All posts by Greta Wall
Coffee With Greta: Rally Paused
Register now for tomorrow’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with Derrick Oldensmith! DJIA Futures: -79 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: -13 (-0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: -60 (-0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are falling as the market rally takes a pause. Let’s get right to it! Waiting For Data The major indexes are extended losses today after falling on Monday. Traders are awaiting important labor market data this week while Fed officials are in a blackout period ahead of their meeting next week. The Labor Department releases the October job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) at 10:00 a.m. ET today. Then payroll firm ADP will release its private employment report for November ahead of the market open tomorrow. The official November jobs report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday morning. This data is key for the Fed’s fight against inflation as the central bank has said it needs to see a slowdown in the labor market. GitLab Soars On Earnings Beat GitLab (GTLB) shares are rallying 12.5% ahead of the open after beating Q3 expectations across the board. Here’s how the developer tools software maker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $0.09 vs $0.01 loss expected Revenue: $149.7 million vs $141.5 million expected It was the first quarter Gitlab has posted an adjusted profit. Revenue jumped 32% year over year and the company had 874 customers contributing over $100,000 million in annual recurring revenue, up 37% from a year ago. GitLab forecast Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.08 to $0.09 on $157 million to $158 million in revenue. Analysts were forecasting a net loss of $0.01 per share on $150.2 million in revenue. CVS Jumps On Strong Guidance CVS Health (CVS) shares are up 2.1% in premarket trade after issuing better-than-expected revenue guidance for 2024. The pharmacy giant said it expects full-year revenue of at least $366 billion vs analysts’ expectations for $344.5 billion. CVS forecast operating income of at least $15 billion, adjusted operating income of at least $17.2 billion, adjusted EPS of $8.50, and at least $12.5 billion in cash flow from operations. The company also announced the board approved a new quarterly dividend of $0.665, an approximate 10% increase, which will begin in the February quarter. The President and CEO said, “We are successfully executing on our strategy to advance the future of health care while unlocking new value for consumers. The combination of our businesses, and the key growth areas we have invested in, drive our ability to lower the total cost of care, improve health outcomes, and deliver on our commitments to our customers, consumers, and shareholders.” In Case You Missed It U.S. factory orders fell more than expected in October. The Commerce Department reported factory orders fell 3.6% vs expectations for a 3.5% decline. It was only the second decline in the past eight months. Non-defense aircraft orders, mostly Boeing (BA) planes, saw a steep drop. Excluding transportation, factory orders were down just 1.2%.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: New Week Pullback
Register now for this week’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with Derrick Oldensmith! DJIA Futures: -132 (-0.4%) SPX Futures: -25 (-0.5%) NASDAQ Futures: -114 (-0.7%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping after the S&P 500 closed at a fresh 2023 high on Friday. Let’s get right to it! Futures Slip Stocks are starting the new week of trade lower following a five-week win streak for the S&P 500. Gold is also pulling back a bit after surging past $2,100 to a fresh record. Spot gold prices hit a high of $2,110.80 per ounce this morning before giving back some of those gains. Currently, prices are down about 0.5% at $2,080 per ounce. Crypto Stocks Jump Amid Bitcoin Rally Crypto-related stocks are surging this morning as Bitcoin nears $42,000. Bitcoin prices are up 5.6% at just over $41,800.00, marking a 19-month high for the digital currency. Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) shares are surging 14.2% ahead of the open, Riot Platforms (RIOT) shares are up 12.1%, and Coinbase (COIN) shares are 8.8% higher. Bitcoin is up more than 145% from the start of this year. The rally comes as bitcoin ETFs appear to be making progress. The SEC reportedly met with representatives from Grayscale, BlackRock, and the Nasdaq last week. Grayscale is looking to turn its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF while BlackRock is working to launch the first ever spot bitcoin ETF. Spotify Rises After Layoff Announcement Spotify (SPOT) shares are up 6.6% in premarket trade after announcing layoffs this morning. CEO Daniel Ek said the music streaming company will lay off 17% of its workforce in a move to reduce costs and adjust for a slowdown in growth. In an email to staff, Ek said Spotify is taking “substantial action to rightsize our costs.” He said the company hired too many employees in 2020 and 2021. The