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Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• China ordered major refiners to halt diesel and gasoline exports.

• The rupee led Asian currency gains after the RBI stepped in to support it.

• Investors kept pouring money into emerging-market ETFs even as stocks slid.

• Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo is taking direct aim at the Windows PC crowd.

• U.S. hiring picked up, with firms adding the most jobs since July.

• Morgan Stanley expects defense stocks to attract major fund inflows as limits ease.

Market News

Markets Betting on the Economy

U.S. stocks climbed as strong economic data reassured investors despite escalating tensions in the Middle East. Data showed the U.S. service sector expanded at its fastest pace since mid-2022 while a key price index dropped to an almost one-year low, signaling cooling inflation.

The positive economic surprise helped push equities higher, with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% and the Nasdaq 100 gaining ~1.5% as megacap technology stocks led the rally. Meanwhile, B*tcoin climbed toward $73,000, and oil prices whipsawed before settling near $75 a barrel, reflecting uncertainty tied to geopolitical developments.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions remained high as Donald Trump expressed confidence in military operations against Iran while clashes between Iran, Israel, and U.S. forces intensified.

Tehran also denied reports it had reached out to Washington for negotiations. Despite the risks, strategists at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo say strong economic momentum and earnings could limit market downside, suggesting any spike in risk aversion may be temporary.

Peel Take: Strong data is giving markets confidence, so investors are buying stocks even while geopolitics gets messy. Basically, Wall Street is saying, “War is worrying, but the economy still looks pretty good.”

What's Ripe

Moderna Inc. (MRNA) 16.0%

• Shares of Moderna surged 16% after the vaccine maker agreed to pay $950 million to settle patent litigation with Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences over technology used in its Covid-19 vaccine.

• The settlement eased investor concerns that the company might face a much larger payout, given that its Covid-19 shot has generated roughly $45 billion to $50 billion in revenue. Shares of Arbutus rose about 1.3% following the news.

• Peel Take: Investors were bracing for a massive legal bill, but Moderna essentially paid a “discount settlement,” which is why the stock popped. In Wall Street terms: the fine hurt, but it could’ve been way worse.

CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) 7.8%

• Shares of CoreWeave climbed 7.8% after the company announced a multiyear partnership with Perplexity AI.

• Under the agreement, Perplexity will use CoreWeave’s cloud-computing platform to run its artificial intelligence workloads, while CoreWeave will deploy Perplexity’s Enterprise Max product for its employees.

• Peel Take: AI companies teaming up tends to excite investors; CoreWeave gets more demand for its cloud power, Perplexity gets more computing muscle, and Wall Street hits the buy button.

What's Rotten

GitLab Inc. (GTLB) 6.2%

• Shares of GitLab slumped 6.2% after the software company warned that sales growth is expected to slow this year.

• CEO Bill Staples acknowledged the company’s revenue outlook could be stronger and outlined five initiatives aimed at accelerating growth. The cautious guidance overshadowed a fourth-quarter earnings beat.

• Peel Take: Even though GitLab beat earnings, investors focused on the slower growth forecast, and on Wall Street, future growth matters more than past wins.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) 3.6%

• Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch fell 3.6% after the retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings but warned that tariffs could weigh on costs this year and that sales growth may slow.

• Peel Take: Good past results weren’t enough as investors focused on higher tariffs and slower future sales, so the stock took a small fashion-forward tumble.

🧠 Technical Trip

Interview Q&A from Ares

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🌟 Mentor Spotlight

Andreea on Finance Careers: Recruiting, Mindset & Long-Term Success

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🦈 Deal Dispatch

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• Medline buyout backers raised $3.1B through a share sale.

• Morgan Stanley is cutting about 3% of its workforce.

• Neura Robotics is seeking a €1B raise with backing from Tether.

• Latin American fintech Ualá secured new funding at a $3.2B valuation.

• Fitness tech firm Whoop plans to expand staff by 75% ahead of a potential IPO.

📊The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

Yes-or-no bets on the Nasdaq 100 are

Fun twist: 22.4% // Too casino: 51.0% // Smart hedge: 12.3% // Risky idea: 14.3%

Student Success Corner

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Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

A researcher plans to identify each participant in a certain medical experiment with a code consisting of either a single letter or a pair of distinct letters written in alphabetical order. What is the least number of letters that can be used if there are 12 participants, and each participant is to receive a different code?

Answer: 5

Today

If 3 < x < 100, for how many values of x is x/3 the square of a prime number?

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick

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