49 Mins Ago
Leading indicators fell more than expected but no longer point to recession
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index dropped 0.4% in January, more than expected, as hours worked fell and the spread between bond yields widened, the organization reported Tuesday.
Though the decline was more than the 0.3% estimate from Dow Jones, the board noted that six of the 10 data points used in the index were positive for the month, an important benchmark for a metric that long had been flagging an economic contraction.
“As a result, the leading index currently does not signal recession ahead. While no longer forecasting a recession in 2024, we do expect real GDP growth to slow to near zero percent over Q2 and Q3,” said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager of Business Cycle Indicators at The Conference Board.
The index looks at stock prices and bond spreads, along with housing, manufacturing and employment data.
— Jeff Cox
An Hour Ago
Walmart helps Dow pare losses
Losses for the Dow were smaller relative to the other major averages due to a post-earnings rally from Walmart.
The blue-chip average traded slightly below flat at around 10 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, the broad S&P 500 shed 0.5% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1%.
The 30-stock Dow was able to curb losses in part from a rally of nearly 6% in Walmart, which propelled the stock to a new all-time high. The retailer beat expectations for its holiday quarter and said it would buy TV maker Vizio as part of its expansion of its advertising business.
Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Merck also helped the index, with each up more than 1%.
Those gains mostly offset losses seen elsewhere. Caterpillar was the worst performer with a drop of nearly 2%, followed by Disney down 1.7%.
— Alex Harring
An Hour Ago
Semiconductor stocks drop
2 Hours Ago
Stocks open lower on Tuesday
3 Hours Ago
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out some of the companies making headlines during premarket trading.
- Home Depot — Shares slipped about 2.5% after the retailer beat its fiscal fourth-quarter estimates on the top and bottom lines, but issued lower-than-expected guidance. The company forecast full-year revenue growth of 1%, while analysts polled by FactSet expected 1.6%. Net income and sales also fell throughout the quarter.
- Super Micro Computer — Stock in the information technology company climbed more than 2% after Rosenblatt nearly doubled its price target, calling for 62% upside moving forward. Rosenblatt’s price target is now the highest forecast for the stock on Wall Street.
- Walmart — Shares added about 3% after the retail giant reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.80 per share, beating the $1.65 expected from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Revenue also topped expectations. In addition, Walmart announced it would acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
4 Hours Ago
Walmart beats on earnings and revenue
A customer walks down an aisle displaying bottles of laundry detergent for sale at a Walmart store in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Timothy Fadek | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Walmart shares rose 2% during premarket trading after the retail giant reported an earnings and revenue beat for the fourth quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.80, topping the $1.65 expected from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $173.39 billion versus the consensus estimate of $170.71 billion.
Walmart also announced it would acquire smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion to help propel growth in its advertising business.
— Melissa Repko, Michelle Fox
5 Hours Ago
Home Depot earnings beat estimates, but shares fall
A Home Depot cart sits in a parking lot in Miami, Florida, on Nov. 14, 2023.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Home Depot reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter despite consumers taking on smaller projects at home.
The company earned $2.82 per share on revenue of $34.79 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, expected a profit of $2.77 per share on revenue of $34.64 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said demand for home improvement dipped throughout 2023 but noted that, “Our market is on its way back to normal demand conditions.”
Shares were down 2% in the premarket.
— Fred Imbert
17 Hours Ago
Capital One to acquire Discover in $35.3 billion all-stock deal
Capital One Financial is set to acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion all-stock deal, the companies announced late Monday.
The companies said they expect the deal to close in late 2024 or early 2025, after which Capital One shareholders would hold 60% and Discover shareholders would own 40% of the combined company.
The merger of the two companies, which are among the largest credit card issuers in the U.S., would expand Capital One’s credit card offerings and its deposit base. The company bought digital concierge service Velocity Black, a premium credit card and luxury market platform, in June of last year.
— Hakyung Kim, Christine Wang
17 Hours Ago
Stocks come off losing week
Traders have to look beyond a negative week that snapped a winning streak.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped more than 1.3% last week, while the broad S&P 500 lost about 0.4%. The 30-stock Dow shed just 0.1%, pointing to mitigated losses among blue-chip names.
With those moves, the three indexes all snapped five-week winning streaks.
Tuesday marks the beginning of the holiday-shortened trading week, with U.S. markets dark on Monday in observance of George Washington’s birthday.
— Alex Harring
18 Hours Ago
S&P 500 and Dow futures are near flat
Futures connected to the S&P 500 and Dow were both little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET Monday night. Nasdaq 100 futures inched higher by 0.2%.
— Alex Harring
