Another Record Close for S&P 500, Dow Jones Ahead of Earnings

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Skerdian Meta

Today marked a significant milestone in the stock market, as both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs. Despite an initial slump in tech stocks, investor confidence surged ahead of Nvidia’s highly anticipated earnings report, which is set to be released tomorrow.

Stocks Surge As Wall Street Rally Propels S&P 500 Towards Record High

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Argentine Government Suspends Public Media Outlets for Reorganization

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Ignacio Teson

The Argentine government suspended public media outlets’ social media accounts and websites on Tuesday as part of a “reorganization” process aimed at “improving the content produced.” This measure has been accused of “censorship” by the media union.

“This decision has been made to temporarily pause all content on the social media and websites of public media,” stated a communiqué published across all public media’s social networks.

The websites display a banner reading “Site under reconstruction.”

This is another measure by President Javier Milei’s government against public media, which the president accuses of being a “propaganda tool” and has included in a privatization bill.

The Buenos Aires Press Union (SIPREBA) issued a statement rejecting “the silencing of the social networks of both media outlets (Radio Nacional and TV Pública)” and accused the measure of “censorship and intimidation, adding to the silencing of Télam.”

In March, the government announced the suspension of the state news agency Télam, which remains paralyzed with its workers inactive. In May, it ordered the closure of 13 of its correspondents’ offices in the country’s interior.

Also in March, the government suspended all weekend newscasts on Public Television, along with the cancellation of all live programs, except for some news broadcasts.

Brazil: Economic Boom and Improved Forecasts for the World’s Ninth-Largest Economy

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Ignacio Teson

The Latin American country, which unexpectedly raised its GDP by 2.9% in 2023, will grow by 2.2% in 2024, according to the IMF, surpassing initial forecasts.

The largest country in Latin America became the world’s ninth-largest economy in 2023 due to an unexpected 2.9% increase in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This unforeseen rise prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to raise its outlook for the country. However, the economic boom contrasts with the growing lack of security and increasing political distrust, some of the challenges the nation now faces.

A year later, despite ongoing social polarization between political factions, the situation has been stabilizing, and the Brazilian economy has managed to navigate these differences, overtaking Russia for the ninth spot in the global economic rankings in 2023. Specifically, the country’s GDP reached €1.9 trillion, triple the forecasted amount at the end of 2022. The agriculture, oil, and services sectors spearheaded this growth.

One of the drivers of growth has been the increase in exports, leveraged by a cheaper Brazilian real compared to the dollar. This year, the Brazilian currency has depreciated by approximately 12%.

[[USD/BRL-graph]]

Meanwhile, the government has revised its projection for Brazil’s economic growth in 2024 from the 2.2% expected last March to 2.5%, as per the Macrofiscal Bulletin released by the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry acknowledged that their new calculations do not yet consider the impacts of the unprecedented floods in southern Brazil, which have resulted in 152 deaths and displaced 2.3 million people, submerging vast areas of crops and halting factories in the region.

Bullish Breakout Continues in Ethereum, With ETH ETF Near

Posted on May 21, 2024May 21, 2024 by Skerdian Meta

In January the SEC approved the Bitcoin ETF, which improved the crypto market sentiment. Now it’s the turn for a spot Ethereum ETF, which is drawing near, and the bids in the crypto market have increased once again. Bitcoin jumped above $70,000 earlier today, while Ethereum is approaching $4,000.

Ethereum ETF should get approved this week

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Tensions escalate: Spain permanently withdraws its ambassador from Buenos Aires, and Milei criticizes the decision.

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Ignacio Teson

Madrid has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso, announced Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares this Tuesday, thereby intensifying the controversy over disparaging remarks made by Argentine President Javier Milei in Madrid.

Milei called the Spanish government’s decision “nonsense” and recommended that Pedro Sánchez find “a good lawyer for his wife.”

In a phone interview with the TV channel La Nación+ shortly after the Moncloa executive’s decision was announced, the ultraliberal politician said the measure is “nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist” and added that “socialists are capable of anything.”

“This tarnishes Spain’s international image, showing how arrogant they are to believe they are the state and that no one can say anything to them,” Milei stated, denying that Argentina would take any similar action.

In his first interview after returning from Spain, the leader of La Libertad Avanza called the Spanish Prime Minister “cowardly” and said he felt “attacked” by him, reiterating his refusal to apologize for his comments made last Sunday.

