Today, the stock market is looking up with the S&P 500 futures rising by 17 points (0.3%), Nasdaq 100 futures increasing by 76 points (0.4%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures going up by 150 points (0.4%). This positive trend comes ahead of the February Producer Price Index release at 8:30 AM. Most big companies are seeing their stock prices go up, although NVIDIA (NVDA) is an exception, with its stock price dropping before the market opens.
Other important data being released today include the weekly jobless claims, January Business Inventories, and the weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories. Additionally, Treasury yields are on the rise, with the 2-year note yield up by one basis point to 4.63% and the 10-year note yield also increasing by one basis point to 4.20%.
Here's a quick look at some company news:
- Lennar (LEN, Financial) reported earnings that beat expectations but missed on revenue. They also provided guidance for the second quarter, expecting to deliver between 19,000 to 19,500 new orders.
- UiPath (PATH, Financial) exceeded earnings expectations and reported higher revenues. However, they predict lower revenues for the next quarter but higher revenues for the fiscal year 2025.
- SentinelOne (S, Financial) also beat earnings and revenue expectations, with guidance for the next quarter and fiscal year 2025 revenues aligning with predictions.
- Dollar General (DG, Financial) surpassed earnings expectations, reported expected revenues, but forecasted lower earnings per share for the next quarter. They expect fiscal year 2025 earnings per share and revenues to meet predictions.
- Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS, Financial) beat both earnings and revenue expectations, provided guidance that aligns with expectations for fiscal year 2025, and announced a 10% dividend increase.
- Robinhood (HOOD, Financial) received an Outperform rating from Bernstein.
- Walt Disney (DIS, Financial) is focusing on four divisional leaders as potential successors to CEO Bob Iger, as reported by Bloomberg.
- Coinbase Global (COIN, Financial) announced the pricing of $1.1 billion of Convertible Senior Notes due in 2030.
- Under Armour (UAA, Financial) named Kevin Plank as President and CEO, effective April 1, replacing Stephanie Linnartz.
- Altria (MO, Financial) plans to sell part of its investment in Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) through a global secondary offering.
- Citigroup (C, Financial) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Overnight developments show mixed results in the Asia-Pacific stock markets with Japan's Nikkei up by 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 0.7%. Economic data from the region includes India's February WPI Inflation at 0.20% and Hong Kong's Q4 PPI at 2.7%. In Europe, markets are mostly steady, with France's CAC leading by gaining 1.0%. Economic data from Spain shows February CPI at 0.4% month-over-month.
Today's News
Stock index futures pointed to a higher open Thursday, with Nasdaq 100 futures (NDX:IND) up 0.5%, S&P futures (SPX) up 0.5%, and Dow futures (INDU) up 0.4%. Investors are keenly awaiting the release of wholesale inflation and retail figures ahead of the market open, alongside steady rates with the 10-year Treasury yields (US10Y) little changed at 4.19% and the 2-year yield (US2Y) flat at 4.63%.
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF, Financial) CEO expressed interest in rebidding for US Steel (X, Financial) in the $30s per share, amidst President Joe Biden's call for US Steel to remain under U.S. ownership, challenging Nippon Steel's (NISTF, Financial) acquisition efforts. US Steel's shares fell 6% in premarket trading following these developments.
A Boeing 777 (BA, Financial) operated by American Airlines (AAL, Financial) was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport due to a suspected mechanical issue. This incident adds to a series of recent emergency landings involving Boeing 777 aircraft, with the company's stock showing little pre-market reaction despite a 27% year-to-date decline.
China has criticized a new U.S. House bill aimed at banning TikTok unless its operations are divested from Chinese parent company ByteDance (BDNCE, Financial), further straining U.S.-China relations. The bill, titled the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," has yet to pass through the Senate.
Citigroup (C, Financial) shares rose up to 2.1% in premarket trading following an upgrade by Goldman Sachs from Neutral to Buy, citing a "realistic path" to a ~9.5% return on tangible common equity by 2026.
Canadian Solar (CSIQ, Financial) reported a Q4 GAAP EPS of -$0.02, missing estimates by $0.02, but revenue of $1.7B beat expectations by $10M. The company also announced significant financing and a new customer win for a project in Louisiana.
Neil Young's music has returned to Spotify (SPOT, Financial), over two years after he removed his catalog from the platform due to concerns over misinformation spread by Joe Rogan's podcast. Young cited the presence of the same podcast on Apple (AAPL, Financial) and Amazon (AMZN, Financial) as a reason for his return.
Dollar General (DG, Financial) reported better-than-expected Q4 results, with shares rising up to 6% in premarket trading. The discount retailer highlighted customer traffic growth and market share gains during the quarter.
Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced plans to assemble a group of investors to acquire TikTok from ByteDance (BDNCE, Financial), amidst legislative efforts that could force the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban.
Robinhood (HOOD, Financial) saw its stock surge over 11% following the release of its February performance data, which showed significant increases in assets under custody, trading volumes, and daily average revenue trades.
Cisco Systems (CSCO, Financial) received approval from the European Commission for its $28B acquisition of Splunk (SPLK, Financial), with the deal expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2024.
Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS, Financial) reported Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $3.85, beating estimates, and provided a positive outlook for 2024, expecting full-year comparable store sales growth to be in the range of 1.0% to 2.0%.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has backed a proposed bill against Chinese biopharma firms, including WuXi AppTec (WUXIF, Financial), in a move that could restrict these companies from accessing federal funds.
Pagaya Technologies (PGY, Financial) announced the pricing of a public offering of 7,500,000 Class A ordinary shares at $12.70, expecting gross proceeds of approximately $95 million.
Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX, Financial) saw a 2.4% rise in premarket trading after the HSR waiting period for its $14 billion sale to Bristol-Myers (BMY, Financial) expired, moving the acquisition process forward.
Tilray Brands (TLRY, Financial) announced that regulators in Portugal approved its first medical cannabis extract, THC 5 CBD 20, marking a significant step forward in patient care in the country.
Immuneering (IMRX, Financial) shared promising early signs of clinical activity for its cancer candidate IMM-1-104 in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial, with 53% of participants showing lesion shrinkage.
Related Stock Tickers:
