The consumer price index (CPI) for October increased by 3.2%, which was slightly lower than the consensus estimate of 3.3%. Year over year, core CPI increased by 4%, also lower than the consensus estimate of 4.1%, marking the lowest year-over-year increase for the metric since September 2021.
The producer price index (PPI) fell by 0.5% in October after rising by 0.4% in September, marking its largest monthly decline since April 2020. Retail sales dropped by 0.1% in October after rising by 0.9% in September.
The resilient labor market has shown signs of cooling down with the addition of only 150,000 jobs in October. All of these recently released economic data indicate a gradually cooling economy, which will likely compel the Federal Reserve to end the ongoing period of interest rate hikes. A higher interest rate environment is detrimental to growth sectors such as technology and cryptocurrency.
Fundamentally, the news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has once again increased investors’ optimism. The anticipated approval of a Bitcoin ETF by the SEC is expected to boost demand by providing traditional investors with a pathway to access Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through regular stock markets. This development is expected to attract new investments into the crypto industry, potentially leading to increased overall demand. As a result, the prices of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), and BNB (BNB) climbed by 5.7%, 4.6%, 6.2%, 5.3%, and 3.6%, respectively, on November 15.
Stocks to Consider Buying:
- NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) is a leading semiconductor industry giant and one of the notable success stories of 2023. As a top designer of graphic processing units (GPUs), NVDA stock typically experiences significant growth during a thriving crypto market. This is because GPUs play a crucial role in data centers, artificial intelligence, and the creation of crypto assets. NVIDIA’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is over 100% (ending January 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has improved by 0.7% over the past seven days. NVDA currently holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
- Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) provides financial infrastructure and technology for the crypto economy in the United States and internationally. COIN offers the primary financial account in the crypto space for consumers, a marketplace with a pool of liquidity for transacting in crypto assets for institutions, and technology and services that enable developers to build crypto-based applications and securely accept crypto assets as payment. Coinbase Global has an expected earnings growth rate of 91.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 44% over the past 30 days. COIN currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
- Block Inc. (SQ) is an online digital and mobile payment platform for consumers and merchants and serves as the parent company of Square and Cash App. Cash App users can buy, sell, send, and receive Bitcoin. Additionally, SQ’s decentralized tbd platform allows developers to build decentralized finance applications to run on programmable blockchains. SQ is also one of the largest Bitcoin investors. Block has an expected earnings growth rate of 88% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 15.3% over the past 30 days. SQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
- Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR) is a global automated electronic broker that executes, processes, and trades in cryptocurrencies. IBKR’s commodities futures trading desk also offers customers the opportunity to trade cryptocurrency futures. Interactive Brokers Group has an expected earnings growth rate of 41.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 1.1% over the past 30 days. IBKR currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.