All posts by Greta Wall
Coffee With Greta: Chips Slip
Register now for today’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -11 (-0.04%) SPX Futures: -10 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -65 (-0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are down as the market gives up Tuesday’s tech-fueled rally. Let’s get right to it! Chip Stocks Fall Chip stocks are falling ahead of the open following a Wall Street Journal report that the Biden administration is considering new restrictions on exporting artificial intelligence chips to China. Nvidia (NVDA) shares are down 3.6% with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down 2.9%. The Journal’s report said the Commerce Department could “stop the shipments of chips made by Nvidia and other chip makers to customers in China and other countries of concern without first obtaining a license.” Those restrictions could reportedly begin as early as July. Nvidia and AMD have already been barred from selling their advanced chips to China and Hong Kong. Nvidia reportedly started offering a new advanced chip in China, the A800, but the new restrictions would ban the sale of that chip as well. General Mills Reports Mixed Results General Mills (GIS) shares are falling 5.2% in premarket trade after reporting mixed fiscal Q4 results. Here’s how the cereal maker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.12 vs $1.07 expected Revenue: $5.03 billion vs $5.17 billion expected The CEO said for fiscal 2024, “we’ll focus on continuing to compete effectively, driving efficiency in our operations, and maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation, which we expect to result in financial performance that meets or exceeds each of our key long-term goals.” General Mills’ board approved a 9% increase to the dividend, which will take effect with the August payment. That raises the dividend to $0.59 per share. The company forecast full-year adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 6%, implying earnings between $4.47 and $4.56. Mortgage Demand Rises Mortgage demand rose again last week despite higher rates, driven by sales of new homes. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume rose 3% weekly. Purchase applications rose 3% weekly and were down 21% year over year. Those applications have increased for three consecutive weeks to the highest level since early May. Refinance applications also rose 3% weekly and were down 32% annually. The average 30-year fixed contract rate increased to 6.75% from 6.73%. Waiting For Powell Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 9:30 a.m. ET. Powell will speak at a policy panel at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. He will be joined by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. Traders are looking for more clues from Powell about the Fed’s future plans. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows 74.4% of traders expecting a 25bps rate hike at the July 26 meeting. In Case You Missed It The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index surged to a 17-month high in June. That index rose more than 7 points to 109.7 vs expectations for 104. Confidence in current economic conditions rose more than 6 points to 155.3 – the highest level in nearly 2 years. The six-month expectations index jumped nearly 8 points to 79.3 – the highest reading so far in 2023. The Census Bureau reported new home sales jumped 12.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 units vs 675,000 expected. That was the largest monthly increase since February 2022. Home prices rose for the third straight month in April. The S&P Case-Shiller national home price index rose 0.5% monthly and was down 0.2% year over year. Prices were just 2.4% below the June 2022 peak. Miami, Chicago, and Atlanta saw the largest home price gains in April.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Waiting For Data
Register now for tomorrow’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -4 (-0.01%) SPX Futures: +10 (+0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: +71 (+0.5%) Good morning friends! Futures are mostly higher as traders await key economic data later today. Let’s get right to it! Durable Goods Orders Jump Unexpectedly Durable goods order rose unexpectedly last month, increasing for the third consecutive month. The Commerce Department reported orders jumped 1.7% in May vs expectations for a 0.8% decline. That was also an improvement from the 1.2% increase in April. Durable goods refers to products made to last three years or more, like large appliances, cars, and planes. Durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 0.6% vs 0% expected. Walgreens Drops After Cutting Outlook Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares are down 8.4% ahead of the open after missing fiscal Q3 expectations and slashing its full-year guidance. Here’s how the pharmacy chain’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.00 vs $1.07 expected Revenue: $35.42 billion vs $34.24 billion expected It was the company’s first earnings miss since July 2020. But revenue jumped 8.6% year over year as sales grew in the retail pharmacy and health-care segments. The CEO said she is increasing Walgreen’s cost-cutting initiative to $4.1 billion and taking immediate action to increase profitability. She said, “I am confident that our turnaround strategy positions WBA to drive sustainable core growth and deliver long-term shareholder value.” Walgreens lowered its full-year EPS expectations to a range of $4.00 to $4.05 vs $4.45 to $4.65 previously. Delta Hikes Profit Forecast Delta Airlines (DAL) shares are up 1.5% in premarket trade after the company hiked its second quarter and full-year outlook. The airline now expects adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.50 in the second quarter, up from $2 to $2.25 previously. The CEO said the upcoming