Stock market today: Live updates
Written by admin on May 22, 2024
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock exchange during morning trading on May 17, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stocks traded near the flatline Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the widely-anticipated release of Nvidia’s latest earnings report.
The S&P 500 fell marginally, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite traded near the flatline.
Target shares fell more than 7% on weaker-than-expected earnings, with management citing weaker spending trends in discretionary categories. The retailer’s troubles raised broader concerns about the health of the consumer.
Nvidia shares slipped 0.4% Wednesday ahead of its quarterly earnings results after the bell. Analysts are expecting another strong quarter from the chipmaker. LSEG data shows consensus estimates call for earnings per share and revenue to have risen 400% and 240% year on year.
The chipmaker’s earnings announcement “has become one of the most important events on the macro calendar,” according to Deutsche Bank strategist Henry Allen.
Although the market has been focused on AI as a key driver of the rally, optimism for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year suggests the market could bounce back even in the case Nvidia’s earnings disappoint, said Tim Courtney, Exencial Wealth Advisors chief investment officer. “I do think there is enough strength out there simply because of the market’s expectation for soft landing now.
Allen noted that the day after Nvidia’s last earnings report in February, the S&P 500 jumped more than 2% the following day, notching its best daily results in over a year.
Investors will closely watch the report for clues on whether this year’s tech rally can continue. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has jumped 12% to record highs year to date.
Existing home sales unexpectedly fell in April, indicating a potential cooldown in the housing market. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected home sales to rise during the month.
Traders will also watch out for minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are coming off of record setting sessions, while the Dow rose slightly.
NVIDIA earnings: the most important report of earnings season
NVIDIA’s highly-anticipated earnings report hits this afternoon. There’s no disputing how important the chipmaker’s numbers are to the broader earnings picture. S&P 500 earnings are on pace to rise 7.6% this season. NVIDIA alone is responsible for one-third of the entire index’s earnings growth, according to Tajinder Dhillon, Senior Research Analyst at financial data firm LSEG.
While Apple & Microsoft have the largest earnings weightings on the S&P 500, no company will have more actual impact on overall S&P 500 earnings than NVIDIA due to both its huge market cap and its outlandish earnings growth. NVIDIA is the fourth biggest stock in the S&P 500, but its earnings & revenue growth this quarter is unmatched by any of the other mega caps.
Analysts are expecting first quarter earnings per share of $5.59. That’s more than five times the $1.09 that the chipmaker reported a year ago. On the revenue front, Wall Street is projecting revenues of $24.65 billion – triple the $7.19 billion in the year-ago quarter.
But keep in mind – NVIDIA’s results have also significantly surprised to the upside in each of the reports from the past year. The chipmaker has posted double-digit surprises on the earnings front in each of the past four quarters and has done so on the revenue front too in three of the past four reports.
38 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs Wednesday morning
Options market implies Nvidia earnings will be ‘unusually important,’ Goldman says
The options market is expecting a big move from Nvidia after its earnings, according to John Marshall of the Goldman Sachs derivatives research team.
“NVDA options suggest investors expect this earnings report to be unusually important; NVDA options imply a +/-11.9% earnings-day move vs. its 4-quarter historical earnings-day move of +/-10.8%,” Marshall said in a note to clients.
But there may still be a trade opportunity given Nvidia’s effect on the broader market, Marshall said.
— Jesse Pound
Garmin heads for worst day since 2022
Garmin shares on Wednesday were tracking for their worst daily move since September 2022 after Bank of America warned the electronics maker was “priced to perfection.”
The stock tumbled more than 4% in morning trading. If that holds through session close, it will mark the biggest one-day loss for shares since Sept. 13, 2022, when the stock tumbled about 4.5%.
Garmin, 1-day
Despite Wednesday’s slide, the stock is still up more than 28% on the year.
Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral and chopped $15 off his price target to $150. That target suggests shares can slip around 12% from Tuesday’s close.
“In 1Q, Garmin has stood apart from peers demonstrating the strength of their brand, resiliency of their customers, and ignited growth across segment,” Epstein said. “Now, however, we worry the momentum is decelerating … which implies the current valuation is unsustainable.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more about the call and the other big ones out of Wall Street this morning.
— Alex Harring
Strong Nvidia report could be a ‘key tailwind’ for overall market, Wolfe Research says
Another strong print from Nvidia after the bell could mean more upside for the broader market, according to Wolfe Research.
“While top-and-bottom-line surprises could be lower than they’ve been in recent quarters, we’re most focused on F2Q25 revenue guidance,” wrote Chris Senyek. “As long as it tops analyst expectations, NVIDIA is likely to remain a key tailwind for the overall U.S. stock market.”
This print also marks the anniversary of the artificial intelligence darling’s first blowout report that powered the surge in the “Magnificent 7” stocks. The last two reports also helped fuel “positive momentum when the rally was starting to fade,” he added.
“In our view, much of the upside over the past month, including the SPX & NDX hitting new all-highs, can also be largely attributed to another surge in AI optimism,” he wrote.
— Samantha Subin
Retailers express near-term caution, but remain hopeful for the second half
Coinciding with its first earnings miss in six quarters, Target gave conservative second quarter guidance. The big box retailer projects same-store sales of up 0%-2% vs. the Street’s expectation for 1.5% growth. Meanwhile, earnings guidance of $1.95-$2.35 has a midpoint of $2.15, which is below the $2.19 expected by analysts.
However, the full-year forecast is reaffirmed – implying better performance in the back half of the year. While they feel the U.S. consumer remains largely “resilient” overall, Target executives told analysts on the call that “Currently one in three Americans has maxed out or is nearing the limit on at least one of their credit cards. For these reasons and more, we remain cautious in our near-term growth outlook. Notably we expect discretionary trends will continue to remain pressured in the short-term but to normalize over time.”
