U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged, as expected, and indicated that while its next move will likely be a rate cut, continued progress on inflation is not assured.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87.37 points, or 0.23%, to 37,903.29, the S&P 500 lost 17.3 points, or 0.34%, to 5,018.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 52.34 points, or 0.33%, to 15,605.48.
Market Movers
Amazon (AMZN) - Amazon.com rose 2.3% after the tech giant and online retailer reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts’ estimates, driven by strong growth in the company’s AWS cloud computing business and impressive advertising demand. Revenue for Amazon Web Services rose 17% to $25 billion, higher than forecasts of $24.6 billion, and was the best growth in four quarters. Overall revenue jumped 13% to $143.3 billion, an all-time high in the January-to-March period.
AMD (AMD) - Shares of AMD dropped 8.9% after the chip maker posted first-quarter earnings that matched Wall Street forecasts and issued a second-quarter revenue outlook of $5.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, up 6% at the middle of the range and right in line with estimates. In the first quarter, AMD said it experienced 80% growth in data-center revenue but a drop of 48% in gaming revenue. AMD CEO Lisa Su said the company now expects data center GPU revenue in 2024 of more than $4 billion, above previous guidance of $3.5 billion.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) - Super Micro Computer, the artificial-intelligence hardware company, reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that were better than predictions but revenue of $3.85 billion that missed estimates of $3.96 billion. The company said it expects fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $7.62 to $8.42 a share on revenue of $5.1 billion to $5.5 billion. Analysts had been anticipating adjusted profit of $7.18 a share on revenue of $4.9 billion. The stock tumbled 14%.
NIO (NIO) - Investors liked delivery results from NIO the best of its peers. Shares jumped 11.7% on Wednesday as growth for the electric-vehicle maker accelerated. NIO delivered 15,620 vehicles in April, up from 11,866 in March and up 135% from the 6,658 delivered a year ago. Growth in April accelerated from 14% year-over-year growth in March.
Starbucks (SBUX) - Coffee giant Starbucks reported fiscal second-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations, and said global comparable-store sales fell 4%. “In a highly challenged environment, this quarter’s results do not reflect the power of our brand, our capabilities or the opportunities ahead,” said Chief Executive Laxman Narasimhan. The company also lowered its earnings and sales forecast for the rest of 2024, sending the stock down 15.9%.
Pinterest (PINS) - Pinterest surged 21% after the social-media platform posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue and said it expects second-quarter revenue of $835 million to $850 million, higher than forecasts of $827 million. The company said it had 518 million active users in the first quarter.
Pfizer (PFE) - Pfizer was up 6.1% after first-quarter adjusted earnings of 82 cents a share topped analysts’ forecasts of 51 cents. The drugmaker also raised its adjusted earnings estimate for 2024.
CVS Health (CVS) - CVS Health earned $1.31 a share on an adjusted basis in the first quarter, missing analysts’ estimates of $1.69. The company also cut its adjusted earnings guidance for the year, to at least $7 a share from $8.30, because of soaring Medicare Advantage costs. The stock tumbled 16.8%.
DuPont (DD) - DuPont posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of 79 cents a share, higher than expectations of 65 cents. The materials and chemicals company also raised its full-year outlook. Shares rose 8%.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) - Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 15% after the cruise operator beat first-quarter earnings expectations and raised full-year guidance but missed on quarterly revenue.
Bio-Techne (TECH) - Bio-Techne rose 16.2% after the life-sciences company reported third-quarter earnings and sales that beat analysts’ expectations.
Estée Laude (EL) - Estée Lauder was down 13.2% after the beauty company issued a fiscal-year forecast that called for sales to fall 2% to 3%, wider than its previous guidance.
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) - Skyworks Solutions reported second-quarter revenue of $1.05 billion, within the company’s target range of $1.02 billion to $1.07 billion, and earnings of $1.55 a share, 3 cents higher than analysts’ forecasts. But CEO Liam Griffin said the company in its second quarter saw “below normal trends” in its mobile phone business, “with lower-than-expected end market demand.” For its fiscal third quarter, Skyworks said it sees revenue of $900 million, below consensus of $1.02 billion, with adjusted profit of $1.21 a share, shy of analysts’ estimates of $1.46. The stock fell 15.3%.
Kraft Heinz (KHC) - Kraft Heinz fell 6% after the food and beverage brands company posted first-quarter sales that fell of 1.2% to $6.41 billion, missing consensus of $6.43 billion.
Market News
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, Flags "Lack of Further Progress" on Inflation
The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signaled it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but put a red flag on recent disappointing inflation readings that could make those rate cuts a while in coming.
Indeed, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that after starting 2024 with three months of faster-than-expected price increases, it "will take longer than previously expected" for policymakers to become comfortable that inflation will resume the decline towards 2% that had cheered them through much of last year.
That steady progress has stalled for now, and while Powell said rate increases remained unlikely, he set the stage for a potentially extended hold of the benchmark policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range that has been in place since July.
U.S. central bankers still believe the current policy rate is putting enough pressure on economic activity to bring inflation under control, Powell said, and they would be content to wait as long as needed for that to become apparent - even if inflation is simply "moving sideways" in the meantime.
US Job Openings Slide to Three-Year Low As Demand for Labor Gradually Eases
U.S. job openings fell to a three-year low in March, while the number of people quitting their jobs declined, signs of easing labor market conditions that over time could aid the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report from the Labor Department on Wednesday was, however, tempered somewhat by other data showing a measure of prices paid by manufacturers for raw materials jumped to the highest level in nearly two years in April as commodity prices increased.
Falling goods prices were the major driver of the moderation in inflation last year. With price pressures picking up in the first quarter, the surge in input costs is unwelcome news. Fed officials on Wednesday kept the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the current 5.25%-5.50% range, where it has been since July.
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