second-quarter earnings could be the highest ever in company history. In an interview with CNBC he said, “The demand as you know, as anyone that’s traveling knows, is off the chain.” Delta now expects free cash generation of $3 billion this year vs $2 billion forecast previously. The company also now sees revenue per available seat mile to be up as much as 18% year over year vs the prior outlook for 15% to 17% growth. Lordstown Motors Files For Bankruptcy Lordstown Motors (RIDE) shares are plunging 59.9% ahead of the open after the electric truckmaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it would also put itself up for sale. The filing comes amid a dispute over investments that had been promised by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn. Lordstown also filed a suit against Foxconn, accusing the company of fraud and failing to abide by an agreement to invest up to $170 million in Lordstown. The two companies were supposed to work together on a range of new electric vehicles. Foxconn is accusing Lordstown of attempting to “mislead the public” and said it is suspending talks and reserving the right to take legal action of its own.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Fresh Week
Register now for Wednesday’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -14 (-0.04%) SPX Futures: -3 (-0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: -4 (-0.02%) Good morning friends! Futures are flat but lower as traders gear up for the final week of June. Let’s get right to it! Busier Week This will be a busier week of economic data for traders after a quiet week last week. Things kick off with the release of May durable goods orders Tuesday morning followed by the April S&P Case-Shiller home price index, May new home sales, and June consumer confidence later in the day. On Wednesday, the main focus is Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech. Thursday brings weekly jobless claims, the final Q1 GDP revision, and May pending home sales. And Friday is the main event with the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core PCE price index for May. Personal spending and income will also be released that morning plus consumer sentiment later. Lucid Jumps On Aston Martin Partnership Lucid Group (LCID) shares are rallying 9.7% ahead of the open after reaching a deal with luxury carmaker Aston Martin. Lucid will take a 3.7% stake in Aston Martin in exchange for access to the electric carmaker’s “high performance” technology. The agreement includes access to Lucid’s “electric powertrains and battery systems”. Aston Martin will issue about 28.4 million new ordinary shares to Lucid Group and make cash payments totaling $232 million. Tesla Slips After Goldman Sachs Downgrade Tesla (TSLA) shares are down 1.6% in premarket trade after Goldman Sachs analysts became the latest to downgrade the stock. Goldman downgrade TSLA to neutral from buy early this morning. The group cited the difficult pricing environment for EV’s and the recent surge in the stock for that move. In a note the analysts said, “We’re downgrading shares to neutral from buy, as we believe the stock now better reflects our positive long-term view of the company’s growth positioning.” Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and DZ Bank all downgraded TSLA last week. Oil Prices Rise Oil prices are up this morning after a Russian coup attempt was abandoned over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.3% to over $69 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 0.5% to over $74 bbl. An armed rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin marched toward Moscow on Saturday in what appeared to be an attempted insurrection. That prompted fears of further disruptions in the energy market until the rebellion was abruptly called off on Sunday.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Losing Week
Register now for next week’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -194 (-0.6%) SPX Futures: -34 (-0.8%) NASDAQ Futures: -160 (-1.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are lower as stocks are headed for a losing week. Let’s get right to it! Yields Slip After Fed Speakers Treasury yields are down this morning as investors digest recent comments from several Fed speakers. The 2-year yield is down 9 basis points to 4.71% while the 10-year yield is down 9 basis points to 3.71%. In Congressional testimony this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the bank’s plans for additional rate hikes this year. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman echoed those comments on Thursday saying she believes rates need to move higher to become “sufficiently restrictive”. More Fed officials are set to speak today including St Louis Fed President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester. CarMax Jumps On Earnings Beat CarMax (KMX) shares are up 6.9% ahead of the open after beating Q1 expectations on the top and bottom line. Here’s how the used car retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.16 vs $0.79 expected Revenue: $7.69 billion vs $7.49 billion expected Comparable-store sales declined 11.4% year over year, improving from 22.4% in Q3 and 14.1% in Q4. Starbucks Dips As Workers Plan To Strike Starbucks (SBUX) shares are down 1.8% in premarket trade as the Starbucks Workers United says some employees are planning to strike starting today. The union says more than 150 stores representing nearly 3,500 workers have pledged to join the strikes. The demonstrations come after the union alleged dozens of stores in the U.S. were not allowing workers to decorate for Pride month. But the company said in a statement, “There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June.” Starbucks added, “Workers United continues to spread false information about our benefits, policies and negotiation efforts—a tactic used to seemingly divide our partners and deflect from their failure to respond to bargaining sessions for more than 200 stores.” Virgin Galactic Tumbles After Stock Offering Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares are tumbling 13.2% ahead of the open after announcing it raised $300 million via an “at the market” common stock offering. That was revealed in a securities filing on Thursday. The company also said it is aiming to raise an additional $400 million through a subsequent offering. The money will be used to fund the development and expansion of Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft fleet. In Case You Missed It Existing home sales rose unexpectedly in May. