Coffee With Greta: Waiting Game
Register now for tomorrow’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with T3 Trading Group professional Josh Lefler! DJIA Futures: +117 (+0.3%) SPX Futures: +11 (+0.3%) NASDAQ Futures: +40 (+0.3%) Good morning friends! Futures are higher as traders wait for key inflation data Wednesday morning. Let’s get right to it! Microsoft Announces More Job Cuts Microsoft (MSFT) shares are up 0.2% ahead of the open after the company confirmed additional job cuts on Monday. The tech giant did not specify the number of additional layoffs but they are in addition to the 10,000 announced in January. A spokesperson told CNBC in an email, “Organizational and workforce adjustments are a necessary and regular part of managing our business. We will continue to prioritize and invest in strategic growth areas for our future and in support of our customers and partners.” Astra Plans Reverse Stock Split Astra Space Inc (ASTR) shares are falling 2.5% in premarket trade after the company revealed plans for a reverse stock split. In a securities filing Monday, the small rocket builder said it plans to conduct a 1 to 15 reverse stock split. Astra also hopes to raise up to $65 million through an “at the market” common stock offering. The reverse split plan was approved by the board on July 6 and is expected to take place on or before October 2. Small Business Optimism Rises Optimism among U.S. small business owners rose more than expected in June. The National Federation of Independent Business’ optimism index rose 1.6 points to 91 last month vs 89.9 expected. It was the highest reading in seven months as inflationary pressures continue to ease. The percentage of firms expecting the economy to improve rose 10 points to 40% while the percentage of firms expecting better sales rose 7 points to 14%. But the percentage of those planning to increase employment fell 4 points to 15% while just 6% said they feel it is a good time to expand. 24% of owners said inflation was the most important problem for their business while 24% cited labor quality as their top issue. Oil Prices Rise Ahead Of Supply Cuts Oil prices are higher this morning due to upcoming supply cuts by the world’s largest exporters and hopes for higher demand in the second half of this year. West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.4% to over $73.30 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 0.4% to over $78 bbl. Saudi Arabia and Russia are set to implement supply cuts in August. The weaker dollar is also supporting prices as the dollar fell to a two-month low. A weaker dollar boosts oil demand as it makes crude cheaper for holders of other currencies. In Case You Missed It Carvana (CVNA) shares soared 16.4% on Monday after the company announced booming used electric vehicle sales. The used car retailer said in a statement that its used EV sales have increased 786% in the past five years. The company also named its top 10 best-selling electric vehicles for the first half of 2023 with the Tesla (TSLA) Model 3 topping that list.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Key Week Begins
Register now for this week’s free pro trader Q&A on LinkedIn with T3 Trading Group professional Josh Lefler! DJIA Futures: +9 (+0.03%) SPX Futures: -3 (-0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: -22 (-0.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are flat as traders gear up for a big week with important inflation data and the start of Q2 earnings season. Let’s get right to it! Awaiting CPI Traders are looking ahead to key inflation data this week. The June consumer price index will be released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday morning. Expectations are for the annual headline CPI rate to fall to 3.1% from 4% in May and the annual core CPI rate to decrease to 5% from 5.3%. The June producer price index will then be released on Thursday morning. This data comes before the Fed’s next rate decision on July 26. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows 92.4% of traders expecting a 25 basis point rate hike at that meeting. Earnings Season Approaches Second quarter earnings season will officially kick off at the end of this week with the big U.S. banks. Things kick off with Delta Airlines (DAL) and Pepsico (PEP) Thursday morning ahead of the open. Then JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) all report Friday morning. There is a lot of focus on this earnings season as many analysts are expecting an “earnings recession”. Morgan Stanley (MS) analysts issued an earnings warning Sunday night. In a note, the group said corporate profits will be under pressure for the remainder of the year “as pricing power declines and costs remain sticky. Our US strategists remain of the view that 2H should see consensus downgrades.” The note said, “Inventory has grown sharply while demand, especially demand for goods, is falling. Companies will need to decide how they want to handle excess inventory and we believe many will turn to aggressive discounting; Autos is leading this debate.” Meta’s Threads Tops 100 Million Users Meta Platforms (META) shares are up 0.9% ahead of the open as its new social media platform Threads continues to grow rapidly. The tracking site Quiver Quantitative shows Threads has surpassed 100 million users since it launched last Wednesday. The growth has been rapid compared to other popular platforms. It took two months for ChatGPT to reach 100 million users and nine months for TikTok.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Good Inflation News
