U.S. index futures are showing an increase in the pre-market on
Thursday, following the Dow Jones closing at a historic high the
day before due to indications from the Federal Reserve of several
rate cuts in 2024.
At 05:30 AM, the Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) rose 85 points, or
0.23%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.29%, and Nasdaq-100 futures
were up 0.41%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was at
3.947%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for
January rose 2.02% to $70.86 per barrel. Brent crude for February
increased by 2.10%, close to $75.82 per barrel. Iron ore with a
concentration of 62%, traded on the Dalian exchange, fell 1.05% to
$133.18 per ton.
On Thursday’s economic agenda, investors are awaiting, at 08:30
AM, the unemployment insurance claims for the week ended last
Saturday and the import and export prices for November.
European markets are up, motivated by the expectation that the
Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates next year. Attention is
now turning to the imminent decisions of the European Central Bank
(ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) on their respective interest
rates, currently expected to remain at 4.50% and 5.25%. ECB
President Christine Lagarde will hold an interview after the ECB’s
decision announcement.
Asian stock markets showed a mixed response to the recent global
excitement driven by the Fed. While the Shanghai (-0.33%) and Tokyo
stock exchanges recorded losses, due to persistent pessimism about
the Chinese economy post-economic conference, Seoul stood out with
an increase of over 1%. While Japan’s Nikkei index fell 0.73%, Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.07%, South Korea’s Kospi increased by
1.34%, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 1.65%.
At the close on Wednesday, U.S. stocks were performing weakly
before jumping with the Fed announcement. The Dow reached a record
high, above 37,000 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also
rose. The Fed maintained interest rates, planning to cut them next
year to support employment and inflation. Gold and biotechnology
stood out, with Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) leading the
sector after a patent lawsuit victory. Other sectors, such as
banking, commercial real estate, and utilities, also performed
well. Most major sectors showed strength, including airlines,
housing, and network technology.
In the upcoming corporate earnings on Wednesday, investors will
be paying attention to the reports from Jabil
(NYSE:JBL), Knot (NYSE:KNOT), Live
Ventures Incorporated (NASDAQ:LIVE),
Moolec (NASDAQ:MLEC), before market open. After
the close, the reports from Costco Wholesale
(NASDAQ:COST), Lennar (NYSE:LEN),
Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL), Mesa Air
Group (NASDAQ:MESA), among others, will be observed.
Wall Street corporate highlights for today
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Apple’s shares closed at
a record $197.96 per share on Wednesday, up 1.7% in response to the
prospect of lower Federal Reserve interest rates in 2024. Apple now
has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion.
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) – Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) faces
a potential ban and fine from the European Union due to App Store
rules that affect music streaming services, with the EU considering
preventing Apple from blocking music services from directing users
to subscription options outside the App Store and fining it up to
10% of annual sales. The investigation began after a complaint from
Spotify about higher prices due to App Store rules, with the
European Commission claiming that Apple imposed unnecessary
conditions that could result in additional costs for customers.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) – Alphabet, owner of
Google, launched its advanced artificial intelligence model,
Gemini, for developers, significantly reducing costs. The cost of
Gemini has been reduced to between half and a quarter of the June
costs, the company said on Wednesday. Gemini offers greater
information processing capacity and tools for customization.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) – Major U.S.
companies like Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
have increased advertising spending on Instagram after suspending
ads on Elon Musk’s platform due to antisemitic content. Disney and
Comcast raised their spending on Meta by 40% and about 6%,
respectively, in the last two weeks of November.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon.com Inc. won a
$272 million lawsuit over alleged illegal tax exemptions in the
European Union. The EU Court of Justice rejected the European
Commission’s appeal, stating that the tax deal between Amazon and
Luxembourg did not constitute incompatible state aid with the
internal market.
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) – Adobe, facing regulatory
investigation related to subscription models, forecast revenues
below estimates, resulting in a more than 5% drop in shares in
Thursday’s pre-market. Furthermore, the FTC is examining
subscription disclosure and cancellation practices, while the
acquisition of Figma is being investigated by competition
regulators. In the fourth quarter, the company reported adjusted
earnings of $4.27 per share, compared to estimates of $4.14.
Revenue was slightly above estimates.
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) – Etsy saw its shares
plummet on Wednesday due to the announcement of layoffs of 225
employees (11% of the workforce) to reduce costs due to weakened
demand for handmade products. The company will face charges of
$25-30 million and expects a decline in gross sales in the fourth
quarter.
Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT), Paramount
Pictures (NASDAQ:PARA) – Mattel, Paramount Pictures, and
Temple Hill Entertainment plan to develop a live-action film based
on American Girl, following the success of “Barbie.” American
Girl’s revenue decreased by 13% in the third quarter. The film does
not yet have a release date. Writer Lindsey Anderson Beer is in
charge of the script and production.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) – Starbucks did not
engage in anti-union practices during contractual negotiations with
the U.S. employees’ union, according to a third-party
investigation. While the inquiry recommended improvements in the
approach to unionization, it found no interference in employees’
freedom to unionize. The Starbucks Workers United union
acknowledged issues and is willing to dialogue. Starbucks plans to
resume discussions with representative stores in January.
Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) – A Stephens
analyst increased Cal-Maine’s price target to $50 due to the
outlook for stronger egg prices, despite an outbreak of avian flu.