On that day, at an event organized by the Spanish far-right party Vox, Milei labeled Sánchez as “a breed of people clinging to power” and called his wife, Begoña Gómez, “corrupt.”

This Monday and Tuesday, the Argentine President has insisted that he did not explicitly mention them in his remarks and that if they felt targeted, “it’s their problem.”

He also recommended Sánchez find “a good lawyer for his wife,” referring to the lawsuit filed against Gómez in a Madrid court by the far-right organization Manos Limpias, alleging corruption and influence peddling.

Wall Street is trading mixed, dominated by a cautious sentiment.

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Ignacio Teson

Ahead of the central bank’s minutes release tomorrow, the market is attentive to the speeches that some central bank officials will have.

The main Wall Street indices have mixed performances this Tuesday morning. The Dow Jones returns to positive territory while the Nasdaq edges down slightly, awaiting speeches from several Federal Reserve members.

The leading Dow Jones index, composed of 30 giants’ stocks, was up 0.19% at 39,881.46 points, while the S&P 500 was up 0.11% at 5,313.96 units. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.01% at 16,792.51 points.

Two of the Fed’s monetary policy makers said this morning that it would be prudent for the central bank to wait several more months to ensure that inflation returns to 2% before beginning to lower interest rates.

[[SPX-graph]]

Ahead of the central bank’s minutes release tomorrow, the market is attentive to interventions from other central bank officials during the day. The indices reflect a predominance of cautious sentiment.

Artificial intelligence also plays an important role as Microsoft (+1.05%) hosts a two-day event showcasing its innovations, and with Nvidia’s figures (+0.07%) set to be released tomorrow.

Sector-wise, there are mixed behaviors with moderate movements. Within the Dow Jones, IBM stands out (2.26%), followed by JP Morgan Chase (1.59%), while Verizon (-1.66%) leads the declines.

Meanwhile, the animation studio had hired additional staff to create original series, as the former CEO of Disney pushed each of the company’s creative units to produce exclusive content for Disney+.

Pixar Animation Studios, the producer of classic films like “Toy Story” and “Up,” began laying off about 14% of its workforce this Tuesday as it scales back the development of original streaming series, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Sanofi, OpenAI To Build AI Software To Boost Drug Development

Posted on May 21, 2024 by RTT Staff Writer

French drug major Sanofi is teaming with artificial intelligence or AI startup OpenAI, the developer of highly popular generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, as well as Formation Bio, an AI and tech-driven drug developer, to build AI-powered software to accelerate drug development and bring new medicines more efficiently.

With the AI collaboration, the companies expect to lead drug developers’ way to use the significant potentially positive impact of AI for patients waiting for new treatments.

Under the deal, the companies would bring together data, software and tuned models to develop custom, purpose-built solutions across the drug development lifecycle. It’s a first-of-its kind collaboration within the pharma and life sciences industries.

Sanofi said it will leverage the partnership to provide access to proprietary data to develop AI models as it aims to becoming the first biopharma company powered by AI at scale.

Further, OpenAI, which is backed by tech giant Microsoft Corp., will contribute access to cutting-edge AI capabilities, including the ability to fine-tune models, deep AI expertise and dedicated thought partnership and resources.

Formation Bio will provide extensive engineering resources, and experience operating at the intersection of pharma and AI. It will also provide its tech-driven development platform to design, develop and deploy AI technologies across all aspects of the pharma lifecycle.

Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said, “This unique collaboration is the next significant step in our journey to becoming a pharmaceutical company substantially powered by AI. Next generation, first-of-its kind AI model customizations will be an important foundation in our efforts to shape the future of drug development for pharma and for the many patients waiting for innovative treatments.”

Brad Lightcap, COO, OpenAI, added that there is massive potential for AI to accelerate drug development, and that the collaboration would help patients and their families by bringing new medicines to the market.

OpenAI last week enetred into a deal with social media company Reddit Inc. to bring its content to ChatGPT and its products. OpenAI also agreed to become a Reddit advertising partner.

Bloomberg recently reported that tech giant Apple Inc. is in the final stages of reaching an agreement with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT features into iOS 18.