Note: I will be out of office next week so there will be no Coffee With Greta. See you all Monday, July 10 and enjoy the holiday week! DJIA Futures: +151 (+0.4%) SPX Futures: +27 (+0.6%) NASDAQ Futures: +135 (+0.9%) Good morning friends! Futures are rising after the release of encouraging new inflation data. Let’s get right to it! PCE Inflation Continues To Cool The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge continued to cool in May. The Bureau of Economic Analysis’ personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.1% monthly and 3.8% year over year. That was in line with expectations and down by 4.3% annually in April. It was the lowest headline reading since April 2021. The core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% monthly and 4.6% annually. That was slightly cooler than expectations for 4.6% annually. But the data also showed consumer spending slowed in May. Consumer spending rose just 0.1% last month vs 0.2% expected and down from 0.8% in April. Personal incomes rose 0.4%, better than 0.3% expected. Nike Drops On Earnings Miss Nike (NKE) shares are down 2.5% ahead of the open after missing fiscal Q4 profit expectations. Here’s how the sneaker giant’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: EPS: $0.66 vs $0.67 expected Revenue: $12.83 billion vs $12.59 billion expected It was Nike’s first earnings miss in three years as lower margins weighed on profits. Margins fell 1.4% to 43.6% which the company blamed on higher product input costs, elevated freight and logistics costs, more promotions, and unfavorable currency exchange rates. Apple Tops $3 Trillion Valuation Apple (AAPL) shares are rising 1.1% in premarket trade with the company’s market cap surpassing $3 trillion. The threshold for that milestone is just $190.73 per share and the stock is currently trading about $1 higher than that. Apple became the first company in history to hit the $3 trillion market cap during intraday trade in January 2022. But it failed to close above that milestone. AAPL shares are up about 46% so far this year. In Case You Missed It Pending home sales fell unexpectedly in May. The National Association of Realtors reported the number of contracts signed to purchase a home last month dropped 2.7% vs expectations for signings to be unchanged. These contract signings represent sales expected to close in 30 to 60 days, which is a bad sign for existing home sales in the months ahead. But the NAR Chief Economist still said, “The housing market is resilient with approximately three offers for each listing. “The lack of housing inventory continues to prevent housing demand from being fully realized.”
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Major Revision
DJIA Futures: +105 (+0.3%) SPX Futures: +10 (+0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: +29 (+0.2%) Good morning friends! Futures are higher as bank and tech stocks jump. Let’s get right to it! GDP Growth Revised Sharply Higher The U.S. economy grew much faster than previously estimated in the first quarter. The Commerce Department revised Q1 GDP growth sharply higher to 2% from 1.3% previously. That beat expectations for the final revision to come in at 1.4%. The revision was due to stronger consumer spending and exports than previously estimated. Treasury yields jumped following the release of that data as it signals the U.S. may be further from a recession than though. The 2-year yield is up 16 basis points to 4.88% while the 10-year yield is up 9 basis points to 3.80%. Banks Pass Stress Test Big bank stocks are up ahead of the open after passing the Fed’s annual stress test on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) shares are up 1.5%, Wells Fargo (WFC) shares are 1.7% higher, and Bank of America (BAC) is up 2%. Other bank stocks are also rising with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.8% and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) up 1.9%. The Fed said all 23 banks included in the stress weathered a severe recession scenario while continuing to lend to consumers and corporations. In the hypothetical recession, all banks were able to maintain minimum capital levels. This year’s test included a “severe global recession” with 10% unemployment, a 40% decline in commercial real estate values, and 38% drop in housing prices. The Fed’s vice chair for supervision, Michael Barr, said, “Today’s results confirm that the banking system remains strong and resilient. At the same time, this stress test is only one way to measure that strength. We should remain humble about how risks can arise and continue our work to ensure that banks are resilient to a range of economic scenarios, market shocks, and other stresses.” Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest level in a month last week. The Labor Department reported 239,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was down by 26,000 from the week before and well below expectations for 265,000. It was the largest drop since October 2021. Continuing claims decreased by 20,000 to 1.74 million in the week ending June 17 vs 1.77 million expected. Powell Remains Hawkish Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank’s plans for more rate hikes during a panel discussion in Portugal on Wednesday. Powell told the European Central Bank Forum “We believe there’s more restriction coming. What’s really driving it … is a very strong labor market.” The comments supported the Fed’s plan for two more 25bps rate hikes this year. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows 86.8% of traders betting on a rate hike at the July 26 meeting. Micron Rises After Earnings Beat Micron (MU) shares are rising 2.2% in premarket trade after beating fiscal Q3 expectations on the top and bottom line. Here’s how the chipmaker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted loss per share: $1.43 vs $1.61 expected Revenue: $3.75 billion vs $3.65 billion expected Revenue was down 57% year over year. For fiscal Q4, Micron forecast $3.9 billion in revenue which was in line with estimates. Coming Up: Pending Home Sales The National Association of Realtors reports pending home sales for May at 10:00 a.m. ET. That data is expected to show pending sales were unchanged last month. Pending sales represent the number of contracts signed to purchase a home, with those sales expected to close in 30 to 60 days. This is a leading indicator for existing home sales.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Chips Slip
Register now for today’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -11 (-0.04%) SPX Futures: -10 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -65 (-0.4%) Good morning friends! Futures are down as the market gives up Tuesday’s tech-fueled rally. Let’s get right to it! Chip Stocks Fall Chip stocks are falling ahead of the open following a Wall Street Journal report that the Biden administration is considering new restrictions on exporting artificial intelligence chips to China. Nvidia (NVDA) shares are down 3.6% with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down 2.9%. The Journal’s report said the Commerce Department could “stop the shipments of chips made by Nvidia and other chip makers to customers in China and other countries of concern without first obtaining a license.” Those restrictions could reportedly begin as early as July. Nvidia and AMD have already been barred from selling their advanced chips to China and Hong Kong. Nvidia reportedly started offering a new advanced chip in China, the A800, but the new restrictions would ban the sale of that chip as well. General Mills Reports Mixed Results General Mills (GIS) shares are falling 5.2% in premarket trade after reporting mixed fiscal Q4 results. Here’s how the cereal maker’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.12 vs $1.07 expected Revenue: $5.03 billion vs $5.17 billion expected The CEO said for fiscal 2024, “we’ll focus on continuing to compete effectively, driving efficiency in our operations, and maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation, which we expect to result in financial performance that meets or exceeds each of our key long-term goals.” General Mills’ board approved a 9% increase to the dividend, which will take effect with the August payment. That raises the dividend to $0.59 per share. The company forecast full-year adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 6%, implying earnings between $4.47 and $4.56. Mortgage Demand Rises Mortgage demand rose again last week despite higher rates, driven by sales of new homes. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported total application volume rose 3% weekly. Purchase applications rose 3% weekly and were down 21% year over year. Those applications have increased for three consecutive weeks to the highest level since early May. Refinance applications also rose 3% weekly and were down 32% annually. The average 30-year fixed contract rate increased to 6.75% from 6.73%. Waiting For Powell Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 9:30 a.m. ET. Powell will speak at a policy panel at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. He will be joined by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. Traders are looking for more clues from Powell about the Fed’s future plans. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows 74.4% of traders expecting a 25bps rate hike at the July 26 meeting. In Case You Missed It The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index surged to a 17-month high in June. That index rose more than 7 points to 109.7 vs expectations for 104. Confidence in current economic conditions rose more than 6 points to 155.3 – the highest level in nearly 2 years. The six-month expectations index jumped nearly 8 points to 79.3 – the highest reading so far in 2023. The Census Bureau reported new home sales jumped 12.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 units vs 675,000 expected. That was the largest monthly increase since February 2022. Home prices rose for the third straight month in April. The S&P Case-Shiller national home price index rose 0.5% monthly and was down 0.2% year over year. Prices were just 2.4% below the June 2022 peak. Miami, Chicago, and Atlanta saw the largest home price gains in April.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Waiting For Data
