U.S. stock index futures slipped on Tuesday, setting a somber tone for the first trading day of 2024, as Apple dipped on a report of a broker downgrade and investors pondered if last year's big market gains could be sustained.
Market Snapshot
At 7:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 225 points, or 0.59%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 36.75 points, or 0.76%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 186.75 points, or 1.10%.
Pre-Market Movers
Crypto stocks (Marathon Digital, Bitfarms, Bit Digital, CleanSpark, Riot Blockchain, MicroStrategy, Coinbase) - Bitcoin stormed above $45,000 on Tuesday for the first time since April 2022 as the world's biggest cryptocurrency started the New Year with a bang buoyed by optimism around possible approval of exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds. Crypto stocks gained in premarket trading Tuesday. BIT Mining jumped 15%; Marathon Digital jumped 12%; Bitfarms, Bit Digital and CleanSpark jumped 11%; Riot Blockchain rose 9%; MicroStrategy and Canaan rose 7%; Coinbase rose 3%.
Apple (AAPL) - Apple was falling 2% to $188.75 after analysts at Barclays downgraded shares of the iPhone maker to Underweight from Equal Weight and lowered their price target to $160 from $161. The analysts said in a research note that the iPhone 15 has been “lackluster” and they don’t see the company’s services segment growing more than 10%.
Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla is expected by analysts on Tuesday to report fourth-quarter deliveries of between 475,000 and 480,000 units, which would top the electric-vehicle maker’s record of 466,000 delivered in the second quarter of 2023 and a rebound from the 435,000 delivered in the third quarter of 2023. The stock was down 1.1% in premarket trading. It has been volatile following previous deliveries reports, with the shares moving an average of about 7%, up or down, following the last eight reports, noted Barron’s Al Root.
BYD, the Chinese EV giant, meanwhile, reported Monday fourth-quarter deliveries of about 526,000 all-electric vehicles, up from about 432,000 delivered in the third quarter of 2023. If Tesla meets expectations, BYD’s numbers would make it the largest seller of all-battery electric vehicles on the planet. BYD shares fell 2.3% in Hong Kong trading.
Chinese EV makers (NIO, Li Auto, XPeng) - U.S.-listed shares of fellow Chinese EV makers Li Auto, NIO, and XPeng traded lower after issuing deliveries numbers for December. Li Auto was down 5.2% even after reporting it delivered 50,353 vehicles in December, a jump of 137.1% from a year earlier. NIO declined 2.9% after reporting 18,012 EV deliveries, while XPeng fell 1.9% following deliveries of 20,115 units, a new record.
ASML (ASML) - ASML fell 3.2% after the Dutch government blocked the chip-equipment manufacturer from exporting to China certain lithography systems, which are essential to making advanced microprocessors. The Wall Street Journal reported the rule came after officials from the Netherlands, Japan, and the U.S. reached an agreement to start restricting such exports. “We do not expect the current revocation of our export license or the latest U.S. export control restrictions to have a material impact on our financial outlook for 2023,” ASML said in a statement.
Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) - Corcept Therapeutics plummeted 32.3% in premarket trading Tuesday after a loss in a patent trial with Teva Pharmaceuticals over a patent for Cushing’s syndrome drug Korlym.
Joyy (YY) - Joyy Inc.’s stock fell 11.1% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the Singapore-based live-streaming platform said Baidu Inc. has cancelled its $3.6 billion bid for the company.
Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) - Voyager Therapeutics Inc.’s stock soared 32% early Tuesday, after the Lexington, Mass.-based biotech announced a new license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, a unit of Novartis AG.
Pinstripes Holdings (PNST) - Pinstripes and Banyan Acquisition Corporation Friday announced they have closed their previously announced business combination. Under the Business Combination, Pinstripes has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banyan, which has changed its name to Pinstripes Holdings, Inc. Pinstripes’ Class A common stock and warrants begin trading on NYSE under the ticker symbols “PNST” and “PNST WS,” respectively, on January 2, 2024. Pinstripes shares jumped 16% in premarket trading.
Market News
More EVs Lose US Tax Credits Including Tesla, Nissan, GM Vehicles
Many electric vehicles lost eligibility for tax credits of up to $7,500 after new battery sourcing rules took effect on Monday, including the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Cybertruck All-Wheel Drive, some Tesla Model 3s and Chevrolet Blazer EV, the U.S. Treasury said.
The Treasury issued guidelines in December detailing new battery sourcing requirements aimed at weaning the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain away from China. They took effect on Monday.
The number of EV models qualifying for U.S. EV tax credits fell from 43 to 19. Those figures include different versions of the same vehicle type. Treasury said some manufacturers have yet to submit information on eligible vehicles, which could lead to changes in the list.
Bitcoin Climbs Above $45,000 for First Time Since April 2022
Bitcoin stormed above $45,000 on Tuesday for the first time since April 2022 as the world's biggest cryptocurrency started the New Year with a bang buoyed by optimism around possible approval of exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.
Bitcoin touched a 21-month peak of $45,532, having gained 156% last year in its strongest yearly performance since 2020. It was last up 2.5% at $45,318 but remains far off the record high of $69,000 it touched in November 2021.
Ether , the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, was 1.45% higher at $2,386 on Tuesday, having surged 91% in 2023.
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