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that existing sales rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million units. That was better than expectations for 4.25 million. The median price of an existing home sold last month dropped 3.1% to $396,100, the largest decline since December 2021. Sales were down 20.4% year over year.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Slide Continues
Register now for next week’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -64 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: -7 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -32 (-0.2%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping for the fourth straight day as the market rally continues to stall. Let’s get right to it! Powell Testimony Day 2 Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify in the Senate Banking Committee today for day two of his Semi-Annual Monetary Report to Congress. During his testimony in the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Powell reaffirmed the Fed’s plans to hike interest rates further this year. He said, “We have been seeing the effects of our policy tightening on demand in the most interest rate-sensitive sectors of the economy. It will take time, however, for the full effects of monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation.” He emphasized that future rate decisions will remain data dependent. Bank Of England Hikes Rates The Bank of England approved another 50 basis point rate hike overnight, its 13th straight increase. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of the move, bringing the base rate to 5%. The decision came after new data on Wednesday showed the U.K. annual CPI rate at 8.7% in May, unchanged from April. Core CPI increased to 7.1% annually in May vs 6.8% in April, the highest since March 1992. Weekly Jobless Claims Jump Weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week to the highest level since late 2021. The Labor Department reported 264,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was up by 2,000 from the previous week and higher than expectations for claims to fall to 256,000. Continuing claims fell to 1.76 million in the week ending June 10 vs expectations for 1.78 million. Overstock.com Wins BBBY Auction Overstock.com (OSTK) shares are rallying 8.1% ahead of the open after winning the auction for Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property and digital assets. Court records filed early this morning show Overstock.com will buy the brand name, business data, and digital assets for $21.5 million. The deal does not keep Bed Bath & Beyond stores open and still needs to be approved at a hearing on Tuesday. Bed Bath & Beyond is running a separate sale process for its Buy Buy Baby chain, hoping to find a bidder willing to keep those stores open. That auction is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Awaiting Powell
Register now for today’s free Q&A with pro trader Patrick Hawe on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -80 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: -11 (-0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: -50 (-0.3%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping for the third straight day as traders await the Fed Chair’s testimony in Congress. Let’s get right to it! Powell Testimony Day 1 Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify in the House Financial Services Committee today for the first day of his two-day Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. In his prepared opening statement for the hearing, Powell said, “Nearly all FOMC participants expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year.” This comes after the Fed skipped a rate hike last week but signaled plans for two more by year-end. Powell says inflation “remains well above” the Fed’s 2% target. His statement says, “the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.” Powell’s testimony begins at 10:00 a.m. ET. FedEx Drops After Earnings FedEx (FDX) shares are down 2.9% ahead of the open after reporting mixed fiscal Q4 results. Here’s how the shipping giant’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $4.94 vs $4.85 expected Revenue: $21.9 billion vs $22.5 billion expected The CEO said, “The solid close to the fiscal year demonstrates the significant progress Team FedEx has made in advancing our global transformation while adapting to the dynamic demand environment. FedEx is becoming a more flexible, efficient and, data-driven organization.” But FedEx’s guidance came in short of expectations. The company forecast EPS between $16.50 and $18.50 for the coming fiscal year vs $18.30 expected. Mortgage Demand Flat Despite Lower Rates Mortgage demand was flat last week despite rates falling for the third straight week. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume increased just 0.5% last week. Purchase applications increased 2% weekly and were 32% lower year over year. Refinance applications fell 2% weekly and 40% annually. The average 30-year fixed contract rate decreased to 6.73% from 6.77%. In Case You Missed It Rivian (RIVN) shares rallied 5.5% on Tuesday after announcing its customers will be able to access Tesla’s charging network in 2024. Current Rivian owners will be able to access Tesla chargers using an adapter and Rivian’s cars will be built with the Tesla-style charging port standard starting in 2025. Tesla (TSLA) shares also rose 5.3%.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Short Week Begins