Lowe's Q1 Earnings Down, But Beat Market; Backs FY24 View; Stock Up

Posted on May 21, 2024 by RTT Staff Writer

Home improvement major Lowe’s Companies, Inc. on Tuesday maintained its fiscal 2024 earnings and sales outlook after reporting weak results in its first quarter. However, the quarterly earnings per share were above market estimates.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, Lowe’s shares were gaining around 3.1 percent to trade at $236.30.

Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO, said, “This quarter we rolled out our new DIY loyalty program nationally, expanded same-day delivery options and took market share in key categories. We continue to gain momentum with our Total Home strategy, reflected in our growth in Pro and online.”

For fiscal 2024, the company continues to project earnings per share of approximately $12.00 to $12.30 and total sales of $84 billion to $85 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $12.19 on revenue of $84.43 billion. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Comparable sales for the year are still expected to be down 2 to 3 percent compared to the prior year, and operating margin would be 12.6 percent to 12.7 percent.

In its first quarter, Lowe’s’ net earnings declined to $1.76 billion from $2.26 billion a year ago. Earnings per share was $3.06, compared to $3.77 last year.

The prior year’s adjusted earnings per share were $3.67 excluding a gain associated with the 2022 sale of the Canadian retail business.

The Street expected the company to report profit per share of $2.94 for the quarter.

The first-quarter total sales were $21.36 billion, compared to $22.35 billion a year ago. Analysts had estimated $21.12 billion in revenue.

Comparable sales decreased 4.1 percent as the decline in DIY big ticket discretionary spending was partially offset by positive comparable sales in Pro and online.

As of May 3, Lowe’s operated 1,746 stores representing 194.9 million square feet of retail selling space.

For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com.

U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance, Major Averages Little Changed

Posted on May 21, 2024 by RTT Staff Writer

Stocks are showing a lack of direction during trading on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.

Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq is down 10.95 points or 0.1 percent at 16,783.92, the Dow is up 36.71 points or 0.1 percent at 39,843.48 and the S&P 500 is up 3.31 points or 0.1 percent at 5,311.44.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as traders take a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages climb to new record highs.

Renewed confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months contributed to the advance, but recent comments from Fed officials have once again created some uncertainty.

While the likelihood rates will be lower by September remains high, the chances have fallen to 78.3 percent from close to 90 percent last week, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Another quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of the minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting may shed additional light on Fed officials’ thinking with regard to the outlook for rates.

Among individual stocks, shares of Peloton Interactive (PTON) have moved sharply lower after the
exercise equipment and media company announced a global refinancing that includes an offering of $275.0 million worth of convertible senior notes due 2029.

Auto parts retailer AutoZone (AZO) has also shown a notable move to the downside after report better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.

On the other hand, shares of XPeng (XPEV) have surged after the Chinese electric vehicle maker reported fiscal first quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Networking stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index falling by 1.3 percent.

The index is pulling back off its best closing level in over three months amid a steep drop by Palo Alto Networks (PANW), which is under pressure after the cybersecurity company forecast fiscal fourth quarter revenues and billings toward the low end of analyst estimates.

Transportation and telecom stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while some strength is visible among oil service, pharmaceutical and banking stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dove by 2.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slid by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground following the pullback seen over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.7 basis points at 4.410 percent.

U.S. Stocks Remain Little Changed In Afternoon Trading

Posted on May 21, 2024 by RTT Staff Writer

Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Tuesday and continue to turn in a lackluster performance in afternoon trading. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged ling after ending the previous session mixed.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 21.62 points or 0.1 percent at 39,828.39, the Nasdaq is up 9.33 points or 0.1 percent at 16,804.21 and the S&P 500 is up 5.86 points or 0.1 percent at 5,313.99.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders take a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages climb to new record highs.

Renewed confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months contributed to the advance, but recent comments from Fed officials have once again created some uncertainty.

While the likelihood rates will be lower by September remains high, the chances have fallen to 78.3 percent from close to 90 percent last week, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Another quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of the minutes of the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting may shed additional light on Fed officials’ thinking with regard to the outlook for rates.

Auto parts retailer AutoZone (AZO) has also shown a notable move to the downside after report better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.

On the other hand, shares of XPeng (XPEV) have surged after the Chinese electric vehicle maker reported fiscal first quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Transportation stocks are seeing considerable weakness, however, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average falling by 1.6 percent.

Telecom, gold and networking stocks have also moved to the downside, while strength is visible among tobacco, banking and pharmaceutical stocks.

Other Markets

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.