Stock Market Futures Rise Despite Gloomy Outlook On Economy From JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon
U.S. stock futures are in the green in early morning trading on Friday. Surprisingly, this follows a relatively choppy day for markets after less-than-ideal quarterly figures from big banks. Among the major names that reported earnings yesterday would be Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). Both firms fell short of consensus Wall Street estimates yesterday. With a notable deceleration in investment banking, this is not all too surprising.
On one hand, JPMorgan Chase reported a sizable 28% drop in profit year-over-year. The company cites a $1.1 billion decrease in provision for credit losses as economic recession fears persist. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley’s investment banking revenue for the current quarter is down by 55% year-over-year. While this may just be the first major day of the earnings season, these results would continue to highlight the current state of the economy.
Presenting some further insight into all this is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. He explains, “In our global economy, we are dealing with two conflicting factors, operating on different timetables.” Dimon continues, “The U.S. economy continues to grow and both the job market and consumer spending, and their ability to spend, remain healthy.” However, the CEO also notes, “But geopolitical tension, high inflation, waning consumer confidence, the uncertainty about how high rates have to go and the never-before-seen quantitative tightening and their effects on global liquidity,” are likely to weigh on global economies in the near-term. While all this is happening, there remains plenty of stock market news for investors to consider today. As of 6:14 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 0.25%, 0.16%, and 0.13% respectively.
Pinterest Jumps Following News Of Elliott Management Stake
Among the potential head-turners in the stock market, today would be Pinterest (NYSE: PINS). Overall, the social media firm likely has a recent report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to the report, activist investor Elliott Management now has a stake in Pinterest. In detail, the firm reportedly has a sizable stake of over 9%. This, according to WSJ sources, follows weeks of talks between the company and Elliott Management. For one thing, it seems that Elliott is buying into the current weakness in PINS stock. Evidently, the company’s shares are currently down by over 70% in the past year.
All in all, with such news, it would make sense then that investors would be turning their attention towards PINS stock. However, with Pinterest alongside its consumer tech peers still experiencing year-to-date losses, some analysts see further decline. Namely, Barclays (NYSE: BCS) analyst Ross Sandler did mention that a potential “perfect storm” could be lying ahead for digital ad firms. This would include the likes of Pinterest, Meta (NASDAQ: META), and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to name a few. The real question now is if investors should be following Elliott Management’s lead on PINS stock today.
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Amazon Reports Record Prime Day Sales And Takes Aim At Private-Label Items
In other news, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) seems to be making the most of the rise in consumer prices now. How might it be doing so might you ask? Well, simply put, the company’s annual Prime Day mega sale is here, and Amazon is raking in the sales. In essence, Amazon released its Prime Day 2022 sales metrics. According to the report, its total purchases from Prime members are well over the 300 million item mark. By the company’s measures, this is the largest Prime Day event in its history. Accordingly, this would be thanks to Amazon offering massive sales and price reductions across a vast array of consumer items. The likes of which would appeal to consumers dealing with rising prices.
Getting into the specifics, Amazon Prime members reportedly purchased over 100,000 items per minute during Prime Day 2022. Furthermore, the company reports that its Amazon Devices, Consumer Electronics, and Home sections are among the leading categories. Firms such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Honest Company (NASDAQ: HNST), and Levi’s (NYSE: LEVI) are also among the key benefactors of Prime Day. In total, Amazon reports that Prime subscriber spending for Prime Day 2022 is over $3 billion. While doing so, customers enjoyed savings of over $1.7 billion, also a record figure for its Prime Day event. With all this in mind, AMZN stock could be worth checking out at the opening bell today.
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General Motors CEO Mary Barra On Company’s Manufacturing Challenges
On the automotive front, General Motors (NYSE: GM) CEO Mary Barra is providing some insight into the company’s current performance. Overall, Barra does highlight that GM is still facing production issues. These issues, according to the CEO, will likely persist going into 2023. This comes as the auto manufacturer continues to feel pressure from supply chain headwinds. In her words, “But right now, it’s we solve issues and new issues pop up, and we’re just dealing with it on a weekly basis.”
In the larger scheme of things, all this would echo the company’s latest SEC filing. Through which it revealed concerns regarding supply chain pressures weighing in on the company’s current quarter. Even so, GM is still maintaining its current guidance for 2022. In fact, the company appears to be doubling down on its EV production efforts in the face of all this. According to Barra, “The Hummer, we’re out a couple years. We’re looking at increased production in the latter part of this year for the Hummer truck.” As such, long-term auto investors could be taking a close look at GM stock now.
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Tilray Among Marijuana Industry Leaders To Gain Momentum As Germany Considers Legalization
Shares of Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) appear to be gaining traction amongst investors now as well. For starters, the latest news from this leading global cannabis lifestyle and consumer packaged goods firm is regarding its latest product launches. Via its “Wild West” product line, the company is expanding the offering of its CANACA Canadian brand. From pre-rolls to vape pens, and even new blends, Tilray continues to cater to its growing consumer market.
Speaking of growing consumer markets, the latest news out of Germany on recreational marijuana could be another growth driver for TLRY stock now. Notably, the country is reportedly looking to legalize the usage of recreational weed nationwide. As it stands, current estimates suggest that a draft cannabis bill could be written by this year with legalization looking likely in 2024. Should this be the case, it would mark yet another key market for Tilray to zero in on. As a result, I could see TLRY stock and its marijuana industry peers receiving attention today.
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