Register now for tomorrow’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -4 (-0.01%) SPX Futures: +10 (+0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: +71 (+0.5%) Good morning friends! Futures are mostly higher as traders await key economic data later today. Let’s get right to it! Durable Goods Orders Jump Unexpectedly Durable goods order rose unexpectedly last month, increasing for the third consecutive month. The Commerce Department reported orders jumped 1.7% in May vs expectations for a 0.8% decline. That was also an improvement from the 1.2% increase in April. Durable goods refers to products made to last three years or more, like large appliances, cars, and planes. Durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 0.6% vs 0% expected. Walgreens Drops After Cutting Outlook Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares are down 8.4% ahead of the open after missing fiscal Q3 expectations and slashing its full-year guidance. Here’s how the pharmacy chain’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.00 vs $1.07 expected Revenue: $35.42 billion vs $34.24 billion expected It was the company’s first earnings miss since July 2020. But revenue jumped 8.6% year over year as sales grew in the retail pharmacy and health-care segments. The CEO said she is increasing Walgreen’s cost-cutting initiative to $4.1 billion and taking immediate action to increase profitability. She said, “I am confident that our turnaround strategy positions WBA to drive sustainable core growth and deliver long-term shareholder value.” Walgreens lowered its full-year EPS expectations to a range of $4.00 to $4.05 vs $4.45 to $4.65 previously. Delta Hikes Profit Forecast Delta Airlines (DAL) shares are up 1.5% in premarket trade after the company hiked its second quarter and full-year outlook. The airline now expects adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.50 in the second quarter, up from $2 to $2.25 previously. The CEO said the upcoming second-quarter earnings could be the highest ever in company history. In an interview with CNBC he said, “The demand as you know, as anyone that’s traveling knows, is off the chain.” Delta now expects free cash generation of $3 billion this year vs $2 billion forecast previously. The company also now sees revenue per available seat mile to be up as much as 18% year over year vs the prior outlook for 15% to 17% growth. Lordstown Motors Files For Bankruptcy Lordstown Motors (RIDE) shares are plunging 59.9% ahead of the open after the electric truckmaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it would also put itself up for sale. The filing comes amid a dispute over investments that had been promised by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn. Lordstown also filed a suit against Foxconn, accusing the company of fraud and failing to abide by an agreement to invest up to $170 million in Lordstown. The two companies were supposed to work together on a range of new electric vehicles. Foxconn is accusing Lordstown of attempting to “mislead the public” and said it is suspending talks and reserving the right to take legal action of its own.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Fresh Week
Register now for Wednesday’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -14 (-0.04%) SPX Futures: -3 (-0.1%) NASDAQ Futures: -4 (-0.02%) Good morning friends! Futures are flat but lower as traders gear up for the final week of June. Let’s get right to it! Busier Week This will be a busier week of economic data for traders after a quiet week last week. Things kick off with the release of May durable goods orders Tuesday morning followed by the April S&P Case-Shiller home price index, May new home sales, and June consumer confidence later in the day. On Wednesday, the main focus is Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech. Thursday brings weekly jobless claims, the final Q1 GDP revision, and May pending home sales. And Friday is the main event with the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core PCE price index for May. Personal spending and income will also be released that morning plus consumer sentiment later. Lucid Jumps On Aston Martin Partnership Lucid Group (LCID) shares are rallying 9.7% ahead of the open after reaching a deal with luxury carmaker Aston Martin. Lucid will take a 3.7% stake in Aston Martin in exchange for access to the electric carmaker’s “high performance” technology. The agreement includes access to Lucid’s “electric powertrains and battery systems”. Aston Martin will issue about 28.4 million new ordinary shares to Lucid Group and make cash payments totaling $232 million. Tesla Slips After Goldman Sachs Downgrade Tesla (TSLA) shares are down 1.6% in premarket trade after Goldman Sachs analysts became the latest to downgrade the stock. Goldman downgrade TSLA to neutral from buy early this morning. The group cited the difficult pricing environment for EV’s and the recent surge in the stock for that move. In a note the analysts said, “We’re downgrading shares to neutral from buy, as we believe the stock now better reflects our positive long-term view of the company’s growth positioning.” Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and DZ Bank all downgraded TSLA last week. Oil Prices Rise Oil prices are up this morning after a Russian coup attempt was abandoned over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.3% to over $69 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 0.5% to over $74 bbl. An armed rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin marched toward Moscow on Saturday in what appeared to be an attempted insurrection. That prompted fears of further disruptions in the energy market until the rebellion was abruptly called off on Sunday.
