Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 40 points after the release of the producer price index (PPI) for March. The index indicates that the prices of goods and services producers receive rose at the fastest pace since records have been kept, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday. Diving in, it increased by 11.2% from a year ago. On a monthly basis, it increased 1.4%, above the 1.1% estimates and also setting a new record. The PPI is a forward-looking inflation measure that tracks the prices in the pipeline for goods and services. These are prices that will eventually reach consumers.
Today, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) were down by over 8% after reporting an adjusted quarterly loss of $0.92 per share, compared with consensus expectations of a $0.03 profit per share. Also, asset management firm BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) posted an adjusted quarterly profit of $9.52 per share compared with the consensus estimate of $8.75. Revenues are also in line with estimates.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are up by 0.23% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also up by 0.38%. Meanwhile, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading higher on Wednesday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is down by 0.55% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is also down by 2.19%.
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are up by 0.19% on Wednesday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are up by 0.60%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) however is down by 0.63% today. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) opened higher today.
Dow Jones Today: Mortgage Demand Outlook Lowered and Treasury Yields Also Decline
Following the stock market opening on Wednesday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq are trading higher at 0.09%, 0.14%, and 0.54% respectively. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is up by 0.67% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) is also up by 0.14%.
The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 2.67% today. Before the release of the Consumer Price Index on Tuesday however, it had reached its highest point since December 2018, topping 2.82%. Mortgage bankers also lowered their demand outlook for 2022. This comes as the steep increases in rates are further stressing the affordability of the housing market. Diving in, the Mortgage Bankers Association expects overall mortgage originations to be $2.58 trillion this year, after previously stating $2.61 trillion. This would represent a decline of over 30% when compared with 2021.
Recently, President Joe Biden called Russia’s actions in Ukraine a genocide, offering the characterization for the first time since the war began. This comes as the U.S. is expected to offer an additional $750 million in military aid to Ukraine. The announcement for military aid could come as soon as today.
[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today April 13, 2022
Delta Air Lines Stock Jumps Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings And Ambitious Earnings Outlook
Among the top gainers in the stock market today would be Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL). By and large, this major airline operator is in the spotlight now because of its latest financial update. Overall, DAL raked in a total revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter. This tops consensus forecasts of $8.92 billion. Moreover, the company is also looking at a loss per share of $1.23, better than analyst estimates of a $1.27 loss. Not to mention, the company’s sales for the quarter are also 11% lower than 2019 levels. With growing revenue and narrowing losses, some would argue that DAL is on the upswing now.
Additionally, another reason for the current attention around DAL stock now would be the company’s outlook for the second quarter. Notably, CEO Ed Bastian notes that the company is looking to return to profitability for the June 2022 quarter. The reason for this could be DAL’s latest booking figures in March. Bastian highlights that the company saw its highest monthly bookings of all time in March. He argues that this alongside consumers increasingly prioritizing travel despite inflation could serve as growth catalysts for DAL.
On top of all that, the company is expecting its revenue for the current quarter to outpace pre-pandemic levels as well. To achieve this, DAL is already preparing to ramp up its operations to 84% of its 2019 capacity. As a result of these positive developments, DAL stock is now gaining by over 4% at today’s opening bell.
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Sierra Oncology Stock Pops After News Of $1.9 Billion GSK Takeover
Sierra Oncology (NASDAQ: SRRA) is in the news today following an announcement from GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). In detail, the global health care giant is acquiring Sierra Oncology for a whopping $1.9 billion. This would value the oncology biotech firm at about $55 per share. Because of all this, SRRA stock is now gaining by over 37% today. Through the current purchase, GSK is getting access to Sierra’s pipeline of targeted cancer therapies. The likes of which include the company’s differentiated momelotinib that “has the potential to address the critical unmet medical needs of myelofibrosis patients with anaemia.”
Furthermore, GSK notes that momelotinib synergizes well with its existing work in the field of haematology. By Sierra’s current estimates, we could see a U.S. regulatory submission by the second quarter of 2022. In turn, the company is also eyeing an EU submission by the second half of the year. Weighing in on this decision is GSK’s CCO, Luke Miels. He says, “With this proposed acquisition, we have the opportunity to potentially bring meaningful new benefits to patients and further strengthen our portfolio of specialty medicines.” After considering all of this, GSK would be bolstering its oncology division signficantly. As such, it would not surprise me to see investors eyeing both GSK stock and SRRA stock now.
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