All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading on Tuesday as investors attempt to build on Monday's gains while looking past March consumer confidence data that showed a meaningful drop in US consumers' outlook on the economy.
In company news, Tesla's (TSLA) market share in Europe decreased year-over-year in February, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The electric-vehicle-maker's sales fell for a second consecutive month amid increased competition and a slowdown in European economies. Tesla has sold 42.6% fewer cars in Europe so far this year despite a rise in overall EV registrations on the continent, according to the report. Tesla shares were down 0.6% near noon.
Alphabet's (GOOG) Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service will launch in 2026 in Washington, D.C., the company said Tuesday. Waymo said it began operating again in the U.S. capital earlier this year and plants to confer with communities, emergency responders and policymakers to formalize regulations in the coming months ahead of the launch. Separately, Google Cloud and CME Group (CME) said Tuesday they will launch services related to wholesale payments and tokenization of assets using the Google Cloud Universal Ledger. CME Group said it has completed the first phase of integrating and testing the ledger, and the companies said they will begin direct testing with market participants this year with the goal of launching the service in 2026. Alphabet shares were up 1.2%, while those of CME Group were down 0.6%.
Tech companies like Nvidia (NVDA) and Oracle (ORCL), as well as foreign government officials are urging the Trump administration to reconsider its upcoming restriction on artificial intelligence chip exports, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Nvidia and Oracle shares were both down 0.5%.
Core & Main (CNM) reported fiscal Q4 earnings Tuesday of $0.33 per diluted share, down from $0.34 a year earlier and below the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet calling for $0.36. Fiscal Q4 sales were $1.7 billion, up from $1.44 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $1.67 billion. For fiscal 2025, the company expects net sales of $7.60 billion to $7.80 billion, compared to the FactSet consensus estimate of $7.78 billion. Core & Main also said Chief Executive Steve LeClair will step down and become executive chair, while Chief Financial Officer Mark Witowski will take over as CEO on March 31. Robyn Bradbury, current senior vice president of finance and investor relations, will take over as CFO, effective March 31. Core & Main shares were up 1.5%.
Merck (MRK) said Tuesday it has entered an exclusive licensing agreement with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals for HRS-5346, an oral lipoprotein(a) inhibitor in phase 2 trials in China to treat cardiovascular disease. Under the deal, Merck will have global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize HRS-5346, excluding the Greater China region, with Hengrui receiving a $200 million upfront payment and potential milestone payments totaling $1.77 billion, as well as royalties on sales, the companies said. The transaction is expected to close in Q2, subject to approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other conditions, Merck said. Shares of Merck were down 2%.
Price: 276.69, Change: -1.70, Percent Change: -0.61
