Apple and Spotify shares mixed after TikTok’s music expansion

In today’s top stories, TikTok sets its sights on the music streaming business, hedge funds bet the dollar will continue to strengthen and BP partners with Addison Lee to offer 3,000+ EV charging points in London.

TikTok’s push into music streaming

The short-form video app owned by ByteDance is reportedly in talks with music labels about expanding into the music streaming space. The expansion would put the company in competition with Apple and Spotify, both of which saw share price declines in early trading on Thursday. While negotiations are still progressing, the company already has a music streaming service called Resso that has already gained popularity in India.

A digital safe haven?

Many see bitcoin becoming less volatile than stocks as a positive sign. Some traders, such as ARK Invest’s Yassine Elmandjra, worry that in a low-volume environment, it could lead to a faster drop in the event of a sell-off. “In an overall bear market, you do not want low volatility coupled with low volume because we’re already in a recessionary period,” Valkyrie Investments’ Steven McClurg told Bloomberg.

EV market revs up

As electric vehicles (EVs) hit the road, Citi analysts see charging technology as one of the fastest growing markets in the industrial sector. Analysts at the firm highlight Plug Power, Ceres Power and Toyota as top plays in the theme. In the UK, BP may be the leader. As part of its £1bn investment in the UK’s charging infrastructure, its charging business will partner with London’s largest car and courier service Addison Lee to offer more than 3,000 charging points around the city.

Hedge funds bet big on cash

Data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission seen by the Financial Times shows that a growing number of hedge funds such as macro investor Brevan Howard are increasing bets that the dollar will advance against the Canadian dollar, Japanese yen and euro. The US currency is up 18% against a collection of six peers this year and could be on track for its biggest annual gain.

Better-than-expected earnings

While earnings season has been a mixed bag in this year’s volatile environment, with several companies surpassing, albeit low, expectations. Wolfe Research has found a handful of “companies beating on top- and bottom-lines and providing constructive outlooks”, according to CNBC.  Among these are stocks that have seen positive price action post-earnings during first and second quarters, including Omnicon Group, PepsiCo, Chevron, American Express, CVS Health, Honeywell and Apple.

Cullen Roche’s bear market play

When the financial crisis hit in 2008, founder and chief investment officer of Discipline Funds Cullen Roche managed to remain pragmatic, eventually emerging with a 15% return in his private investment partnership. In the latest episode of Opto Sessions, the financial analyst author of Pragmatic Capitalism explains his approach to picking trades during a market downturn.  

Gold in focus

While the price of gold struggles against securities, share prices for mining companies Fresnillo [FRES.L], Centamin [CEY.L] and Caledonia Mining Corporation [CMCL.L] are faring better than others this year. Declining gold prices this year have hit the industry as higher interest rates make gold a less favourable investment compared to interest-paying securities. Though each company’s reported results showed promise, however, their share prices will still likely be challenged in the immediate future.