Coffee With Greta: Private Job Growth Beats Expectations
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DJIA Futures: -132 (-0.4%)
SPX Futures: -19 (-0.4%)
NASDAQ Futures: -91 (-0.6%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are slipping as the market digest fresh labor market data.
Let’s get right to it!
Private Job Growth Beats Expectations
Private employers added more workers than expected in March.
Payroll firm ADP reported the U.S. private sector added 455,000 jobs this month vs 450,000 expected.
The leisure and hospitality sector led those gains, adding 166,000.
The gains were spread evenly across businesses of all sizes.
Those with 50 to 499 employees added 188,000 while companies with more than 500 workers added 177,000.
Small businesses, those with less than 50 employees, added 90,000.
Although the gain came in higher than expected, it’s the lowest since August 2021 as the labor market nears full employment.
This comes after the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed there were 11.27 million job openings in February.
With just 6.27 million unemployed workers available to fill those positions, the labor gap hit a record high of 5 million.
The Labor Department releases the official March jobs report Friday morning.
That’s expected to show a gain of 490,000 workers with the unemployment rate falling to 3.7%.
Oil Rebounds on Supply Concerns
Oil prices are up today amid renewed supply concerns.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up about 3% to over $107 per barrel while Brent crude futures are up 2.7% to over $113 per barrel.
This comes after the American Petroleum Institute reported crude inventory in the U.S. fell by 3 million barrels in the week ending March 25.
That was triple what analysts were expecting.
Mortgage Rates Soar to 4-Year High
Mortgage demand is tumbling as rates skyrocket.
New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows the average 30-year contract rate jumped to 4.8% from 4.5% last week, the highest since 2018.
Mortgage demand dropped sharply amid that increase.
Overall mortgage application volume fell 6.8%.
Refinance applications plunged 15% weekly and 60% year-over-year.
Purchase application increased 1% weekly but tumbled 10% compared to a year ago.
The higher rates are make affordability even harder for buyers with prices at record highs.
BioNTech Pops on Q4 Earnings Beat
BioNTech (BNTX) shares are jumping 7.6% ahead of the open after beating fiscal Q4 expectations.
The German biotech company reported earnings of €12.18 per share on €5.53 billion in revenue.
That topped analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom line.
BioNTech announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback over the next two years and plans to propose a cash dividend of €2 a share.
The company reiterated its guidance for 2022 revenue between €13 billion to €17 billion.
The FDA approved a second booster shot of the Pfizer (PFE) BioNTech Covid vaccine for all Americans ages 50 and older on Tuesday.
Lululemon Jumps on Strong Outlook
lululemon athletica (LULU) shares are up 6.2% in premarket trade after crushing Q4 expectations and a strong full-year forecast.
The athletic apparel giant reported adjusted Q4 earnings of $3.37 per share on revenue of $2.13 billion.
Analysts were expecting EPS of $3.27 on $2.13 billion in revenue.
Revenue jumped 23% year-over-year.
lululemon forecast full-year fiscal 2022 earnings between $9.15 and $9.35 per share with revenue between $7.49 billion and $7.62 billion.
That crushed Wall Street’s expectations for full-year EPS of $7.69 and $6.26 billion in revenue.
The company also authorized a $1 billion stock repurchase program.
Micron Tops Fiscal Q2 Expectations
Micron Technology (MU) shares are up 2% ahead of the open after beating fiscal Q2 expectations.
The chipmaker reported adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share on $7.8 billion in revenue.
That topped the company’s forecast for adjusted EPS of $1.95 on $7.5 billion in revenue.
The CEO said “We’re leading the industry in technology across DRAM and NAND, and our product portfolio momentum is accelerating.”
Micron forecast fiscal Q3 revenue of $8.7 billion and non-GAAP profits of $2.46 per share.
That was better than analysts’ expectations.
Apple’s Hot Winning Streak
Apple (AAPL) shares are slipping 0.6% in premarket trade as the tech giant looks to extend its winning streak.
The iPhone maker’s stock rose for the 11th session in a row Tuesday, closing 1.9% higher.
That’s Apple’s longest win streak since 2003, when the stock rose for 12 straight sessions.
The company’s market cap is nearing $3 trillion again, after becoming the first publicly-traded company in history to hit that milestone on the first trading day of the year.
AAPL shares are still down 1.7% from the record close on January 3.
Ackman Ditches Activist Short Selling
Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman announced his firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, will no longer participate in “activist short selling”.
In his annual report to investors, Ackman said the firm has “permanently retired from this line of work”.
He unveiled what he’s calling Pershing Square 3.0, which will be focused on executing change by working behind the scenes with companies rather than publicly shaming them.
Ackman became known for his aggressive campaigns against JCPenney, payroll firm Automatic Data Processing (ADP), and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).
In Case You Missed It
- The pace of home price growth rose at the beginning of 2022. The S&P CoreLogic National Home Price index jumped 19.2% year-over-year in January. That was up from 18.9% in December. Home prices surged 32.6% annually in Phoenix, 30.8% in Tampa, and 28.1% in Miami.
- Consumer confidence rose for the first time this year in March. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 107.2 this month from February’s revised reading of 105.7. Confidence in current economic conditions rose 10 points to 153, the highest since July 2021. Expectations for the next 6 months fell to 76.6 from 80.8. Consumers’ inflation expectations for the next 12 months hit a record high at 7.9%.