Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has sunk by 650 points. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, signaling the beginning of the invasion. The Donbas region is home to separatist movements and many Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Explosions were also heard across the country, from the capital Kyiv to Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Blasts have also been heard in the southern port city of Odesa. There are reports of casualties in some cities, but they could not be verified independently.
Despite being a down market today, Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is up by over 4% on today’s opening bell. This comes after reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue. The company also says that it has already sold 45 million tickets for 2022 events even as ticket prices continue to rise. Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) also rose by over 5% today after reporting strong earnings. The company also raised its full-year coronavirus vaccine sales forecast and announced a $3 billion share repurchase program.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are down 2.44% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also down by 0.91%. 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are also trading lower on Thursday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is down by 3.98% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) also opened lower at 4.33%.
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are down by 2.28% on Thursday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are up by 1.97%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is trading lower at 2.80%. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) are trading lower today.
Dow Jones Today: 10-year Treasury Yield Fell Below 1.9% & Oil Prices Breach $100 Per Barrel
Following the stock market opening on Thursday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq are trading lower by 1.50%, 1.98%, and 1.31% 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 1.46% and 1.59% as well.
As tensions continue to escalate between Ukraine and Russia, yields continue to retreat. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.89% today as investors are after the perceived safety of bonds, pushing prices higher and yields lower on Thursday. The Dow today also joined the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in correction territory. U.S. crude and international oil prices rose by more than 8% today, both topping $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could unravel the far-reaching implications it has on the energy markets. The reason for this surge is because of Russia being a major global producer of oil and natural gas.
Today, the Labor Department also released its latest weekly jobless claims report. Initial jobless claims for the week that ended February 24 were 232,000 against the 235,000 expected. This is a dip compared to the prior week, at 248,000 claims. These claims continue to come at a range that was seen in pre-pandemic levels, with jobless claims averaging around 220,000 throughout 2019.
[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today February 24, 2022
Alibaba Shares Tumble On Lowest Revenue Growth In 8 Years
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) appears to be especially feeling the heat from today’s tech-led sell-off in the stock market. Alongside geopolitical pressures weighing on stocks now, the company posted disappointing figures in its latest quarterly update. Diving in, Alibaba posted earnings per share of $2.65 on revenue of $38.06 billion for the quarter. For reference, this is versus consensus estimates of $2.56 and $38.93 billion respectively. Despite the beat on the earnings per share front, investors are likely focusing on the company’s year-over-year revenue growth. Namely, Alibaba’s total revenue is up by 10% year-over-year, the slowest rate since the company’s 2014 U.S. listing.
By and large, Alibaba has and continues to experience economic pressures in China. This would entail a recent slowdown in consumer retail spending in the fourth quarter among other things. Not to mention, this would be after it navigated regulatory pressures from the Chinese government earlier in 2021 as well. In fact, Alibaba’s antitrust fines throughout 2021 add up to a whopping $2.8 billion. Because of all these major headwinds in play for Alibaba now, BABA stock is down by over 6% today.
Regardless, the company does not seem to be sitting idly by amidst all this. Weighing in on the topic of BABA stock’s current decline is CFO Toby Xu. He notes, “Our current share price does not fairly reflect the value of the company. At current price levels, we plan on continuing our share repurchases. At the same time, we will maintain a strong cash position that gives us the financial flexibility for future investments.” After taking this into consideration, some could be looking to buy on the current dips in BABA stock.
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Cheniere Energy Gains On Record Quarterly Revenue Following Rising Gas Demands Globally
Meanwhile, energy industry player Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMERICAN: LNG) is among the gainers in the stock market today. After posting stellar figures in its latest quarterly earnings call, this appears to be the case. As it stands, LNG stock is up by over 6% at today’s opening bell. For the most part, the focus in this report would be Cheniere’s total revenue for the fiscal year. Notably, the company posted revenue of $15.9 billion for the full year. According to CEO Jack Fusco, solid execution from the Cheniere team and a “fundamentally strong global LNG [liquefied natural gas] market,” is to thank for this.
Additionally, the company is also raising its 2022 earnings guidance significantly as well. For now, Cheniere is expecting a total net income of between $7 billion to $7.5 billion for fiscal 2022. To put things into perspective, this is a massive increase from its initial forecast range of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion. Overall, the company cites early completion of its Sabine Pass train 6, sustainable natural gas market demands, and optimal delivery cargo timing for all the guidance raise. Also, Fusco argues that LNG market strength is once again a provider of “significant long-term growth tailwinds,” for Cheniere. After pairing all this with surging oil prices amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflicts, LNG stock could be worth noting today.
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