SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – On this morning’s Winners and Losers, financial expert Rob Black covers the intensifying stock sell-off, the plunge in Bitcoin’s value, and the comeback of the movies (or, at last of “Doctor Strange”).
Loser: S&P 500 tumbles to new low for 2022
The S&P 500 fell to a fresh 52-week low, as the market sell-off continued and traders struggled to find their footing from last week’s big market swings.
Rising rates continued to put pressure on technology names such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet.
The combination of high rates and a potential recession as inflation surges also hit other areas of the market.
Consumer stocks like Nike suffered along with industrials such as Caterpillar and Deere.
The U.S. saw a record 11.5 million job openings in March, and 4.54 million job quits.
The labor supply shortage has driven wage increases, with average hourly earnings up 5.6% from a year ago, but that increase still hasn’t kept up with inflation at 8.5%.
The Uber CEO told staff that the company will cut down on costs and treat hiring as a “privilege.”
Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report is expected to show a drop in inflation from last month’s blistering 8.5% pace, but not by much.
The Fed hiked interest rates the most in 22 years last week to push prices down faster.
Loser: Bitcoin Prices Keep Plunging With No Sign of Stopping
Cryptocurrency prices tumbled over the weekend and into Monday, with Bitcoin hitting a yearly low as investors continued to dump risky assets amid a tough stock market and challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen 5% over the past 24 hours to below $32,500, deepening losses from over the weekend after changing hands around $36,000 on Friday.
It puts the largest crypto at its lowest level since January, and a move well below $33,000 would mark a new yearly bottom and the lowest level since July 2021.
The latest selloff brings Bitcoin to less than half the value of its all-time high of $68,990 reached in November 2021,
Ether and “Memecoins”— called that because they were initially intended as internet jokes rather than significant blockchain projects—also fell, with Dogecoin losing 5% and Shiba Inu 11% lower.
Another negative sign for the crypto market is that institutional money may be leading the price pressure.
Winner: ‘Doctor Strange’ snares $185 million
The summer blockbuster season has started with a bang. Disney’s latest Marvel Cinematic Universe flick “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” snared $185 million domestically over its debut weekend, the highest haul of any movie released in 2022.
After a series of bummer releases during the COVID-19 lockdown, such as Eternals and Black Widow, Disney’s Marvel has to be relieved.
It’s estimated around 13.5 million moviegoers saw “Doctor Strange” over the weekend, the second most attended film since the pandemic started
Internationally, the film generated $265 million in ticket sales, bringing its global total to $450 million.
Next on the docket is “Top Gun: Maverick” followed in quick succession by “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Lightyear,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
All of these films will debut between now and the end of July.
The average ticket price for the film was just shy of $13, e, with premium format tickets going for $16.25 and 3D tickets costing $15.44.
