Here Are 3 Hot Things to Know About Stocks Right Now
- Tesla Inc. shares fell 5.5% following CEO Elon Musk’s bizarre conference call following the release of the electric carmaker’s first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly after four straight days of losses.
- At one point Thursday, the Nasdaq traded below 7,000 for the first time since early April. It ended the day at 7,088.
Wall Street Overview
Stocks were mixed on Thursday, May 3, following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone on interest rates and as the U.S. began two days of trade talks with China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or 0.02%, to 23,930. Earlier in the volatile session the Dow was down 390 points. The S&P 500 declined 0.23% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.18%.
The Fed held steady on interest rates but said Wednesday, May 2, that it expects “further gradual increases” as inflation edges toward the central bank’s annual rate of inflation of 2%.
“The committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in the federal funds rate,” the Fed said in a statement. “Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to run near the committee’s symmetric 2% objective over the medium term.”
Led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing on Thursday for two days of talks looking to achieve at least a partial breakthrough in a brewing trade war that has elicited tariffs on $50 billion’s worth of China imports into the U.S. and reactionary levies on agricultural goods into China.
Jobless claims in the U.S. came in below forecasts, rising by 2,000 to 211,000 for the week ended April 28. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade gap fell 15.2% in March to a seasonally adjusted $49 billion, down from $57.7 billion in February and the lowest since September. Exports rose in March to a record $208.5 billion.
Tesla fell 5.5% on Thursday after founder and CEO Elon Musk urged investors to “sell our stock and don’t buy it” during a conference call following the release of the electric carmaker’s first-quarter results.
Tesla posted an adjusted loss of $3.35 a share on Wednesday, which was narrower than the loss of $3.58 forecast by analysts. Tesla’s quarterly loss of $709.6 million was its biggest ever. Revenue of $3.41 billion also topping Wall Street forecasts.
Musk’s comments on the conference call, however, during which he insisted he was “not here to convince you to buy our stock,” hammered the stock.
DowDuPont Inc. reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.12 a share, 2 cents ahead of estimates. Revenue of $21.51 billion topped forecasts of $21.42 billion. The stock fell 0.02%.
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Spotify Technology S.A. ( SPOT) tumbled 5.6% after its first quarterly earnings as a public company missed analysts’ expectations.
Cigna Corp. was up 0.31% after topping first-quarter earnings expectations and raising its outlook for the year.
Kellogg Co. reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.19 a share, higher than forecasts of $1.08. The stock rose 2.6%.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. boosted its full-year earnings outlook and said its restructuring program is on track to meet its near-term debt reduction targets. The stock fell 4.4%.
Kraft Heinz Co. rose 1.3% after it reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 89 cents a share, topping forecasts. Revenue in the quarter fell to $6.3 billion from $6.32 billion a year earlier.
Square Inc. rose 1.1% even after the payments company said second-quarter earnings would be between 9 cents and 11 cents a share, below analyst’s estimates of 12 cents.
After the Dow Jones News Wire released the Activision Blizzard earnings ahead of the report’s release, the shares fell 5% before being frozen. ATVI finished the day at $66.82, down 2.3%.