Continue Reading -->Are the Fearless Bulls Slipping? What’s on Tap June 26-30, 2023
First, sign up for this week’s special events! How to Trade the Open With Sami Abusaad Chat With a Pro Trader With Andrew Moss Now use the Table of Contents to jump around: Table of Contents This Week’s Trading CalendarWeek in Review: Slippin’The June SurgeBulls Still Have No FearThe Calendar Picks UpSome Earnings BiggiesThe Best ETFs of 2023 – Semis Slowing?Industry Insights from Rob Koyfman, CEO of Koyfin This Week’s Trading CalendarIf you want to view or download this week’s calendar, check click the image below:Click to enlarge Week in Review: Slippin’After 5 weeks up, the market finally took a breather with the 4 horsemen ETFs all slipping. Fed Chair Powell came out hawkish again on Wednesday, saying inflation is “well above” where it needs to be. He also said “Nearly all FOMC participants expect that it will be appropriate to raise interest rates somewhat further by the end of the year.” Tech and housing stocks have raged higher this year, implying that traders have been gearing up for an eventual easing. Looks like that may be further off in the distance. The June SurgeNow let’s take a quick look at ETF performance in June. As you can see, just about everything is up:However, some traders are concerned about slippage in IWM, which might be back in laggard status after an early-June surge. That could mean the rally narrowing once again, forcing the market to rely on tech to carry the weight.Bulls Still Have No FearThe VIX is once again making new multiyear lows, showing that traders are pricing in almost no volatility:Some traders believe the VIX could be set to bounce, but check out the blue bubble on the chart above. Many traders and investors got burned getting long volatility back then as the market just floated higher. By the way, if you want to learn more about the VIX, go here. Meanwhile, the American Association of Individual Investors’ Sentiment Survey showed bullish sentiment for the third week in a row:42.9% of investors are bullish, down slightly last week’s 45.2% reading. The last time sentiment was this bullish was November 2021. The S&P 500 topped out less than 2 months later. Plus, CNN’s Fear and Greed Index still read Extreme Greed:Make no mistake: traders are bullish.The Calendar Picks UpWe’re coming off a pretty light week data-wise but things get busy next week:Monday 6/26: Dallas Fed Mfg Business IndexTuesday 6/27: Durable Goods, Redbook, House Price Index, S&P/GS HPI Composite, New Home Sales, Wednesday 6/28: Retail Inventories, Wholesale Inventories, Fed Chair Powell Speaks, Fed Bank Stress Test ResultsThursday 6/29: Jobless Claims, GDP, Pending Home SalesFriday 6/30: Core PCE Price Index, Personal Income & Spending, Chicago PMI, Consumer SentimentThe bears have been hunting (and maybe hoping) for evidence of a recession, so maybe they’ll get some evidence with the Durable Goods and GDP reports.And of course, traders will key on Powell on Wednesday and the Core PCE Price Index (the Fed’s preferred inflation guage) on Friday. Some Earnings BiggiesEarnings season has slowed down but we do have some notable reports this weekKeep an eye on these reports:Monday: Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) – cruise and travel stocks have raged higher and CCL is one of the best stocks of the year. Will the fundamentals confirm the move? Tuesday: Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) – should give us insights on the consumer.Wednesday: Micron (MU) – semis have been on fire this year so we’ll see if Micron predicts good things to come.Thursday: Nike (NKE) – will tell us about consumer strength. The Best ETFs of 2023 – Semis Slowing?Semiconductors are still leading by a country mile this year with a 46.1% gain:However, semis had a rough week. We’ll see if Micron’s earnings report reignites the group.Industry Insights from Rob Koyfman, CEO of KoyfinThis week, we hosted a Twitter Space with Rob Koyfman, CEO of Koyfin. We talk about what traders look for in a software platform, and the role of AI in market data analysis.Set your reminder for today’s Twitter Space with @koyfman of the amazing @KoyfinCharts service.https://t.co/NNXoCfHR5R— T3 Live (@t3live) June 20, 2023
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Losing Week
