and Microsoft. Asia-Pacific markets were higher in midday trading as investors assessed private surveys of business activity from Japan and Australia.

Another oil mega-merger
Chevron on Monday said it agreed to buy Hess for $53 billion in stock. It’s the second proposed mega merger among the biggest U.S. oil players after Exxon Mobil bid $60 billion for Pioneer Natural Resources earlier this month. The proposed deal also raises the competition between Chevron and Exxon to develop drilling in nascent producer Guyana.

Nvidia’s latest blow to Intel
Nvidia is working on building personal computer chips which would use technology from Arm Holdings, Reuters reported on Monday. The plans mean the chipmaker would challenge Intel in its longtime stronghold of personal computers. Advanced Micro Devices also reportedly plans to make chips for PCs with Arm technology.

Bitcoin breaches $34,000 to highest since May 2022
The price of bitcoin breached the $34,000 level to hit its highest since May last year, bolstered by positive sentiment about a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading 4.97% higher at $34,596.40 on Tuesday, according to data from Coin Metrics.

[PRO] Portfolio manager names the new growth stocks
Markets may be facing an “unusual amount” of uncertainty, but there still are very good opportunities right, according to one portfolio manager, who tells CNBC Pro about three new growth areas he likes: obesity drugs, reshoring and artificial intelligence.

Stocks have been feeling the pressure from multiyear highs in Treasury yields and worries about how that stands to affect the American economy. Some analysts think the benchmark 10-year yield could still have further room to run.

The rapid rise in yields “should accelerate an already weakening economic picture that is masked by higher rates,” said Canaccord Genuity chief market strategist Tony Dwyer.

Microsoft, which is slated to report earnings after the close Tuesday, is seen by UBS as a potential hedge against a recession next year. Unlike more focused software companies, Microsoft “has full geographic coverage across all industry verticals,” UBS analyst Karl Keirstead said, and that makes Microsoft less susceptible to downturns in any one sector or region. Alphabet is also set to report quarterly results Tuesday afternoon.

Wall Street analysts also made fresh calls on what is quickly becoming one of this year’s hottest segments in pharmaceuticals – weight loss drugs.

Most analysts predict the sales of weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro could easily exceed $100 billion. Citi most recently raised its sales estimates for such drugs to $71 billion by 2035, up from its prior estimate of $55 billion. Still, that’s conservative compared to Guggenheim’s expectations of $150 billion to $200 billion in sales.

Europe’s most valuable publicly listed company, Novo Nordisk makes Wegovy, which is also sold under the brand name Ozempic. U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly makes Mounjaro. 

Investors were also closely watching the crypto industry as bitcoin touched its highest level in over a year on Tuesday, on hopes of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. A bitcoin ETF would give investors a way to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price movements without owning the volatile cryptocurrency directly.