layoffs will impact roughly 1,500 employees and are in addition to the roughly 800 jobs cut earlier this year. Virgin Galactic Plunges Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares are tumbling 14.5% ahead of the open after Richard Branson said he will not invest further in the company. In a Financial Times interview on Sunday, Branson said his business empire no longer has “the deepest pockets” and Virgin Galactic should have “sufficient funds to do its job on its own.” The comments come after the company announced job cuts last month and said it will suspend commercial flights for 18 months from the start of 2024. The cost-cutting efforts are part of Virgin Galactic’s plan to develop a larger aircraft aimed at taking passengers to the edge of space. The company estimates its current funding will carry it through 2026 when that aircraft is scheduled to enter service.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: New Month Begins
Register now for next week’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with Derrick Oldensmith! DJIA Futures: -14 (-0.04%) SPX Futures: -9 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -52 (-0.3%) Good morning friends! Futures are falling to kickoff a new month of trade. Let’s get right to it! New Month Begins Stocks are kicking off December lower after ending November at a new 2023 high. The Dow jumped 8.8% last month for its best monthly performance since October 2022. The S&P 500 rallied 8.9% and the Nasdaq jumped 10.7%, the best monthly performances for both indexes since July 2022. The Dow and S&P are both on track to log weekly gains as well for the fifth consecutive week. Focus today is on Fed Chair Jerome Powell as he’s scheduled to speak at an event at 11:00 a.m. ET. The Fed’s next rate decision is on December 13 and over 99% of traders are betting the Central Bank is done hiking rates. Pfizer Discontinues Weight Loss Drug Development Pfizer (PFE) shares are down 4.6% ahead of the open after announcing it will stop developing the twice-daily version of its experimental weight loss pill. The drug maker said patients in the mid-stage clinical trial had trouble tolerating the drug. Pfizer observed high rates of adverse side effects and more than 50% of patients in the study stopped taking the pill. The company said, “At this time, twice-daily danuglipron formulation will not advance into Phase 3 studies.” But Pfizer still plans to release phase two trial data on a once-a-day version of the drug in the first half of 2024. Tesla Falls After Cybertruck Event Tesla (TSLA) shares are down 2.4% in premarket trade as traders digest the details about the Cybertruck. The electric automaker hosted a Cybertruck delivery event in Austin on Thursday where CEO Elon Musk revealed details about the vehicle. Musk said the truck body is bulletproof, its windows are “rock proof”, it can tow over 11,000 pounds, accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.6 seconds, and features a “super-tough” composite bed that is six feet long and four feet wide. He said the truck would “change the look of the roads” and that the “future finally looks like the future.” The base model rear-wheel drive version of the Cybertruck will begin at $60,990 while a “Cyberbeast” version of the truck will start at $99,990. Tesla is also planning to sell an all-wheel drive version of the Cybertruck for $79,900 starting in 2025. The base model has an expected 250-mile range battery, the all-wheel drive model will have a 340 mile range, and the Cyberbeast will have a 320 mile range. In Case You Missed It Pending home sales dropped to a record low in October. The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index fell 1.5% to 71.4. That was better than the 2% drop economists were expecting but is the lowest reading since the index was founded in 2001. Pending sales were down 8.5% from October 2022.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Inflation Cools, Rally Continues
Register now for next week’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with Derrick Oldensmith! DJIA Futures: +245 (+0.7%) SPX Futures: +19 (+0.4%) NASDAQ Futures: +59 (+0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are higher as the rally continues after the release of more cooling inflation data. Let’s get right to it! Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge cooled as expected in October. The PCE price index was flat monthly and rose 3% year over year. That was down from the 3.4% annual pace in September. Energy prices dropped 2.6% as food prices rose 0.2%> The core PCE price index rose 0.2% monthly and 3.5% year over year, as expected. That was a slowdown from the 3.7% annual pace in September and the lowest increase since Spring 2021. The report also showed personal spending rose 0.2% and incomes were up 0.2% as well, both in line with expectations. Weekly Jobless Claims Tick Higher Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week. The Labor Department reported 218,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was up by 7,000 from the week before but lower than expectations for 220,000. Continuing claims rose by 