Stock futures turned up after December’s consumer prices report was in line with expectations of cooling inflation.
The CPI report came in line with expectations. Economists expected the consumer price index to dip 0.1% for December but rise 6.5% year-over-year, compared to a 0.1% monthly gain in November and an annual pace of 7.1%, according to Dow Jones.
Market Snapshot
At 9:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 178 point, or 0.52%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 24 point, or 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 73.25 points, or 0.64%.
Pre-Market Movers
Disney– Disney shares added more than 1% in early morning trading after the company elected independent director Mark Parker as Chairman of the board. It also opposed activist investor Nelson Peltz’s attempt to join the board as the two sides prepare for a proxy battle.
Bed Bath & Beyond— The retailer advanced 16% premarket, continuing to rally after a handful of meme stocks surged Wednesday. The stock surged almost 69% in Wednesday’s session.
American Airlines— The airline gained 5% afterthe company lifted its fourth quarter guidance, citing strong demand and high fares. American’s revenue forecast rose as much as 17% over 2019, up from a previous 11% to 13% increase.
Logitech— Shares of the tech stock plummeted 16% after it missed earnings expectations for the recent quarter and slashed its sales outlook.
Netflix— The streaming giant gained 1.4% afteran upgrade by Jeffries to buy from hold. The Wall Street firm, which also boosted its price target to $385 from $310, said the launch of its advertising-based offering and crackdown on password stealing will drive revenue and EBTIDA above estimates.
Anheuser-Busch InBev– Shares lost 2.5% premarketafter UBS cut the brewer to sell, citing weakness in China and consumers reaching for spirits instead of beer.
Roku— The streaming stock slid 3.8% after Jefferies downgraded to an underperform rating, saying that consensus estimates are failing to account for a slowing advertising market.
Cleveland-Cliffs— The steel producer gained 2.6% following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley to overweight from an equal-weight rating, saying that shares can rally 35%.
KB Home— Shares dipped 3.4% after the homebuilder missed estimates for the recent quarter on the top and bottom lines. KB Home fourth-quarter earnings of $2.47 a share on $1.94 billion in revenue lagged analysts’ estimates of $2.86 per share on revenue of $1.98 billion.
Spotify- Shares of the audio streaming company fell by about 2% premarket after a downgrade to hold from buy at Jefferies, which said it expects Spotify’s growth margins to fall below Wall Street expectations in the next two years.
Cinemark– Shares gained 1.9% following an upgrade by analysts at JPMorgan to an overweight rating. The bank said that the movie chain looks attractive after its recent decline.
Market News
TSMC Q4 Profit Rises 78%, Beats Market Expectations
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC posted a 78% rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, as strong sales of advanced chips helped it defy a broader industry downturn that battered cheaper commodity chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc supplier, saw net profit for October-December rise to T$295.9 billion ($9.72 billion) from T$166.2 billion a year earlier.
Disney Faces Proxy Challenge From Peltz, Names New Chairman
Walt Disney Co. began girding itself against a challenge from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who nominated himself to the board in what could become a highly public debate over Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger’s leadership.
Mark Parker, the executive chair of Nike Inc., will take over as chairman from Susan Arnold, who is stepping down, DisneysaidWednesday. Parker will also lead a new succession planning committee to advise Iger, who has been criticized for failing to groom a replacement.
American Airlines Sees 4Q Revenue Topping Guidance
American Airlines Group Inc. said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to be better than it previously expected as demand for air travel remained strong through the holiday season.
The airline had already been expecting sales above pre-pandemic levels. On Thursday, the company said revenue would be 16% to 17% higher than the fourth quarter of 2019, up from its previous guidance of an increase of 11% to 13%. Revenue per available seat mile is expected to be up 24% versus 2019 levels, topping prior guidance.
Cathie Wood Adds $11M In Tesla With Stock Pile-Up Nearing Half A Million Mark Just 2 Weeks Into 2023
Cathie Wood-led ARK Investment Management continued to load up on Tesla Inc stock for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, having purchased 91,523 shares at an estimated valuation of over $11 million based on the day’s closing price. As a result, purchases of Tesla stock by Wood’s funds now amount to over 475,000 shares this year.
The massive buy is a continuation from Tuesday when Ark loaded up a whopping 100,982 shares of the EV-maker at an estimated valuation of over $12 million via its ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) funds. ARK’s purchase of Tesla stock since mid-December is inching close to a million shares.
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