Register now for tomorrow’s free Q&A with pro trader Patrick Hawe on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -113 (-0.3%) SPX Futures: -13 (-0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: -33 (-0.2%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping as the holiday-shortened week of trading begins. Let’s get right to it! New Home Construction Surges New home construction surged unexpectedly in May as builders face strong demand from buyers. The Census Bureau reported housing starts jumped 21.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.63 million units. That beat expectations for starts to decline 0.8%. Single-family starts were up 18.5% while multi-family starts surged 28.1%. The building boom is expected to continue as new permits issued also jumped. Permits rose 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.49 million units. Single-family permits rose 4.8% while multi-family permits jumped 7.8%. The data comes after homebuilder confidence jumped more than expected this month. The National Association of Homebuilders’ sentiment index rose five points to 55. It was the sixth consecutive monthly increase and the first reading over 50 in 11 months. Sentiment about current sales conditions rose five points to 61, six-month sales expectations increased six points to 62, and buyer traffic increased four points to 37. Alibaba Falls Amid Executive Changes Alibaba (BABA) shares are down 2.1% ahead of the open after announcing CEO Daniel Zhang is stepping down. Zhang will be succeeded by Alibaba co-founder Eddie Wu as CEO. Current executive vice chairman Joe Tsai will also takeover Zhang’s position as chairman. Zhang will lead Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group as chairman and CEO starting September 10. The moves are part of the company’s plan to split into six business groups. Dice Therapeutics Surges On Eli Lilly Acquisition Dice Therapeutics (DICE) shares are surging in premarket trade after Eli Lilly (LLY) announced it will acquire the company. Lilly plans to pay $48 per share or about $2.1 billion in cash for the company. The acquisition is aimed at advancing innovation in immunology. Lilly’s executive vice president said, “In combination with its novel technology and expertise in drug discovery, DICE’s talented workforce and passion for innovation will enhance our efforts to make life better for people living with devastating autoimmune diseases.” The deal has been approved by both companies boards of directors and is expected to close in Q3.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Strong Week
Register now for next week’s free Q&A with pro trader Patrick Hawe on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: +48 (+0.1%) SPX Futures: +11 (+0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: +54 (+0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are higher with the S&P 500 on track for its best week since March. Let’s get right to it! Strong Week The market is on track to log its strongest week in two months. The S&P 500 is up nearly 3% this week, its best performance since March. It’s also the fifth positive week in a row for the S&P 500, the longest streak since November 2021. The Nasdaq is also on track for its best week since March, up nearly 4%. The tech-heavy index has risen for 8 weeks in a row, its longest winning streak since 2019. The Dow is also set to log its third positive week in a row. Adobe Tops Earnings Expectations Adobe (ADBE) shares are up 5.1% ahead of the open after beating fiscal Q2 expectations on the top and bottom line. Here’s how the company’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $3.91 vs $3.79 expected Revenue: $4.82 billion vs $4.77 billion expected The CEO said, “Adobe achieved record Q2 revenue demonstrating strong demand across Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud. Adobe’s ground-breaking innovation positions us to lead the new era of generative AI given our rich datasets, foundation models, and ubiquitous product interfaces.” The company also raised its fiscal Q3 and full-year forecasts. Adobe now expects fiscal Q3 sales between $4.83 billion and $4.87 billion vs analysts’ estimates for $4.86 billion. The company forecast full-year adjusted EPS between $15.65 and $15.75 on revenue between $19.25 billion and $19.35 billion in fiscal 2023. Virgin Galactic Soars Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares are soaring 40.1% in premarket trade after the company said it plans to launch its first commercial space tourism flight this month. Virgin said Thursday that the flight, Galactic 01, is targeting a launch window between June 27 and June 30. The company is then planning its second commercial flight in “early August”. Virgin said it’s aiming for “monthly” commercial flights after that. The first flight will carry three members of the Italian Air Force to conduct microgravity research with science payloads. The CEO said, “We are launching the first commercial spaceline for Earth with two dynamic products — our scientific research and private astronaut space missions.” Cava Makes Massive Debut Cava Group (CAVA) shares are up 5.4% ahead of the open, extending Thursday’s monster rally. The Mediterranean restaurant chain had a gangbusters debut on Wall Street after pricing its IPO at $22 per share. CAVA opened at $42 per share mid-session on Thursday and closed 99% higher at $43.78 per share. Reminder: Long Weekend Traders will get some extra time off this weekend with the Juneteenth holiday on Monday. Both the stock market and the bond market will be closed on Monday. Enjoy the long weekend!