86,000 to 1.927 million in the week ending November 18. That’s the highest number of continuing claims since November 2021. Ford Reinstates Guidance Ford (F) shares are up 1.2% ahead of the open after reinstating its 2023 guidance this morning. The automaker originally pulled its forecast last month due to unknown impacts from the labor strike by the United Auto Workers Union. The new guidance calls for adjusted EBIT of $10 billion to $10.5 billion this year vs $11 billion and $12 billion previously. Ford expects to have a full-year adjusted cash flow of $5 billion to $5.5 billion vs $6.5 billion to $7 billion previously. The company said its new labor agreement with UAW is expected to cost over $8.8 billion over the life of the contract, through April 2028. By 2028, the UAW is expected to add $900 in costs per assembled vehicle. Salesforce Jumps On Earnings Beat Salesforce (CRM) shares are rallying 9% in premarket trade after beating Q3 expectations. Here’s how the software company’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $2.11 vs $2.06 expected Revenue: $8.72 billion as expected Revenue rose 11% year over year. Salesforce expects revenue to increase 10% in Q4 to between $9.18 billion and $9.23 billion vs $9.21 billion analysts were expecting. The company also said it now sees operating cash flow growth of 33% in 2024 vs 30% previously. In Case You Missed It The Fed’s Beige Book on Tuesday showed both the U.S. economy and inflation slowed in October and November. Six of the 12 regional Fed banks in the survey reported slight declines in economic activity. The report said, “Demand for labor continued to ease, as most districts reported flat to modest increases in overall employment.” Slowing economic growth and labor demand helped ease inflation. The Beige Book said price increases “largely moderated” across the country and “most districts expect moderate price increases to continue into next year.”
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Rally Resumes
Register now for today’s free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: +109 (+0.3%) SPX Futures: +22 (+0.5%) NASDAQ Futures: +97 (+0.6%) Good morning friends! Futures are up as the November rally resumes. Let’s get right to it! Q3 GDP Revised Higher The U.S. economy expanded at a stronger pace than initially estimated in the third quarter. The Commerce Department’s first revision of Q3 GDP was increased to 5.2% annualized growth vs 4.9% initially reported. Consumer spending was revised lower to 3.6% vs 4% previously. Business investment was revised higher to 2.4% vs 0.8% originally. But the robust growth was short-lived as the economy has cooled in Q4 with businesses hiring less people and consumer spending softening. GDP is on track to expand 1% to 2% annually in the current quarter. General Motors Jumps After Initiating Buyback General Motors (GM) shares are up 9.1% ahead of the open after the company announced plans for a stock buyback and to boost its dividend. The automaker will buy back $10 billion worth of its stock in an accelerated program. That includes the immediate purchase of $6.8 billion worth of common stock. GM also announced it will increase its quarterly dividend by 33% next year to $0.12 per share. The company also reinstated 2023 guidance after reaching a labor agreement with the United Auto Workers Union. Here are the details of that guidance: Net income attributable to stockholders of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion vs $9.3 billion to $10.7 billion previously Adjusted EBIT of $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion vs $12 billion to $14 billion previously Adjusted EPS of $7.20 to $7.70 including the stock buyback, vs $7.15 to $8.15 previously Adjusted automotive free cash flow of $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion vs $7 billion to $9 billion previously CEO Mary Barra said the automaker is finalizing a 2024 budget that will “fully offset the incremental costs of our new labor agreements. The long-term plan we are executing includes reducing the capital intensity of the business, developing products even more efficiently, and further reducing our fixed and variable costs.” Dollar Tree Slips After Earnings Miss Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares are down 1.8% in premarket trade after missing Q3 expectations and narrowing its full-year guidance. Here’s how the discount retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: EPS: $0.97 vs $1.01 expected Revenue: $7.31 billion vs $7.4 billion expected Same-store sales grew 3.9% year over year vs 5.3% growth expected. Dollar Tree now expects full-year EPS between $5.81 and $6.01 vs $5.78 to $6.08 previously. The retailer forecast full-year revenue of $30.5 billion to $30.7 billion vs $30.6 billion to $30.9 billion previously. The CFO said in a press release, “Our current outlook takes into consideration several factors including continuing strength at the Dollar Tree banner, incremental freight savings, softer demand from low-income households, and a continuation of the shrink and sales mix headwinds we have seen throughout the year.” Foot Locker