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<\/a><\/p>\n Dow Jones and Stoxx 600 hit new highs<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n The ASX is poised to open higher on Monday after the Dow Jones<\/strong> and Europe\u2019s Stoxx 600<\/strong> surged to all-time highs on Friday.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 closed flat, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.16% to a new record high, tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.36%, while the Stoxx 600 climbed +0.43% to a new high.<\/p>\n The market has continued to push higher after the Nvidia-mania on Thursday, and analysts are now looking at the chances of a US interest rate cut as the next catalyst.<\/p>\n Berskshire Hathaway<\/strong> rose by +0.5% after reporting its Q4 results. Berkshire\u2019s cash pile jumped to a record at US$167.6 billion as Warren Buffett said a lack of meaningful deals means the company would not have a shot at \u201ceye-popping performance\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others,\u201d said Buffett in his annual shareholder letter.<\/p>\n Warner Bros. Discovery<\/strong> plummeted by 10% after reporting Q4 results that missed analyst estimates, due partly to the impacts of the Hollywood strikes.<\/p>\n Walmart<\/strong> rose modestly after confirming a 3:1 stock split.<\/p>\n Carvana<\/strong>, online used car retailer, rocketed by +32% after posting a much better than expected net income of US$150 million for the full year of 2023.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, inflation<\/strong> will be in focus this week as Australia, Europe, Japan, and the US report their latest CPI figures.<\/p>\n Australia expects inflation to come in at 3.5% for January, up from the 3.4% for December.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Google announced on Friday that it was deepening its partnership with Reddit, a company that has filed for an IPO listing.<\/p>\n But recent research suggests that people are getting more frustrated with Google, as its search results are increasingly filled with paid ads and product-peddling spam sites.<\/p>\n Google currently commands over 90% of the world\u2019s search market, but some experts believe that dominance may soon come to an end.<\/p>\n A fresh crop of AI-powered tools threatens to challenge Google\u2019s status as the go-to search tool.<\/p>\n OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker, is building its own new AI-powered search product, as is Microsoft\u2019s Bing.<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos-backed AI bot Perplexity is also one of the new search contenders, after being valued at US$520 million in the latest funding round.<\/p>\n Google for its part has rolled out its own AI chatbot Bard (now Gemini), and has reportedly been working with TikTok to embed its search results into the TikTok app.<\/p>\n Some believe Google will be hard to topple.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the search front, it\u2019s still all Google all the way. And even if OpenAI popularised the generative AI craze, the company has a long way to go if it hopes to take down the search giant,\u201d said Daniel Howley, a tech expert.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold price<\/strong> rose by +0.5% to US$2,035.30 an ounce.<\/p>\n Oil prices<\/strong> were down over -2%, with Brent now trading at US$81.68 a barrel.<\/p>\n The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield<\/strong> fell around 8 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.25%.<\/p>\n Iron ore futures<\/strong> fell by around +0.75% to US$126.85 a tonne.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar<\/strong> was up slightly by +0.15% to US65.71c.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bitcoin<\/strong> rose by +0.4% in the last 24 hours to US$51,708.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hot Chili (ASX:HCH)<\/a><\/strong> Kogan.com (ASX:KGN)<\/a><\/strong> OAR Resources (ASX:OAR)<\/a><\/strong> Delorean Corporation (ASX:DEL)<\/a><\/strong> Tamboran Resources (ASX:TBN)<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Hot Chili is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Market Highlights: Markets hit record highs, Buffett struggles to find deals, and 5 small caps to watch<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nBuffett\u2019s Berkshire\u2019s cash pile jumps to a record high as opportunity dries<\/strong>
\nWhy Google could lose its search dominance<\/strong><\/p>\nIs Google\u2019s search dominance over?<\/h2>\n
Other markets \u2026<\/h2>\n
5 ASX small caps to watch today<\/h2>\n
\nHot Chili has completed a water supply concept study for the Huasco valley region of Chile, confirming the potential for a large, multi-user, desalination water supply network. Hot Chili holds the only granted maritime water concession and most necessary permits to provide critical water access to the Huasco valley region, following over a decade of permitting advance for the company\u2019s Costa Fuego copper-gold project.<\/p>\n
\nRevenue for H1 grew 25.6% on the pcp, driven by Kogan Mobile Australia, Kogan Mobile New Zealand, Kogan Insurance, and Kogan Internet. Inventory was reduced by 30.6% on the pcp. Gross Profit was $89.5 million, which increased by 42.2% on the pcp. Cash totalled $83.3 million with no external debt at 31 December 2023.<\/p>\n
\nOAR provided results from testing of samples taken from the company\u2019s 100%-owned Oar Graphite Project in South Australia. Samples from the project have been sent to a tier 1 research facility in China for metallurgical evaluation to produce a saleable product. Preliminary test work using bespoke commercialised processing flowsheet produced premium product, with a fixed carbon content of 95.6%.<\/p>\n
\nDelorean\u2019s 100% owned subsidiary, Delorean Energy, has been awarded a $5 million grant under the Queensland Government\u2019s Resource Recovery Industry Development Program. The Department of State Development and Infrastructure grant is to be applied towards the construction, commissioning and operation of Delorean\u2019s QLD 1 bioenergy facility project.<\/p>\n
\nTamboran has booked its first estimate of contingent gas over the Shenandoah South region across EP 98 and 117 in the Beetaloo Basin, following a successful 30-day initial production (IP30) flow test of the Shenandoah South 1H (SS-1H) well. The gas resources increased by 33 billion cubic feet(Bcf) to 284 Bcf, and unrisked net 2C contingent gas resources increased by 152 Bcf to 1.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).<\/p>\n