Stock indices: Real estate leads to lower indices; Discounter, energy gain
9 hours and 23 minutes ago
The Dow
Walmart (WMT) rose 1.4%, among several off-price retailers that rose after Wednesday's unexpected inflation data.
Chevron (CVX) rose 0.4%, lifted by rising oil prices as tensions eased in the Middle East.
Home Depot (HD) shares fell 3.1% after Wednesday's inflation data raised concerns that longer-term higher interest rates could delay a recovery in the U.S. housing market.
Boeing (BA) fell 2% a day after The New York Times reported that a whistleblower had raised concerns about the safety of its Dreamliner 787, compounding the plane maker's woes.
The S&P 500
Axon Enterprise (AXON) rose 2.3% after Needham raised its price target on the stock, citing increased demand for its security products.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2%, as did Constell Energy Group (CEG), which also benefits from AI, which rose 1.6%.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) rose 1.1% and Dollar General (DG) rose 0.8%.
Deckers Outdoor (DECK) fell 6.7% after Truist downgraded the stock and lowered its price target, citing slowing demand for its Hoka running shoes.
Real estate stocks plunged on concerns about higher interest rates following Wednesday's inflation report. Extra Space Storage (EXR) fell 6.5%, while homebuilder DR Horton (DHI) fell 6.4% and leading office developer Boston Properties (BXP) fell 6.1%.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) gave up early gains to close down 2.5% despite beating profit estimates on strong travel demand.
The Nasdaq 100
Meta (META) rose 0.6% as the company unveiled the latest version of its custom AI chip, becoming the latest tech giant to step up efforts to reduce its dependence on Nvidia and benefit from huge AI investments .
Commercial real estate analytics provider CoStar Group (CSGP) followed other real estate stocks' decline, falling 5.3%.
Most semiconductor stocks fell, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), down 2.1%, and Marvell Technology (MRVL), which fell 2.6% ahead of its AI event on Thursday.
Roblox stock is rising as the online gaming platform partners with PubMatic for video ads
9 hours 53 minutes ago
Shares of Roblox (RBLX) rose on Wednesday afternoon, bucking a broader downturn in U.S. stocks after the online gaming platform struck a deal with ad tech company PubMatic (PUMB) for media buying of the company's video advertising inventory Roblox plans to be available later this year.
PubMatic said the partnership will give more brands easy access to Roblox's more than 71 million daily active users and give the company “scaled access to demand for premium brand advertising.”
In November, Roblox began experimenting with video ads, saying it expects them to “increase developer payouts and advertiser value per impression.”
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Roblox shares rose 1.3% to $39.61 on Wednesday evening. The stock has lost about 15% of its value in the last 12 months. PubMatic shares were down 3.4% in late trading.
-Bill McColl
TSMC's first-quarter revenue rises, beating expectations amid AI-powered demand boom
10 hours 50 minutes ago
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) reported quarterly revenue on Wednesday that beat analysts' expectations and came in just above the midpoint of the company's forecast.
TSMC, which will release a full earnings report next week, is seeing a boom in demand for the products it supplies to a number of tech giants, including Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), thanks in part to the artificial intelligence (AI) trend of the latter year.
The company reported March revenue of 195.21 billion new Taiwan dollars ($6.07 billion), up 34% from the same month last year. In the quarter, revenue rose 17% to TWD592.64 billion ($18.42 billion), above and above analysts' expectation of TWD580 billion ($18.03 billion), according to Visible Alpha estimates the midpoint of TSMC's forecast of $18 billion and $18.8 billion.
American depositary receipts (ADRs) of the Taiwanese company rose 0.3% to $145.87 on Wednesday afternoon, after rising as high as $148.43 earlier in the session. Earlier this week, they benefited from the announcement that TSMC would receive up to $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act funds to expand its plans to three factories at a facility in Arizona that the company plans to begin building in 2021 started.
-Aaron McDade
Macy's Names Activist Investor Board Picks, Ends Proxy Fight
12 hours and 4 minutes ago
Macy's (M) ended a proxy dispute with activist investor Arkhouse Management on Wednesday by agreeing to demands for a board reshuffle.
Macy's announced that it has appointed two new independent directors, Richard Clark and Richard Markee, both of whom were Arkhouse nominees. The retailer added that with this decision, Arkhouse has agreed to withdraw its candidates for board seats and the shareholder proposals it planned to vote on at Macy's annual meeting.
