CNBC Daily Open: Did Apple’s shiny new things uplift markets?

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our 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.

Broad rebound
U.S. stocks rebounded on Monday after posting huge losses last week. It was a broad rally across assets: Oil prices gained 1% and bitcoin rose 4.42%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index added 0.82%, its first positive movement in days. While the rally was quite broad, fashion houses fell out of favor with shares of Burberry, Hugo Boss and Kering retreating.

New iPhones
Apple unveiled lots of new products on Monday night. Highlights: the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max get larger screens, while their non-pro siblings finally get the Pro’s “action” button; the freshly redesigned Apple Watch Series 10; AirPods 4 earbuds. Apple’s AI features will launch in beta on the new iPhones — investors will monitor if they push up flagging iPhone sales.

Debate over rate cuts
Economists such as George Lagarias of Forvis Mazars think a 50-basis-points rate cut “might send a wrong message to markets.” Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management, however, thinks it would be “a very positive sign,” echoing Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz’s opinion that a 50-point cut should be on the table.

$400 million hit to Goldman
Goldman Sachs will post a roughly $400 million pretax hit to its third-quarter results, said CEO David Solomon at a conference on Monday, as the bank winds down its ill-fated foray into consumer banking. Those ventures include Goldman’s GM Card business and a separate portfolio of loans.

[PRO] Macro factors don’t sway Buffett
In recent weeks, markets have gyrated because of concerns over the U.S. economy’s health, the state of the labor market, the trajectory of rate cuts, among many other factors. To Warren Buffett, however, none of those macroeconomic factors matters when he invests.

Apple on Monday launched sleek new iPhones, watches and earphones. The excitement of the event and the prospect of having something look forward to may have lifted market sentiment.

Detractors who think that’s a far-fetched assertion should remember Apple dominates more than half of smartphone shipments in the U.S., according to Counterpoint Research. Further, a 2023 Bloomberg survey found 79% of Gen Zers prefer iPhones over other smartphones, implying that Apple’s market share could grow more as that demographic gains earning power.

True, post-event, Apple shares just crawled up 0.04%. But, as CNBC’s Kelly Evans points out, the Cupertino-headquartered company’s stock tends to fall after product announcements.

This reversal of the trend offers a glimmer of hope that Apple’s plans to integrate AI into its phones will rejuvenate iPhone sales, which have been slumping amid increased competition from Chinese brands.

And when the S&P 500’s biggest constituent is experiencing favorable winds, other stocks will also benefit from its slipstream.

Nvidia jumped 3.5% after falling 14% last week. Broader markets rose as well. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.16%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%.

Apart from Apple’s announcement, there wasn’t any other material news that would have impacted markets.

Of course, Apple’s event is not the sole reason markets rose yesterday. Last week’s broad sell-off presents investors with opportunities to pick up stocks at a relatively cheaper price, which would induce a rebound rally.

Markets are still largely driven by sentiment, as mentioned yesterday.

That said, the consumer and producer price index reports coming out Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, are concrete pieces of data that have the potential to affect markets dramatically.

They’ll also let us know if we can afford those shiny new things that Apple’s dangling in front of us.

– CNBC’s Pia Singh and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this story.