5 minutes ago
“The laggards seem to be running out of time,” says BTIG
According to BTIG, time is running out for investors hoping to extend the rally.
According to BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky in a note Wednesday, mega-cap tech stocks have continued to rise this year, but most of the market has continued to lag. Krinsky said the failure of laggards this week to mount a sustained rebound could mean the recent stock rally is also nearing its peak.
By and large, all mega-cap tech stocks are up this year. Nvidia, for example, is already up 23% in January. Even Apple, which has struggled with several notable downgrades this month, is up 1%.
Compare that to the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF, which is down 0.3% this year, or the Ark Innovation ETF, which is down 11%, Krinsky noted. The VanEck Oil Services ETF is down 3% and the iShares US Real Estate ETF is down nearly 5%. The Russell 2000 small-cap index fell 3%.
“When markets diverge, they resolve in two ways. “Either the cause of the divergence (i.e. the laggards) catches up, or the leaders succumb to the laggards,” Krinsky wrote.
“The laggards seem to be running out of time here, and when the average stock starts to flip, when the super extended leadership names decide to turn around, things get a little tricky for the broad indices,” Krinsky continued. “We believe we are getting close to that point.”
—Sarah Min
40 minutes ago
US GDP is growing much faster than expected
The US economy grew by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, significantly exceeding expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast economic growth of 2% for the fourth quarter.
The report also contained encouraging data on inflation. The price index for private consumption expenditure increased by 2.7% on an annual basis, compared to 5.9% in the previous year. Core PCE rose 3.2% from 5.1%.
The report comes as investors look ahead to possible interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve later this year.
—Fred Imbert
46 minutes ago
Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: IBM, Tesla and more
These are the stocks that moved the most in premarket trading:
Read the full list of stock moves here.
—Lisa Kailai Han
An hour ago
Southwest wins by increasing profits
Southwest rose more than 1% in early trading after its better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial report.
The value-oriented airline earned 37 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $6.82 billion. Analysts expected just 12 cents per share and $6.75 billion, according to LSEG.
Southwest said it has removed the Boeing 737 Max 7 from its fleet plans due to regulatory delays.
Shares are up nearly 8% in 2024, gaining some ground after slipping in the previous four years.
—Alex Harring
An hour ago
America makes progress as earnings surprise on the upside
American Airlines rose more than 4% in premarket trading Thursday after strong quarterly pressure.
The Texas-based airline said it earned 29 cents per share, excluding items, in the fourth quarter on revenue of $13.06 billion. That's above Wall Street forecasts, with analysts expecting 10 cents per share and revenue of $13.02 billion, per LSEG.
American is up more than 1% this year, adding to its 8% gain in 2023.
—Alex Harring
An hour ago
Blackstone Rises on Earnings Report
Blackstone rose more than 3% in premarket trading on Thursday after better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings per share.
The investment company earned $1.11 per share, beating the consensus estimate of 95 cents from analysts surveyed by LSEG. However, revenue fell slightly short of the Street's forecast, coming in at $2.54 billion, compared to analysts' forecast of $2.57 billion.
Blackstone is down nearly 8% so far in the new year, giving back some gains after rising 76.5% in 2023.
—Alex Harring
An hour ago
Humana is floundering due to weak leadership
Humana slipped more than 14% in early trading Thursday after the health insurer expressed weak expectations for full-year earnings.
The company told investors to expect full-year 2024 earnings per share of about $16, excluding items. That's well below the consensus estimate of $29.10 from analysts surveyed by LSEG.
Humana's forecast overshadowed fourth-quarter revenue that beat Street expectations.
Shares have fallen more than 12% in 2024, exacerbating losses after falling more than 10% in 2023.
—Alex Harring
2 hours ago
Alaska Air rises after profits
Shares of Alaska Air rose about 1% premarket after the airline reported fourth-quarter results.
The company earned 30 cents per share, excluding items. That beat an LSEG estimate of 18 cents per share. Sales met expectations at $2.55 billion.
This is Alaska Air's first quarterly report since a door plug blew through on an Alaska flight. The company said the grounding of Boeing's 737 Max 9 jets will cost the company $150 million.
—Fred Imbert
12 hours ago
Shares of Tesla suppliers and electric vehicles in Asia fall after Tesla's earnings miss
Shares of electric vehicle makers and Tesla suppliers in Asia plunged after Tesla missed fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates on Thursday.
Electric vehicle makers Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto were among the biggest losers on the Hang Seng index, with Nio falling over 7%. Shares of Xpeng and Li Auto lost 6.05% and 4.47%, respectively, in early trading.
Separately, Tesla suppliers also fell following the automaker's results, with South Korean display maker LG Display sliding over 4%. LG Display is known for supplying the car displays for Tesla's Model 3.
Companies along Tesla's battery supply chain posted slightly smaller losses, with LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and Panasonic Holdings all down about 2%.
—Lim Hui Jie
14 hours ago
South Korea's economy grows 1.4% in 2023, fourth quarter beats estimates
Samsung Electronics Co. 8GB Double Data Rate (DDR) 4 memory modules.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The South Korean economy grew faster than expected in the final quarter of 2023, according to an advance estimate from the Bank of Korea.
Gross domestic product grew 2.2% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, higher than a Portal poll estimate of 2.1%.
Data showed South Korea's GDP rose 1.4% for the year.
Data showed exports grew 2.6% in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period as shipments of semiconductors increased.
The main Kospi index has lost around 7% since the beginning of the year.
—Shreyashi Sanyal
14 hours ago
Market hypothetical: If Boeing were unchanged in 2024, the Dow Industrials would be 308 points higher
The Dow Jones Industrial Average would be 308 points above its current level of around 37,806 if Boeing's shares just remained flat in 2024 and did not fall more than 17% due to safety issues surrounding the 737 Max 9.
That's because the Dow is weighted by a company's stock price, not its market value – just like the S&P 500. Boeing ended 2023 at $260.66 and closed Wednesday at about $214 per share . Every $1 change in the price of a stock in the Dow is worth about 6.6 points.
If UnitedHealth Group remained unchanged in January, the Dow Industrials would also be another 87 points higher. UNH results earlier this month showed higher medical costs, which RBC Capital said were higher than management previously forecast due to the popularity of RSV vaccines.
The effect of UNH and Boeing combined, all other things being equal, would result in the Dow trading above 38,200 today.
– Scott Schnipper
14 hours ago
Boeing shares fall after FAA halts 737 Max production expansion
Boeing shares fell nearly 4% after the Federal Aviation Administration paused the company's expansion of 737 Max production but cleared the way for Boeing's Max 9 to return to service.
On Wednesday, the FAA announced that it had approved the inspection instructions for the Max 9. Regulators grounded the planes after a panel flew out of a plane on Jan. 5.
Boeing shares had a rocky start to the year, losing nearly 18% in January.
Read more about the FAA's announcement here.
—Leslie Josephs, Darla Mercado
14 hours ago
West Texas Crude Hits 4-Week High, Rises Nearly 5% in 2024
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March delivery rose about 1% to $75.09 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest since Dec. 26, 2023, bringing the year-to-date gain to 4.8%.
See grafic…
March WTI futures last month.
February gasoline futures were little changed at $2.2095 a gallon, after rising as high as $2.2457, the highest since Nov. 30, 2023, and are also down 4 this year .9% higher.
Other notable commodity price moves pushed the price of March lumber futures to their highest since July 19, 2023 and tin contracts on the London Metal Exchange to their highest since August 11, 2023.
—Scott Schnipper, Gina Francolla
15 hours ago