The move is expected to bring the largest U.S. department store chain closer to privatization by Arkhouse and its partner Brigade Capital Management. The company noted that it “continues to work with Arkhouse and Brigade regarding their proposal to acquire the company.”
Shares of Macy's were little changed Wednesday afternoon, down about 2% for 2024.
-Bill McColl
SoundHound AI drops after stock sale announcement
13 hours 13 minutes ago
SoundHound AI's (SOUN) stock's recent big run weakened further on Wednesday after the provider of artificial intelligence (AI) products for voice and sound recognition announced a stock sale.
SoundHound AI reported that it has entered into an agreement with five financial institutions to sell shares worth up to $150 million from time to time.
In March, SoundHound shares were up more than 300% year-to-date after AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) announced it had taken a stake in the company.
However, they have fallen steadily over the past month due to concerns about the company's financial position. But even with Wednesday's 9% decline to $4.40, shares have more than doubled in 2024.
-Bill McColl
Home builders and real estate are hard hit by inflation data
13 hours 58 minutes ago
Homebuilders and real estate investment trusts slumped on Wednesday after stubbornly high inflation data reinforced fears that interest rates will remain elevated for some time.
Longer-term higher interest rates are expected to weigh on both the residential and commercial property markets. The real estate market fell into a deep slumber last year as rising mortgage rates put home ownership out of reach for almost all first-time buyers. Interest rates had declined in recent months – partly in anticipation of impending rate cuts – raising hopes of a busy spring selling season.
Homebuilders like DR Horton (DHI) and Lennar (LEN) were among the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Wednesday morning, falling 4.4% and 4%, respectively.
Commercial real estate also struggled under the burden of higher interest rates and historically low occupancy rates after Corona. The prospect of lower interest rates eased the pressure on property owners who were under pressure to refinance loans as pre-coronavirus leases needed to be renewed over the next few years.
Boston Properties (BXP), a developer of high-end workplaces, fell 5% on Wednesday morning, while CoStar Group (CSGP), a provider of commercial real estate analytics, fell 5.1%.
Delta Surges on Profit Beats, Optimistic Forecast on Strong Travel Demand
15 hours 25 minutes ago
Delta Air Lines (DAL) shares rose in early trading on Wednesday after the airline reported record first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings and earnings per share (EPS) also beat expectations.
Delta reported an 8% year-over-year increase in revenue to $13.75 billion and adjusted net income of $288 million, or 45 cents per share, well above analyst estimates of $13.15 billion compiled by Visible Alpha. Dollars, $230.8 million and 36 cents per share respectively.
Executives said they expect the high travel numbers they have seen so far this year to continue into the busier summer travel season, as Delta reported a load factor – the percentage of available seat capacity that is filled with passengers – for the quarter. of 83%, up from 81% last year and within the company's pre-pandemic average of 82% to 88%.
Delta shares rose about 2.8% to $48.65 early in Wednesday's session. It is up nearly 21% year-on-year and 43% over the last 12 months.
-Aaron McDade
Stocks make the biggest moves premarket
16 hours and 3 minutes ago
Winnings:
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL): Shares of the airline rose more than 3% after it reported record first-quarter revenue and better-than-expected profit.
- Roblox Inc. (RBLX): Shares of the online video game company rose more than 1% after it hired ad tech company PubMatic (PUBM) to expand its emerging advertising business.
Losses:
- Monday.com Inc. (MNDY): Shares of the project management software company fell about 6% after analysts at Citi downgraded the stock to neutral on concerns about demand and pricing.
- Vistra Corp. (VST): Shares of the utility company fell about 4% after pricing a $1.5 billion senior note.
- Macy's Inc. (M): Shares of the department store fell about 2% after the company said it had settled a proxy dispute with activist investors Arkhouse Management and agreed to add two Arkhouse nominees to its board.
Futures plunge after sticky inflation data in March
16 hours 44 minutes ago
Dow futures plunged, trading 0.9% lower immediately after the March consumer price index release.
S&P 500 futures fell 1.2%.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.4%.
Stock futures rise ahead of March CPI
17 hrs 5 mins ago
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.3% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
S&P 500 futures rose just over 0.2%.
A little more than an hour before the market opened, Nasdaq 100 futures were also trading higher by about 0.2%.
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