Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbles by over 300 points. Today’s losses are due to Russian forces attacking and seizing control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest such facility in Europe. Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to a tentative plan to create humanitarian corridors following a second round of negotiations. Ukrainian firefighters have put out a blaze at the nuclear plant. No radiation was released, according to United Nations and Ukrainian officials. Also, Russia’s offensive has triggered a mass exodus from Ukraine and a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis.
Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) stock is up by over 20% on today’s opening bell after reporting strong sales growth in its first quarterly report since going public in November. However, the company also posted widening losses. Costco (NASDAQ: COST) reported better-than-expected earnings today. Notably, it reported an earnings per share of $2.92 on a revenue of $51.9 billion. Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) rose by more than 3% today after beating Wall Street expectations for its fiscal first quarter. It also posted guidance that came above expectations.
Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) are down by 0.67% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also down by 1.30%. Meanwhile, 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are also trading lower on Friday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is down by 1.75% while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is down by 1.30%.
Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are up by 1.94% on Friday. Likewise, rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are down by 0.96%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is up by 4.07% today. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) opened lower today.
Dow Jones Today: 10-year Treasury Yield And Oil Prices Stabilizes Today
Following the stock market opening on Friday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq are trading lower by 0.80%, 0.79%, and 0.85% respectively. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is down by 0.77% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) is also down by 0.89%.
The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 1.78% today as investors continued to buy safe-haven assets amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The decline in yields came even after a strong jobs report. U.S. oil prices also jumped on Friday but it is nowhere near the previous day’s nearly 14-year high of more than $116 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude currently costs $113.37 per barrel.
The Labor Department Releases Its February Jobs Report
Today, payrolls rise by 678,000 as the unemployment rate falls to 3.8%. This would represent the most jobs added back to the U.S. economy since July 2021. Job growth is accelerating even in the already tight labor market that was caused by the Omicron variant. February’s payrolls exceeded consensus estimates of 423,000. This marks another upside surprise for investors and would also mark a fourteenth consecutive month of payroll growth.
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C3.Ai Stock Tumbles On Deutsche Bank Downgrade Following Earnings Miss
At the same time, enterprise AI software service provider C3.Ai (NYSE: AI) appears to be feeling the heat today. Namely, the company’s shares are currently sliding by over 8% today. This could be due to a recent update from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) on AI stock. In detail, Deutsche Bank analyst Patrick Colville hit AI stock with a downgrade from Hold to Sell. Moreover, Colville is also cutting the firm’s price target on it from $36 to $18, a 50% reduction. The analyst cites C3.Ai’s declining customer count and revenue from its joint venture with Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR). While Deutsche Bank seems to be taking a strong bearish stance on AI stock, there are some that see the positive.
Accordingly, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), or BofA for short, analysts begs to differ. Yesterday, BofA analyst Brad Sills reiterated the firm’s ‘Underperform’ rating and its $30 price target. He argues that C3.Ai’s latest results are somewhat “mixed.” Sure, the major figures are less-than-ideal. However, Sills notes that the company’s revenue came in above BofA’s expectations and now has a “more diversified” customer base. All in all, the analyst had this to say, “We are encouraged by solid professional services upside, which is perhaps a leading indicator for upcoming project go-lives and billings.”
Not to mention, the C3.Ai is also raising its revenue guidance for the current fiscal year. It is expecting revenue of between $250 million and $252 million, above BofA’s $249.5 million forecast. It remains to be seen if C3.Ai can make the most of its current position.
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Gap In Focus Following Overall Solid Earnings And Optimistic Outlook
Gap (NYSE: GPS) seems to be making headlines in the stock market now. By and large, this would be due to the company posting notable figures in its fourth-quarter financial update. In it, Gap reported a total revenue of $4.53 billion alongside a loss per share of $0.02. For reference, this is versus Wall Street estimates of $4.49 billion and a loss of $0.14 per share. Overall, CEO Sonia Syngal cites near-term supply chain and inflation disruptions for the somewhat “muted” quarterly performance.
Despite Gap still facing supply chain issues, it expects to see improvements in its shipping timings in the long term. Syngal also highlights, “After two years of restructuring, including divesting smaller non-strategic brands, transitioning our European market to an asset-light partnership model and shedding underperforming North American stores, our core business is strong and we are poised for balanced growth across our four billion-dollar lifestyle brands.” Moving forward, Gap plans to continue investing in demand generation, customer loyalty, and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate growth.
For one thing, a positive to consider from the current quarter would be the company’s outlook for the full year ahead. As it stands, Gap is guiding for an annual earnings per share of between $1.85 to $2.05. This would be well within consensus estimates of $1.86. For the most part, while Gap deals with near-term headwinds, it continues to focus on overall growth for the long haul. With all this in mind, some long-term investors could be keen on GPS stock now.
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