When markets roared higher yesterday, markets left AT&T (T) out. The firm suffered from a wireless service. The outage disrupted calls and text messages for thousands of U.S. customers. Federal agencies are investigating the matter. This adds uncertainty to T stock and hurts its competitors like Verizon (VZ).
Investors may treat AT&T’s outage as a temporary setback. The long-term prospects do not change.
Financial services giant JPMorgan (JPM) may face selling pressure today. CEO Jamie Dimon sold around $150 million of JPM stock. This is his first sale since taking the leadership position in 2005. The 1 million shares of 8.6 million shares held is 11.63% of the holding, a not-so-insignificant sale.
Market watchers cannot say the same for the EV sector. Rivian (RIVN) topped the most actively traded stock after posting poor production expectations for 2024. Both Rivian and Lucid Motors (LCID) are failing to increase production to achieve economies of sale. The cost per unit sold will rise as demand falls. Consumers lost interest in buying high-priced EVs. Rivian’s EV truck will face growing competition from Tesla’s (TSLA) Cyber truck. Unfortunately for Rivian, Tesla has diversified products in batteries, car and truck EVs, and charging stations.
Lucid’s luxury vehicle does not resonate in today’s tight economic circumstances.
Investors should also avoid lithium-mining firms. Albemarle (ALB) and Lithium Americas (LAC) will continue to drift lower as demand for lithium used for EV batteries falls.
