Wall Street to open mixed with Tesla set to drive Nasdaq higher

Tesla’s inexorable rise is set to propel the NASDAQ Composite higher again when trading starts in New York on Tuesday.

In Monday’s session, the NASDAQ rose 80 points to 11,775 on a day when the Dow and the S&P lost ground and today it is set to continue its upward path, with spread betting quotes suggesting it will open 440 points higher.

Today, it may even have the S&P 500 coming along for the ride as the 500-share index is expected to open 9 points higher at 3,509. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to be more subdued, with a fall of around 8 points to 28,422 on the cards.

The stock of Tesla, the electric vehicle maker, split overnight, which will result in the shares being cheaper (if only you could do the same for the cars), with existing shareholders owning more shares in compensation.

The company’s capitalisation now surpasses that of credit card group Visa and next in its sights, according to the Marketwatch news agency, is Berkshire Hathaway, the company helmed by the value-based investment guru, Warren Buffett.

Quite what the Sage of Omaha thinks of Tesla’s lofty valuation is anyone’s guess; we know what broker RBC thinks of it because it told us the company is “fundamentally overvalued”.

However, that did not stop RBC Capital increasing its target price to US$290 from US$170.

Five things to watch for on Tuesday:

• The final US manufacturing PMI reading for August, which is expected to reach 54.7, up from 50.9 in July and marking the strongest increase in factory activity since July last year
• Continued share price raises from Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) after the two heavyweights completed stock splits on Monday
• Reports on US construction spending for July and motor vehicle sales, providing more clarity on the state of the American economy
• Earnings from customisable teddy maker Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (NYSE:BBW), which could have seen its fortunes suffer during the pandemic due to its highly touch-based shopping model as well as a slowdown in consumer spending
• Share price reaction for in-flight internet provider Gogo Inc (NASDAQ:GOGO) following news that it has agreed to sell its commercial aviation arm to communications satellite group Intelsat for US$400 million

Story by ProactiveInvestors