The company is expected to benefit from reduced supply and lower
grain prices.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Tesla is conducting a
recall of over 2 million vehicles in the U.S. due to safety
concerns with the Autopilot system. The NHTSA investigated driver
inattention and Tesla will deploy software updates. Furthermore,
Tesla has shortened the estimated waiting period for the delivery
of its Model 3 and Model Y in China from six to nine weeks to just
two to six weeks, as announced on its Chinese website on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Indian government is not planning to reduce taxes on
imported electric vehicles, which could be a blow to Tesla’s plans
to enter the market. Negotiations between Tesla and India face
obstacles related to local production and tax incentives.
Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) – Lucid Group has already
assembled nearly 800 cars at its factory in Saudi Arabia, focusing
on training over 200 local employees. The Saudi government has
committed to buying up to 100,000 Lucid vehicles over 10 years. The
Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which holds more than 60%
of Lucid, invested billions in the company as part of the
government’s plans to establish a hub for the electric vehicle
industry. Lucid plans to open a full construction unit in 2026.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) – General Motors’
Cruise Robotaxi unit has fired nine executives, including Chief
Operations Officer Gil West, amid a safety investigation following
an accident in San Francisco. The dismissals aim to restore
confidence and accountability in the company. In other news, Mary
Barra, CEO of General Motors, reaffirmed the company’s commitment
to becoming exclusively an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer by
2035. Despite recent production delays, Barra emphasized the
importance of regulation aligned with customer needs.
Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) – The industrial
automation company reported adjusted earnings above expectations
for the fourth fiscal quarter and projected a revenue increase in
the first quarter. The company expects sales between $615 million
and $640 million for the first quarter, surpassing last year’s
$610.5 million, though below analysts’ expectations of $651.9
million.
BP (NYSE:BP) – BP has reduced former CEO
Bernard Looney’s compensation by over $40 million due to misconduct
for not disclosing personal relationships with colleagues. This
included the forfeiture of unvested stock awards and a
reimbursement of part of his 2022 cash bonus. Additionally,
JPMorgan downgraded BP to Underweight from Neutral and lowered its
target price by 11% to 550 pence. Analysts cited BP’s growing
dependence on wider standard deviation variables and concerns about
future cash returns. They suggested greater clarity in renewable
energies under a new CEO.
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) – Occidental
Petroleum plans to pay off debts from the acquisition of CrownRock
to reduce financial burdens a year after closing. Credit rating
agencies consider the risks more manageable compared to the
Anadarko acquisition in 2019.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) – Berkshire
Hathaway acquired about 10.5 million shares of Occidental Petroleum
(NYSE:OXY) for approximately $588.7 million this week, raising its
stake in Occidental to about 27%. The company also holds warrants
to acquire an additional 83.8 million Occidental shares. If
exercised, Berkshire’s total stake would be 33%.
Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) – Nasdaq resolved a system
issue that affected stock orders and more than 50 clients. The
incident began due to a duplicated internal order ID in the
“FIX/RASH” management system. Nasdaq temporarily shut down the
system, blocked new orders, and cancelled open orders. The exchange
operator stated that the issue was resolved and that it was ready
for future trading.
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) – Coinbase will expand
spot cryptocurrency trading services on its international exchange,
starting with Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) and Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) on
December 14 for institutional clients. This expansion aims to
assess demand and may benefit the company in the long term.
Merrill Lynch (NYSE:PYT) – Merrill Lynch faces
a breach of contract lawsuit filed by an investor alleging that the
firm offered very low interest rates on client retirement money
sweep accounts. The lawsuit seeks class action certification and an
injunction against the firm, as well as damages and interest.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs’ global
head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott, anticipates a significant
increase in blockchain-based asset trading volumes in the next one
or two years, with growing interest in cryptographic derivatives.
The bank is exploring issuing blockchain-based tokens for
traditional assets like bonds, aiming for operational efficiency
and risk reduction in financial markets.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) – Citigroup plans to pay
partial bonuses to laid-off employees based on the duration of
their service in 2023, as part of its ongoing restructuring, to be
completed in March. Citigroup will not offer bonuses for voluntary
resignations.
UBS (NYSE:UBS) – UBS Group AG is intensifying
recovery of restricted cash bonuses, paid by Credit Suisse to
retain traders before its collapse. UBS is offering multi-year
plans to hundreds of bankers aiming to recover part of the 1.2
billion Swiss francs ($1.38 billion), with the desired amount being
less than 651 million Swiss francs.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) – Pfizer revised down its
sales forecast for 2024, anticipating vaccine and Covid-19
treatment revenue of $8 billion, below the expected $13 billion.
This resulted in a stock drop on Wednesday and concerns about its
R&D strategy. JPMorgan analysts lowered the stock’s target
price from $34 to $30 and maintained a Neutral rating. BofA
analysts reduced their target price from $38 to $35 and also
remained neutral on the stock.
Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) – Vir
Biotechnology announced it will cut 12% of its staff, about 75
jobs, and close two research facilities next year. These actions
aim to save at least $40 million annually and align the company
with sustainable growth goals. CEO Marianne De Backer emphasized
the importance of these changes for the company’s future.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Concerns
about the U.S. exclusivity loss of the drug Stelara in 2025 led a
Wells Fargo analyst to downgrade the stock and lower J&J’s
target price, suggesting that the company’s profit growth could be
affected. Stelara is a high-revenue medication for J&J used to
treat conditions like psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Jabil (NYSE:JBL)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Abr 2024 até Mai 2024
Jabil (NYSE:JBL)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Mai 2023 até Mai 2024