TJX gives weak second quarter guidance – with earnings per share seen 88-90 cents, solidly below the 94 cent estimate. Same-store sales are projected to grow 2%-3%, a bit conservative compared to Wall Street’s expectation of up 3%. The company raises its full year earnings guidance – but that’s mostly because of the off-price retailer’s first quarter beat. But take into account the weak second quarter as well, the full year outlook implies there’s greater hope for the second half.
And last night, Urban Outfitters executives told analysts to expect more markdowns this quarter – particularly at its more troubled namesake stores – to clear out inventory before the back-to-school season. Despite that, they remained optimistic that there will be “improved regular price sales and product margins in the back half of the current year.”
— Robert Hum
Existing home sales unexpectedly fall
Existing U.S. home sales for April fell 0.9% to 4.14 million, a sign the housing market may be cooling. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 1.4% to 4.25 million from 4.19 million in March.
— Fred Imbert
Nvidia shares inch lower
A sign is posted in front of Nvidia headquarters on May 21, 2024 in Santa Clara, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Nvidia shares ticked down 1.1% Wednesday morning, ahead of the company’s earnings report after the bell.
Week to date, the chipmaker stock is up 2.2%. Shares have rallied 90.9% in 2024.
Nvidia shares in 2024
— Hakyung Kim
Stocks open flat Wednesday
U.S. stocks began Wednesday’s trading session little changed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 59 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 inched lower 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.1%.
— Hakyung Kim
Target, Shopify among stocks making the biggest moves premarket moves
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.
- Target — Target’s shares tumbled more than 7% after first-quarter earnings missed estimates, driven by a year-over-year sales decline of about 3% as consumers bought fewer discretionary items.
- Analog Devices — The semiconductor manufacturing company jumped 6.2% after exceeding quarterly estimates. Analog Devices posted adjusted earnings of $1.40 per share in its fiscal second quarter on revenue of $2.16 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast earnings of $1.26 per share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $2.11 billion.
- Shopify — The retail software stock rose 2.6% following a Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy from neutral. The investment bank said the industry leader’s shares are at an attractive entry point following a rough year to date.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
Wheat futures pop to highest level since July
A combine harvests wheat near Kramatorsk, in Donetsk region on August 4, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Anatolii Stepanov | AFP | Getty Images
Wheat futures hit their highest level since July 2023, part of a broad rise this year in multiple agricultural commodities.
Chicago wheat futures hit a high of 716.75 cents, as concerns mounted over harvests in Russia and Vietnam. Prices eased a bit after peaking and were last up 0.8% to 703 cents. On a weekly basis, wheat is up about 9%.
Agricultural commodity prices in general have been trending higher, with the Invesco DB Agriculture ETF up 1.3% over the past five trading days and nearly 16% higher year to date.
—Jeff Cox
Nvidia earnings could signal continued rally for tech, UBS global wealth management says
Nvidia‘s earnings reports represents a key test that could help the tech and AI rally take another leg higher, Solita Marcelli, UBS Global Wealth Management chief investment officer for the Americas, said in a note to clients. The rest of the sector has already held up its end of the bargain in earnings season.
“US tech earnings so far have been among the strongest in the first-quarter reporting season, with revisions in the sector outpacing the rest of the market. However, earnings results also suggest a broadening market: Since March, tech companies excluding Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Apple have revised 2024 profit estimates up by 7%. This wider growth makes global tech valuations of a 24x price-to-earnings ratio for 2025 appear reasonable,” Marcelli said.
Nvidia is scheduled to report its quarterly results after Wednesday’s market close.
— Jesse Pound
Target shares fall after earnings miss
A low price sign hangs from a shelf at a Target store on May 20, 2024 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Target shares were down nearly 7% in the premarket after the retailer weaker-than-expected earnings and a sales decline.
The company earned $2.03 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $2.06 per share. Revenue was about in line with expectations at $24.53 billion. The results were driven by consumers purchasing fewer groceries and home goods at the retailer.
TGT falls
— Fred Imbert
Europe markets open lower
European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with all major bourses starting the day in the red, following the release of fresh U.K. inflation data.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last down 0.34% at 8:10 a.m. London time..
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was meanwhile 0.52% lower, with Germany’s DAX down 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 shedding 0.43%.
Autos dropped 2.3%, and oil and gas stocks lost 0.74%.
— Sophie Kiderlin
7 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher on Tuesday
Seven sectors out of the 11 total ended Tuesday’s trading session with a gain.
Utilities led the moves higher, cinching a 0.97% gain for the day, followed by consumer staples and financials. On the other hand, energy was the biggest laggard, down 0.51%.
All sectors are less than 10% off their 52-week highs, while the tech sector saw a fresh record close in Tuesday’s session.
— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Urban Outfitters, Toll Brothers and more
Shoppers and visitors outside Urban Outfitters on Oxford Street in London, U.K., on Aug. 14, 2023.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images
These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:
- Urban Outfitters — The clothing retailer added nearly 8% after beating estimates on its first-quarter results.
- Viasat — Shares of the communications company slid nearly 13% after Viasat posted a loss of 80 cents per share in the fiscal fourth quarter.
- Toll Brothers — Shares of the homebuilder advanced more than 1%. Toll Brothers posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of $4.55 per share on revenue of $2.65 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG called for earnings of $4.14 per share and $2.53 billion in revenue.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures for all three major indexes traded near flat Tuesday night just after 6 p.m. ET.
— Lisa Kailai Han