Rallies On Earnings Beat, Upbeat Outlook Foot Locker (FL) shares are rallying 13.2% ahead of the open after beating Q3 expectations on the top and bottom line. Here’s how the shoe retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $0.30 vs $0.21 expected Revenue: $1.99 billion vs $1.96 billion expected Same-store sales fell 8% year over year, better than the 9.7% drop analysts were anticipating. Foot Locker said it now expects full-year revenue to drop by 8% to 8.5% vs the previous forecast for an 8% to 9% drop. The retailer forecast same-store sales will decline 8.5% to 9% vs previous guidance of a 9% to 10% drop. Foot Locker now sees full year adjusted EPS of $1.30 to $1.40 vs $1.30 to $1.50 previously. Mortgage Demand Rises Again Mortgage demand rose again last week as rates continued to fall. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume was up 0.3% on a weekly basis. Purchase applications rose 5% weekly and were 19% lower year over year. Refinance applications tumbled 9% weekly and were 1% higher than a year ago. The average 30-year fixed contract rate decreased to 7.37% from 7.41%, the fourth decrease in the past five weeks. In Case You Missed It Home prices continued to climb in September even as mortgage rates surged. S&P Case-Shiller’s national home price index jumped 3.9% from September 2022, up from the 2.5% annual gain in August. Detroit saw the largest gain with prices up 6.7% annually, prices rose 6.5% year over year in San Diego, and jumped 6.3% in New York. Year-to-date home prices are up 6.1%. Consumer confidence rebounded unexpectedly this month. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose nearly 3 points to 102 from 99.1 in October. That was better than expectations for 101. Confidence in current economic conditions fell to 138.2 from 138.6 while the six-month expectations index rose to 77.8 from 72.7. Although that was an improvement, the expectations index remains below the key 80 mark that is known to signal a recession is ahead.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: November Rally Pauses
Register now for tomorrow’s free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: -31 (-0.1%) SPX Futures: -10 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -33 (-0.2%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping as the November rally pauses. Let’s get right to it! Rally Takes A Breather Futures are falling this morning after the major indexes all posted modest declines on Monday. All three are still on track for strong monthly gains, the Dow is up 6.9% so far in November, the S&P 500 has risen 8.5%, and the Nasdaq has surged 10.8%. Important economic data today includes the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, consumer confidence, and a slate of Fed speakers. While stocks are slipping, yields are inching higher. The 10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 4.40% while the 2-year yield is up 2 basis points at 4.87%. Investors are looking ahead to the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge this week with the PCE price index set to be released Thursday morning. Zcaler Slides After Earnings Zscaler (ZS) shares are down 5.1% ahead of the open despite topping fiscal Q1 results and raising its guidance. Here’s how the cloud security company’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $0.67 vs $0.49 expected Revenue: $496.7 million vs $473 million expected Revenue jumped 40% year over year while billings rose 34% to $456.6 million vs $441 million expected. Zscaler’s CEO said the company is “scaling our go-to-market and R&D organizations, strengthening our foundation for the long-term growth of our business,” in order to meet growing demand. That implies higher costs and may be behind the drop in the stock. Zscaler forecast fiscal Q2 adjusted EPS between $0.57 and $0.58 on revenue of $505 million to $507 million. Analysts were anticipating guidance for $0.52 in adjusted EPS on $496 million in revenue. Shein Files For U.S. IPO Fast-fashion retailer Shein has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. CNBC reported on the filing this morning and says the Chinese-founded retailer was last valued at $66 billion. It’s unclear what the company is currently valued at but sources say Shein could make its market debut as soon as 2024. The company recently acquired about one-third of Sparc Group, partnering up with U.S. retailer Forever 21 as part of that deal. Shein has reportedly tapped Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Morgan Stanley (MS) to be the lead underwriters on the offering. In Case You Missed It New home sales dropped more than expected in October. Data from the Census Bureau shows sales of newly built homes tumbled 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000 units. That was below 725,000 expected and September’s sales were revised lower to 719,000 from 759,000 originally. The median price of a new home sold in October fell to $409,300 from $422.300 in September, down 17.6% year over year. That was the lowest median price since August 2021.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Can The Rally Continue?
