Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by 160 points. This comes after Russia has ordered troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states before ordering troops to enter. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield dismissed Russia’s claims that troops would be taking on a peacekeeping role. She also says that recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states was part of Russia’s plan to create a pretext for war. The U.S. and its European allies are poised to announce harsh new sanctions against Russia today, potentially escalating the situation.
Germany has also halted the certification of an $11.6 billion Russian gas pipeline project while other Western states prepare to sanction Moscow over Ukraine. Dubbed the Nord Stream 2, the pipeline is over 700 miles and is designed to double the flow of Russian gas directly to Germany. Hungary on the other hand will deploy troops near its border with Ukraine, partly in preparation for humanitarian tasks. Meanwhile, stocks like Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Roblox Corporation (NYSE: RBLX) are now at a 52-week low.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are down 0.79% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is up by 0.72%. 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading lower on Tuesday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is up by 0.24% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) also opened higher at 0.22%.
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are down by 1.34% on Tuesday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are up by 2.73%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is also trading higher at 1.09%. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) are trading lower today.
Dow Jones Today: 10-Year Treasury Yields Hovers At 1.94% and Oil Prices Nears $100
Following the stock market opening on Tuesday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq are trading lower by 0.10%, 0.43%, and 0.22% respectively. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) are both trading lower at 0.01% and 0.14% as well.
Today, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield opens flat at 1.94%. Oil prices also surged close to $100 a barrel after Russia sent troops into Ukraine, rattling investors as the global markets fell today. Brent crude oil was up nearly 4% today, hitting just above $99 a barrel. This would be the highest in more than seven years as fears mounted that supplies would be disrupted.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also down today, with Bitcoin sinking below $40,000 on early Tuesday, its lowest level in more than two weeks. Analysts say that the drop is also due to escalating tensions over the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Also, Bitcoin is now well below its all-time high from November 2021, at above $68,000. Some experts say that the next Bitcoin bull run will only be in 2024 or later.
[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today February 22, 2022
DWAC Stock Jumps On News Of TRUTH Social Launch On Apple App Store
Stocks of Digital World Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: DWAC) are on the rise in the stock market today. Overall, the current movement in the company’s shares follows the latest update on Donald Trump’s social media platform. For those uninitiated, this would be the TRUTH Social app. Now, for starters, the social media platform is under Trump’s media company, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The likes of which is currently operating with plans to go public via a SPAC merger with DWAC. Hence, investors that are banking on the former President’s reputation boosting the platform; would be considering DWAC stock now.
Now, regarding the latest news on TRUTH Social. As of last Sunday, the Trump-backed social media app is currently live on the Apple App Store. To point out, this is much earlier than the firm’s latest estimates for a potential launch. Even so, not all the bugs have been entirely worked out as of yet. According to current reports, iOS users who are on the pre-order list for the TRUTH Social app now have it on their devices. For new members going in, some are reporting issues with the sign up process now. This includes an in-app message saying “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist.”
By and large, while TWTG attempts to get things off the ground, this is not the full launch of the app yet. CEO Devin Nunes did note that the company is aiming to make it “fully operational” across the U.S. by the end of March. As it stands, DWAC stock is currently trading higher by over 10% on today’s opening bell.
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Macy’s Stock Jumps On Earnings Beat, Dividend & Buyback Plans
In other news, retail firm Macy’s (NYSE: M) appears to be in the green while stocks decline amidst Russia-Ukraine news. Notably, this seems to be due to the company’s latest quarterly earnings report. In it, Macy’s posted an earnings per share of $2.45 on revenue of $8.67 billion. To begin with, the company handily topped Wall Street’s estimates for earnings per share of $2.00. Moreover, its revenue is also in a similar position, beating consensus forecasts of $8.47 billion. If that wasn’t enough, Macy’s is also increasing its quarterly dividend by 5%. All this alongside the company’s fresh authorization of a $2 billion share buyback program would have M stock in the spotlight today.
As a result of all this, M stock is currently up by over 7% today. All in all, CEO Jeff Gennette highlights several key accomplishments under Macy’s belt for the quarter. The CEO notes that Macy’s served a whopping 7.2 million new customers throughout the holiday season. In turn, the company’s total quarterly revenue is now up by a solid 27.8% year-over-year. Not to mention, this performance is admirable as Macy’s continues to face pandemic-related disruptions. This ranges from labor shortages, and elevated inflation to supply chain constraints. In closing, Gennette adds, “we believe we are well-positioned to successfully navigate the macro-economic headwinds we expect in 2022.” With all this in mind, I can understand the hype around M stock today.
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