U.S. stock futures extended declines and bond yields spiked after jobs data fueled fears that wagers on Federal Reserve rate cuts may have gone too far.
US job growth picked up in December and wage gains exceeded expectations, diminishing prospects for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut in March.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 216,000 after a downwardly revised 173,000 advance in November, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. The unemployment rate held at 3.7% as the workforce shrank. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% from a month earlier.
Market Snapshot
At 8:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 131 points, or 0.35%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18.25 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 74.25 points, or 0.45%.
Pre-Market Movers
Apple (AAPL) - Apple declined 0.5% in premarket trading. Shares of the tech giant have fallen 5.5% so far in 2024, and have closed lower for four straight days. Two Wall Street firms have downgraded the stock this week.
Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla shed 0.8% in trading before the bell. The electric-vehicle maker is doing an effective recall on 1.62 million vehicles in China, the market regulator said. Tesla can remotely upgrade the vehicles to fix the issues, the China State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement. The move is categorised as a product recall under Chinese regulations.
Palantir (PLTR) - Palantir Technologies was falling 4.4% to $15.54. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded shares of the data-analytics company to Underperform from Hold and the price target was cut to $13 from $18.
QuantumScape (QS) - QuantumScape was falling 0.8%, a day after closing with a gain of 43%. Volkswagen’s battery company, PowerCo, said Thursday that QuantumScape’s solid-state battery cell had “significantly exceeded the requirements in the A-sample test and successfully completed more than 1,000 charging cycles,” indicating progress in a technology that could be cheaper, offer faster charging, and greater driving ranges.
Peloton (PTON) - Peloton stock jumped another 5.7% in premarket trading Friday after surging 13.9% Thursday on TikTok partnership.
Costco (COST) - Costco Wholesale said revenue in December jumped 9.9% from a year earlier to $26.2 billion, marking an acceleration over the 5.1% increase in November. Same-store sales rose 8.5%. In November, same-store sales gained 3.5%. Holiday shopping was largely behind the surge. Shares of the membership retail chain rose 0.7%.
Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) - Exxon Mobil said it expects to record impairments of as much as $2.6 billion in its upstream business in the fourth quarter, which “primarily reflect idle Upstream Santa Ynez Unit assets and associated facilities in California.” The energy giant said in a regulatory filing that “continuing challenges in the state regulatory environment have impeded progress in restoring operations.” Earlier this week, Chevron said it would record a charge of as much as $4 billion in the fourth quarter, citing environmental regulation in California and issues in some Gulf of Mexico fields. Exxon shares were up 0.3%, while Chevron rose 0.4%.
IBM (IBM) - International Business Machines (IBM) was downgraded to Sell from Hold by analysts at Societe Generale, who also left their price target unchanged at $143. Jefferies analysts, meanwhile, initiated coverage on the stock with a Hold rating and price target of $180. IBM shares were down 1.2% to $158.90.
Dermata Therapeutics (DRMA) - Shares of Dermata Therapeutics jumped 59.5% in premarket trading following a newly issued patent in Japan.
Applied Therapeutics (APLT) - Applied Therapeutics tumbled 31.7% after the drug developer's heart disease drug showed disappointing results in a late-stage trial.
Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) - Voyager Therapeutics shares dropped 16.6% in premarket trading Friday. Voyager Therapeutics announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of ~7.78M common shares and pre-funded warrants to purchase ~3.33M common shares.
Fusion Pharmaceuticals (FUSN) - Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage oncology company, said it achieved alignment with the Food and Drug Administration on a Phase 2/3 protocol protocol and development plan for FPI-2265, a treatment for certain kinds of prostate cancer. Shares rose 9.5%.
Ainos (AIMD) - The healthcare company Ainos shares soared 150.3% in premarket trading although there was no relevant news today.
Ainos, Inc. announced on Tuesday that on December 29, 2023, the Company received a written notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market. The notice informed Ainos that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Market News
Short Sellers Lost $195 Billion in 2023 Despite Wins on Regional Banks
Overall, short sellers ended 2023 with paper losses of nearly $195 billion, offsetting about two-thirds of the nearly $300 billion in gains they reaped in the market rout of 2022, according to S3. The group lost about $142 billion cumulatively in 2021 and $242 billion in 2020.
Tesla Inc. gave short sellers the most pain, with $12.2 billion in paper losses in 2023 as the stock of the electric-vehicle maker roughly doubled. Nvidia Corp, which lost contrarian traders $11.2 billion, was next on the list, which includes most of the so-called Magnificent Seven, semiconductor companies and also Coinbase Global Inc. as bitcoin rallied.
First Republic Bank’s collapse made it the year’s most profitable short wager, yielding paper profits of $1.6 billion, according to data from S3 Partners LLC. Meanwhile, vaccine producer Moderna Inc., which slumped 45% in 2023, was second, earning $1.1 billion for short sellers, who bet on a stock’s decline.
OpenAI to Launch Online Store for Custom Versions of ChatGPT Next Week
OpenAI is planning to launch an online store next week that will let people share custom versions of the company’s popular ChatGPT chatbot after previously delaying the effort, according to an email sent to some users on Thursday.
San Francisco-based OpenAI announced at its developer conference in November that users could start building GPTs — its term for custom versions of ChatGPT — without needing to learn any coding. With this option, users can quickly create chatbots that teach math to a child or come up with colorful cocktail recipes.
OpenAI originally said it planned to introduce a store later in November where people could find tailored chatbots from other users — and make money from their own — much as they might with apps in Apple Inc.’s App Store. OpenAI later delayed the rollout of the online store to early 2024, citing the interruption caused by the ousting and reinstatement of Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman in November.
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