Register now for this week’s free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: -58 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: -7 (-0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: -16 (-0.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping after Wall Street’s fourth straight winning week. Let’s get right to it! Futures Slip, Yields Fall Both stocks and yields are down this morning as traders look to build on the market’s four-week winning streak. The 10-year Treasury yield is down 3 basis points at 4.45% with the 2-year yield down 3 basis points at 4.93%. This will be a busy week of economic data and Fed speakers. Here are the highlights: Monday: New home sales Tuesday: S&P Case-Shiller home prices, consumer confidence, Fed’s Waller, Goolsbee, Bowman, and Barr speak Wednesday: First revision Q3 GDP, advanced goods trade balance, Fed’s Mester speaks, Fed beige book Thursday: Weekly jobless claims, PCE price index, personal spending and incomes, Fed’s Williams speaks, pending home sales Friday: ISM manufacturing index, construction spending, Fed’s Barr, Goolsbee, and Powell speak Oil Falls Further Oil prices are falling again ahead of this week’s OPEC+ meeting. West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down 0.8% at just under $75 bbl while Brent crude futures are down 0.7% at just under $80 bbl. Both contracts rose slightly last week, the first weekly gain in five weeks. Analysts expect Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend voluntary supply cuts into early 2024, which would boost prices. OPEC+ is set to meet November 30. E-Commerce Stocks Rise E-commerce stocks are rising this morning as Cyber Monday kicks off. Amazon (AMZN) shares are up 0.9%, with eBay (EBAY) rising 0.4%, Walmart (WMT) up 0.2%, and Etsy (ETSY) rising 0.8%. The jump comes as new data shows a strong start to the holiday shopping season. Adobe Analytics’ holiday shopping trends data for 2023 shows online spending on Black Friday totaled $9.8 billion. That was up 7.5% compared to last year. Adobe expects Cyber Monday sales to hit $12 billion, which would be up 6.1% from last year.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Yields Retreat
Register now for the next free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: +41 (+0.1%) SPX Futures: +11 (+0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: +67 (+0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are rising as yields drop. Let’s get right to it! Nvidia Crushes Q3 Estimates Nvidia (NVDA) shares are up 0.4% ahead of the open after solidly beating Q3 expectations. Here’s how the chipmaker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $4.02 vs $3.37 expected Revenue: $18.12 billion vs $16.18 billion expected Revenue surged 206% year over year. Data center revenue led those gains, up 271% to $14.51 billion vs $12.97 billion expected. Gaming segment revenue jumped 81% to $2.86 billion vs $2.68 billion expected. Nvidia forecast $20 billion in Q4 revenue, implying nearly 231% growth. But the company did warn it expects a negative impact in the current quarter from the export restrictions on chip sales to companies in China and other countries. The CFO said, “We expect that our sales to these destinations will decline significantly in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, though we believe the decline will be more than offset by strong growth in other regions.” 10-Year Yield Hits Two-Month Low Treasury yields are falling this morning as investors assess the future of interest rates. The 10-year yield is down 2 basis points at 4.37%, its lowest level since September 20. The Fed released the minutes of its last meeting on Tuesday, which showed officials did not discuss any plans for rate cuts soon. But data since that meeting has shown inflation pressures easing at a faster pace than expected. The Fed meets again December 12-13 with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showing 95% of traders expecting no rate hike at that meeting. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Weekly jobless claims dropped more than expected last week. The Labor Department reported 209,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was a 22,000 person drop from the week before and lower than 225,000 expected. Continuing claims fell by 25,000 to 1.840 million vs 1.875 million expected in the week ending November 11. Mortgage Demand Jumps To Six-Week High Mortgage demand continued to rise last week as rates pulled back. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume rose 3% from the previous week, to the highest level in six weeks. Purchase applications rose 4% weekly and were down 20% from a year ago. Refinance applications rose 2% weekly and were 4% lower year over year. The average 30-year fixed contract rate decreased to 7.41% from 7.61%.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Waiting For Nvidia
