Stock Market Futures Rise Following Steep Declines During Previous Days Session
U.S. stock futures are in the green in early morning trading today. This would not be all that surprising seeing as the broader stock market slid towards 2021 lows yesterday. In particular, the S&P 500 retreated by over 3% by the closing bell, ending below 4,000, its lowest since March 2021. Providing an overview on all this is the head of investment management over at Commonwealth Financial Network, Brian Price. He starts by writing, “The market is void of major positive catalysts right now, so it is not surprising that we’re starting the week off under pressure.”
Speaking on this further, Price argues, “Another catalyst that could be causing some risk aversion as of late is a fairly underwhelming earnings season,” This, according to the analyst, would be the case versus the past few quarters where growth names thrived. Now, as more macroeconomic pressures weigh in on firms across the board, slowdowns appear to be setting in. From earnings misses and lackluster outlooks, this is becoming increasingly apparent. Nonetheless, there remains plenty of stock market news to keep investors busy today as well. As of 4:11 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading higher by 0.68%, 0.86%, and 1.40% respectively.
Bitcoin Falls Below $30,000 Mark For First Time Since July 2021; El Salvador Buys The Dip
On the cryptocurrency front, Bitcoin (BTC) is feeling the heat at the start of this week. Late on Monday, the leading digital currency dipped below the $30,000 per coin level. Sure, volatility is part and parcel of the overall Bitcoin experience. However, this marks a notable threshold that would have some of the most devout crypto enthusiasts sweating. In fact, the last time Bitcoin was trading at that price point was in July 2021. For reference, this would be over 55% since the currency’s all-time high of about $69,000 back in November 2021. With even the premier cryptocurrency titan experiencing massive sell-offs alongside stocks, Bitcoin would be in the news now.
Despite the current turbulence, the country of El Salvador is doubling down on its Bitcoin investments. In detail, a tweet from President Nayib Bukele revealed that El Salvador bought another 500 bitcoins. The likes of which are worth about $15.5 million. Notably, this marks the largest Bitcoin purchase for the country since September 2021. Following this move, El Salvador’s total Bitcoin count is now at 2,301 bitcoins, adding up to about $71.7 million. All in all, even amidst downturns, the crypto train continues to chug along. The question now is whether we are looking at a bottom here for Bitcoin, or not.
Occidental Petroleum Earnings Preview: Should Investors Be Following Buffett?
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) is set to report its first fiscal quarter financials after today’s closing bell. Because of this, investors would likely be tuning in to the increasingly popular oil and gas firm now. Overall, Wall Street analysts seem to have high expectations for the company this quarter. As it stands, current estimates point towards an earnings per share of $2.03. To put things into perspective, this would be a massive jump from Occidental’s loss per share of $0.15 in the same quarter last year. Additionally, consensus projections are also guiding for a total revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter. Should this be the case, it would add up to a 47% year-over-year jump.
Aside from high Wall Street expectations, OXY stock is also receiving plenty of attention from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A). Just last week, the Oracle of Omaha personally put in the order to purchase another 5.9 million shares of the company. As a result, Berkshire now has a 15.2% stake in Occidental. On the whole, this adds up to 142.3 million shares worth around $8.8 billion. Even as OXY stock is looking at gains of over 80% year-to-date, some analysts see further upside. For instance, Stifel (NYSE: SF) analyst Michael Scialla currently has a Buy rating and an $84 price target on OXY stock. The analyst cites Occidental’s low-carbon air capture business as a key potential growth catalyst. After considering all this, I could see investors keeping an eye on OXY stock today.
AMC In Focus After Reporting Best Pandemic-Era Quarterly Financials;
Among the gainers during yesterday’s mostly red trading session would be AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC). For the most part, the theater management goliath-turned meme stock has its latest earnings to thank for this. Diving in, AMC is looking at a quarterly revenue of $785.7 million, topping consensus projections of $743.4 million. Year-over-year, this represents a massive leap of 429%. In terms of net income, AMC also managed to narrow its losses to $337.4 million from year-ago losses of $567.2 million. In the larger scheme of things, it seems that the company continues to recover as moviegoers return to cinemas.
Speaking on the company’s performance is CEO Adam Aron. He highlights, “Our results for the first quarter of 2022 represent AMC’s strongest first quarter in two full years. We continue on our pandemic recovery trajectory, more than quintupling revenues and improving adjusted EBITDA by nearly eighty percent compared to a year ago. The significant progress AMC has made is very rewarding, as our guests continue to recognize the unparalleled movie-going experience offered by AMC.” Among the major growth drivers for the past two quarters would be blockbuster superhero movies from Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD).
Looking forward, Aron also notes that AMC’s “operating and capital allocation priorities remain unchanged.” He also adds that AMC is planning to invest in its core operations while exploring “transformative value-creating investment opportunities.” With AMC’s current momentum in mind, some would argue that AMC stock could have more room to run.
Other Major Stock Market Earnings To Know Today
Not forgetting, here are several other big players set to report their earnings today. For the pre-market hours, we have Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON), Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH), Sysco (NYSE: SYY), Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), and Cronos (NASDAQ: CRON) among others.
On the flip side, there are numerous notable tech names hosting earnings calls after the closing bell. This includes Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), TheTradeDesk (NASDAQ: TTD), Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Sofi (NASDAQ: SOFI), and Unity (NYSE: U). Aside from that, Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) will also be releasing its first-fiscal quarter financials at the same time. With all this going on now, there seems to be no shortage of excitement in the stock market today.
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