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: After The Fed
Register now for next week’s free Q&A with pro trader Patrick Hawe on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -42 (-0.1%) SPX Futures: -14 (-0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: -77 (-0.5%) Good morning friends! Futures are lower as traders digest Wednesday’s Fed decision and new economic data. Let’s get right to it! Two More Rate Hikes The Federal Reserve skipped a rate hike as expected on Wednesday but surprised traders with a more hawkish summary of economic projections. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep rates unchanged at the current range of 5% to 5.25%. Chairman Jerome Powell said the bank would use the next six weeks to “take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy.” The Fed’s updated dot plot showed a terminal rate of 5.6% in 2023 which indicates two more 25bps rate hikes. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows over 69% of traders betting on a rate hike at the July meeting May Retail Sales Beat Forecasts U.S. retail sales rose unexpectedly in May. The Commerce Department reported retail sales jumped 0.3% to $686.6 billion. That beat expectations for sales to fall 0.2%. Sales at car dealers rose 1.4% while sales at building material stores jumped 2.2%. Gas stations saw the largest decrease, with sales falling 2.6%. Retail sales excluding autos rose 0.1%, as expected. Weekly Jobless Claims Jump Weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week. The Labor Department reported 262,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was up by 1,000 from the previous week and higher than 250,000 expected. Continuing claims also rose by 18,000 to 1.78 million in the week ending June 3. Mixed Manufacturing Data Two key manufacturing indexes show mixed activity across the country. The Empire State manufacturing index rose sharply this month to 6.6 from -13.8% in May. That beat economists’ expectations for the index to fall to -15. But the Philly Fed Manufacturing index fell further to -13.8 from -10.4 in May. That was in line with estimates. In Case You Missed It Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava priced its initial public offering at $22 per share on Wednesday. That was higher than the previously stated range of $19 to $20 per share. The company sold 14.4 million shares, raising $318 million. The IPO pricing values Cava at $2.45 billion, with more than 111 million shares outstanding. The stock is expected to debut today and trade under the ticker symbol CAVA.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Betting On A Pause
Register now for today’s free Q&A with Scott Redler on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -82 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: +4 (+0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: +9 (+0.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are mixed as traders await the Fed decision this afternoon. Let’s get right to it! Fed Day The Federal Reserve is set to release its rate decision at 2:00 p.m. ET today. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows nearly 91% of traders expecting the bank to skip a rate hike today. That would leave the federal funds rate in a range of 5% to 5.25%. But there will be a lot of focus on the dot plot to determine if the bank plans one more rate hike this year. FedWatch shows nearly 58% of traders anticipating a 25bps hike next month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a post-meeting press conference at 2:00 p.m. ET. Wholesale Inflation Falls More Than Expected Wholesale inflation pressures cooled more than expected in May. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index dropped 0.3% monthly and was up just 1.1% year over year. That was better than economists’ expectations for a 0.1% monthly decline and 1.5% annual increase. It was the 11th consecutive decline in annual prices and the lowest since December 2020. The core PPI also came in better than forecast, rising 0.2% monthly and 2.8% year over year. The PPI is a leading indicator for consumer prices meaning this data is good news for the Fed’s hopes that inflation will continue to cool in the months ahead. Mortgage Demand Jumps Mortgage demand jumped last week as rates pulled back for the second week in a row. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume rose 7.2% from the previous week. Purchase applications rose 8% weekly but were 27% lower year over year. Refinance applications also rose 6% weekly but were 41% lower annually. The increase in activity came as the average 30-year fixed contract rate fell to 6.77% from 6.81%. Shell Boosts Dividend Shell (SHEL) shares are up 2.0% ahead of the open after announcing plans to raise its dividend. The oil giant announced it will increase its shareholder distributions to 30% to 40% of cash flow from operations. That’s up from 20% to 30% previously. The changes include hiking its dividend by 15% from Q2 and at least $5 billion of share buybacks in the second half of this year. The CEO said, “Performance, discipline, and simplification will be our guiding principles as we allocate capital to enhance shareholder distributions, while enabling the energy transition.” In Case You Missed It Tesla (TSLA) shares rallied 3.6% on Tuesday, extending the company’s record-long win streak. It was the 13th straight session TSLA has closed higher. It was also the highest closing price for the stock since September 2022.
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