U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday, with chipmaker stocks extending losses for a second day, and as a jump in producer prices left investors wondering if the Federal Reserve might wait longer than expected to cut interest rates.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 137.66 points, or 0.35%, to 38,905.66. The S&P 500 lost 14.83 points, or 0.29%, at 5,150.48 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 49.24 points, or 0.3%, to 16,128.53.
Market Movers
Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia shares fell 3.2%, while an index of semiconductors was down 1.8%. The index is down 3.5% for the week so far, with investors taking profits after recent sharp gains.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) - Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 15.5% after the sporting goods retailer’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates and the company raised its quarterly dividend.
Dollar General (DG) - Dollar General‘s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations and same-store sales rose 0.7% in the period, better than estimates that called for a decline of 1%. Shares fell 5.1%, however, after the discount retailer’s first-quarter profit outlook missed estimates.
SentinelOne (S) - SentinelOne reported a fourth-quarter adjusted loss that was narrower than expected on a revenue jump of 38% to $174.2 million, which also beat Wall Street forecasts. The cybersecurity company said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $181 million and fiscal 2025 revenue of $812 million to $818 million. Analysts had been expecting first-quarter revenue of $180.8 million, and fiscal-year revenue of $814.8 million. The stock tumbled 16.6%.
Under Armour (UAA) - Under Armour’s founder and former CEO, Kevin Plank, will be returning to the sportswear company. Plank, who founded Under Armour in 1996, will take control of the company April 1. He will be replacing Stephanie Linnartz, who served a little more than a year as chief executive. Shares of Under Armour fell 10.7%.
UiPath (PATH) - UiPath reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates of 16 cents. On a GAAP basis, the automation-software company earned 6 cents a share in the period, swinging from a year-earlier loss of 5 cents. It was UiPath’s first quarter of GAAP profitability. The company said for the fiscal year it expects revenue of $1.555 billion to $1.56 billion, higher than analysts’ consensus of $1.53 billion. The stock declined 6.9%.
Lennar (LEN) - Lennar’s fiscal first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations as new home orders rose 28% to 18,176. Deliveries in the period rose 23% to 16,798 homes. The home builder said it anticipates new orders in the second quarter of between 20,900 and 21,300, and deliveries of up to 19,500 homes. The stock declined 7.6%.
Fisker (FSR) - Fisker has hired restructuring advisors to assist with a possible bankruptcy filing, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The electric-vehicle start-up said at the end of February there was “substantial doubt” that it could stay in business. Fisker shares dropped 51.9% to 16 cents.
United States Steel (X) - Shares of steel company United States Steel were down 6.4%. President Joe Biden said Thursday he opposed the proposed sale of the company to Japan’s Nippon Steel. “It is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated,” Biden said in a statement. The stock fell 13% on Wednesday following a Financial Times report that said the president would be expressing his concerns over the proposed takeover.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) - U.S.-listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev declined 5.5% as Altria intends to sell down a significant portion of its holding in the Budweiser brewer.
Market News
US Producer Prices Jump, Adding to Signs of Persisting Inflation
Prices paid to US producers rose in February by the most in six months, driven by higher fuel and food costs that add to evidence inflation remains elevated.
The producer price index for final demand increased 0.6% from January, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The gauge rose 1.6% from a year earlier, the largest annual advance since September.
The so-called core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy categories, advanced 0.3% from the prior month, and 2% from a year ago.
The pickup in cost pressures at the wholesale level illustrates an uneven path for Federal Reserve policymakers seeking greater progress in their inflation fight. Consumer-price data earlier this week showed underlying inflation exceeded forecasts for a second month, reaffirming expectations that the Fed will be in no rush to reduce interest rates.
SpaceX Starship Disintegrates After Completing Most of Third Test Flight
SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, completed nearly an entire test flight through space on its third try on Thursday, getting farther than ever before, but disintegrated on its return to Earth.
During a webcast of the flight, SpaceX commentators said mission control lost communication with Starship from two satellite systems simultaneously while the spacecraft was re-entering the planet's atmosphere at hypersonic speed.
The spacecraft at that point was nearing a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean, about an hour after launch from south Texas.
Contact with Starship cut out moments after a live video feed from a camera mounted on the vehicle showed high-definition images of a reddish glow enveloping the silvery spacecraft from the heat of re-entry friction as it plunged earthward.
A few minutes later, SpaceX confirmed that the spacecraft had been "lost" - meaning incinerated or broken apart - during the stress of re-entry.