Register now for next week’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -194 (-0.6%) SPX Futures: -34 (-0.8%) NASDAQ Futures: -160 (-1.1%) Good morning friends! Futures are lower as stocks are headed for a losing week. Let’s get right to it! Yields Slip After Fed Speakers Treasury yields are down this morning as investors digest recent comments from several Fed speakers. The 2-year yield is down 9 basis points to 4.71% while the 10-year yield is down 9 basis points to 3.71%. In Congressional testimony this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the bank’s plans for additional rate hikes this year. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman echoed those comments on Thursday saying she believes rates need to move higher to become “sufficiently restrictive”. More Fed officials are set to speak today including St Louis Fed President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester. CarMax Jumps On Earnings Beat CarMax (KMX) shares are up 6.9% ahead of the open after beating Q1 expectations on the top and bottom line. Here’s how the used car retailer’s results compared to analysts’ estimates: Adjusted EPS: $1.16 vs $0.79 expected Revenue: $7.69 billion vs $7.49 billion expected Comparable-store sales declined 11.4% year over year, improving from 22.4% in Q3 and 14.1% in Q4. Starbucks Dips As Workers Plan To Strike Starbucks (SBUX) shares are down 1.8% in premarket trade as the Starbucks Workers United says some employees are planning to strike starting today. The union says more than 150 stores representing nearly 3,500 workers have pledged to join the strikes. The demonstrations come after the union alleged dozens of stores in the U.S. were not allowing workers to decorate for Pride month. But the company said in a statement, “There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June.” Starbucks added, “Workers United continues to spread false information about our benefits, policies and negotiation efforts—a tactic used to seemingly divide our partners and deflect from their failure to respond to bargaining sessions for more than 200 stores.” Virgin Galactic Tumbles After Stock Offering Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares are tumbling 13.2% ahead of the open after announcing it raised $300 million via an “at the market” common stock offering. That was revealed in a securities filing on Thursday. The company also said it is aiming to raise an additional $400 million through a subsequent offering. The money will be used to fund the development and expansion of Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft fleet. In Case You Missed It Existing home sales rose unexpectedly in May. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that existing sales rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million units. That was better than expectations for 4.25 million. The median price of an existing home sold last month dropped 3.1% to $396,100, the largest decline since December 2021. Sales were down 20.4% year over year.
Continue Reading -->Coffee With Greta: Slide Continues
Register now for next week’s pro trader Q&A with Chartered Market Technician Andrew Moss on LinkedIn! DJIA Futures: -64 (-0.2%) SPX Futures: -7 (-0.2%) NASDAQ Futures: -32 (-0.2%) Good morning friends! Futures are slipping for the fourth straight day as the market rally continues to stall. Let’s get right to it! Powell Testimony Day 2 Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify in the Senate Banking Committee today for day two of his Semi-Annual Monetary Report to Congress. During his testimony in the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Powell reaffirmed the Fed’s plans to hike interest rates further this year. He said, “We have been seeing the effects of our policy tightening on demand in the most interest rate-sensitive sectors of the economy. It will take time, however, for the full effects of monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation.” He emphasized that future rate decisions will remain data dependent. Bank Of England Hikes Rates The Bank of England approved another 50 basis point rate hike overnight, its 13th straight increase. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of the move, bringing the base rate to 5%. The decision came after new data on Wednesday showed the U.K. annual CPI rate at 8.7% in May, unchanged from April. Core CPI increased to 7.1% annually in May vs 6.8% in April, the highest since March 1992. Weekly Jobless Claims Jump Weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week to the highest level since late 2021. The Labor Department reported 264,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits. That was up by 2,000 from the previous week and higher than expectations for claims to fall to 256,000. Continuing claims fell to 1.76 million in the week ending June 10 vs expectations for 1.78 million. Overstock.com Wins BBBY Auction Overstock.com (OSTK) shares are rallying 8.1% ahead of the open after winning the auction for Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property and digital assets. Court records filed early this morning show Overstock.com will buy the brand name, business data, and digital assets for $21.5 million. The deal does not keep Bed Bath & Beyond stores open and still needs to be approved at a hearing on Tuesday. Bed Bath & Beyond is running a separate sale process for its Buy Buy Baby chain, hoping to find a bidder willing to keep those stores open. That auction is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Continue Reading -->