Register now for the next free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: +204 (+0.6%) SPX Futures: +33 (+0.7%) NASDAQ Futures: +159 (+1.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are higher as the rally continues. Let’s get right to it! Nvidia Earnings Day Nvidia (NVDA) shares are slipping 0.8% in premarket trade as traders look ahead to the chipmaker’s earnings report later today. The company is scheduled to report Q3 earnings after the market closes. The stock closed at a fresh all-time high of $504.09 per share on Monday. Analysts are expecting Nvidia to report year over year revenue growth of 170% and to forecast Q4 revenue growth of nearly 200%. The company does not typically provide full-year guidance but focus will be on any comments about demand in 2024. Lowe’s Drops On Revenue Miss, Guidance Cut Lowe’s (LOW) shares are down 3.7% ahead of the open after reporting mixed Q3 results and cutting its outlook. Here’s how the home improvement retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: EPS: $3.06 vs $3.02 expected Revenue: $20.5 billion vs $20.9 billion expected Same-store sales dropped 7.4% from a year ago vs the 5.4% drop analysts were expecting. Lowe’s slashed its full-year outlook as sales continue to slow. The retailer now expects EPS of $13 per share on $86 billion in revenue. That’s down from the previous forecast for EPS of $13.20 to $13.60 on $87 billion to $89 billion in revenue. Kohl’s Slips As Same-Store Sales Drop Kohl’s (KSS) shares are falling 5.2% in premarket trade after beating Q3 profit expectations but missing on sales. Here’s how the retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: EPS: $0.53 vs $0.35 expected Revenue: $3.843 billion vs $3.988 billion expected Same-store sales dropped 5.5% year over year vs expectations for a 3.8% decline. Kohl’s also narrowed its full-year outlook following the sales miss. The company now expects EPS of $2.30 to $2.70 vs $2.10 to $2.70 previously. Full-year net sales are expected to decline 2.8% to 4% vs previous expectations for a 2% to 4% drop.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Holiday Week
Register now for the next free trading Q&A on LinkedIn with crypto expert and trader John Divine! DJIA Futures: -6 (-0.02%) SPX Futures: +2 (+0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: +16 (+0.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are flat as the Thanksgiving-shortened week of trade kicks off. Let’s get right to it! Ousted OpenAI CEO Goes To Microsoft Microsoft (MSFT) shares are up 0.4% ahead of the open after news the ousted OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, will join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. Microsoft’s CEO made that announcement in a post on X late Sunday night, saying, “we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.” He also said the company remains “committed to our partnership with OpenAI.” Altman was ousted from OpenAI by the board on Friday. OpenAI is the creator of ChatGPT and considered the current leader in the AI space. Shortened Week This will be a shortened week for traders with the market closed for Thanksgiving Thursday and there is not much on the calendar. Here are the data highlights: Monday: Conference Board leading economic index Tuesday: Existing home sales, FOMC meeting minutes Wednesday: Weekly jobless claims, Durable goods orders, Consumer sentiment Thursday: Thanksgiving holiday, market closed Friday: S&P flash services and manufacturing PMI, market closed early at 1:00 p.m. ET Even with the light data week there are still some important earnings on the calendar. Here are those highlights: Monday PM: Zoom (ZM) Tuesday AM: Lowe’s (LOW), Best Buy (BBY), Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), Kohl’s (KSS) Tuesday PM: Nvidia (NVDA), Nordstrom (JWN) Wednesday AM: Deere & Company (DE) Yields Start New Week Higher Treasury yields are rising this morning as investors assess the outlook of the U.S. economy. The 10-year yield is up three basis points at 4.48%. Market consensus is that the Fed is done hiking rates with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showing a chance 99.8% of no rate hike in December. But now the market is trying to determine when the bank will begin rate cuts. Focus will turn to the Fed’s meeting minutes set to be released on Tuesday for any clues about the discussion surrounding future rate cuts.
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