Equity Indexes Wrap: Markets Buoyant Following Fed Rate Forecast; Energy Slips With Oil Prices

The Dow

Boeing (BA) shares rose 3.7% as its CFO outlined at a conference in London how the jet maker is addressing a federal investigation of its safety standards and the impact it would have on its 2024 financial results.

Industrial giants 3M (MMM) and Dow (DOW) gained 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively. 

Intel (INTC) inched up 0.4%. The stock gave up earlier gains after the White House said it had awarded the chipmaker up to $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants. 

Chevron (CVX) fell 1.4%, following oil prices lower. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contracts fell nearly 2% to less than $82 on Wednesday.

The S&P 500

Paramount Global (PARA) jumped 11.8% amid reports the private equity firm Apollo Management had offered the company $11 billion to buy its film and TV studio. As of Tuesday’s close, Paramount’s total market value was less than $8 billion. 

Ford (F) gained 4.9% after the White House eased emission standards, effectively allowing carmakers to sell more gas-powered cars through 2030. General Motors (GM) gained 3.2%. 

Regional bank stocks rose as Treasury yields fell, raising hopes lower interest rates may take some pressure off their balance sheets and deposit obligations. Citizens Financial Group (CFG) rose 4% and KeyCorp (KEY) gained 3.8%.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) advanced 3.4% after its board approved a 50-for-1 stock split. 

General Mills (GIS) rose 1.1% after its fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street’s estimates. 

Nasdaq (NDAQ) slid 2.5% after major shareholder Borse Dubai said it would sell nearly 27 million shares of the exchange in a secondary offering. 

Equinix (EQIX) fell 2.3% after it was targeted by short seller Hindenburg, which accused the data center real estate investment trust of inflating a key profitability metric. 

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) fell 1.6%, its third day of declines after joining the S&P 500 on Monday and announcing an equity offering on Tuesday. 

The Nasdaq 100

The Trade Desk (TTD) gained 3.5% after Disney said it was using the company’s OpenPath technology to expand its Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX).

PDD Holdings (PDD) rose 3.2% after its quarterly earnings blew analysts’ expectations out of the water. 

Micron (MU) rose 2.4% ahead of its earnings report after the bell. 

Nvidia (NVDA) ticked up 1.1% after CEO Jensen Huang said its next-generation Blackwell chips would cost only slightly more than the Hopper chips they’re succeeding. 

Moderna (MRNA) slid 1.9% after fellow Covid-19 vaccine maker BioNTech (BNTX) missed earnings estimates amid a slump in demand for the shot. AstraZeneca (AZN) slipped 0.2%.

Treasury Yields Dip as Powell Reiterates Road to 2% Inflation a Bumpy One

The yield on shorter-term Treasurys sank on Wednesday as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the Fed could cut rates this year barring any economic surprises.

The 2-year Treasury yield fell about 8 basis points to 4.62%, a more dramatic drop than that of the 10-year yield, which fell about 3 basis points to 4.28%.  Powell also said that he believes two months of higher-than-expected inflation data "haven't really changed the overall story, which is that of inflation moving down gradually on a sometimes bumpy road toward 2%.” Though, he added, "I also don't think that those readings added to anyone's confidence that we're moving closer to that point.” Ultimately, Powell insisted, the Fed will take the data in stride as it did when prior data came in better than expected. “We're not going to overreact as well to these two months of data, nor are we going to ignore them,” he said.

Mobileye Stock Rises on Expanded Partnership With Volkswagen 

Shares of Mobileye Global Inc. (MBLY) jumped Wednesday after the company announced an expanded partnership with Volkswagen AG to boost self-driving vehicle technology.

Mobileye said the two would “bring new automated driving functions to series production.” It added that the company will provide Volkswagen with “technologies for partially and highly automated driving based on its Mobileye SuperVision and Mobileye Chauffeur platforms.

Mobileye noted that the technologies will be used to provide “premium-oriented driving functions” to Volkswagen’s Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche brands. It explained that it will also supply components for automated driving for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Mobileye Global shares surged 6.5% to $30.20 Wednesday afternoon but are down about 30% in 2024.

-Bill McColl

General Mills Stock Rises After Earnings Beat, Affirmed Guidance

General Mills Inc. (GIS) shares rose Wednesday as the breakfast and snack food maker reported third-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted income of $674 million, or adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17, both above analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, while posting a smaller year-over-year sales decrease than expected.

The 1% decrease in net sales from the third quarter a year ago was due to lower overall volume, but was partially offset by improved net price realization, the company said. It also affirmed full-year guidance after lowering projections when announcing second-quarter earnings in December. General Mills still projects net sales to range from flat to a 1% decline, down from projected growth of 3% to 4%, and full-year adjusted EPS to increase by 4% to 5%, which was previously projected to increase by 4% to 6%. General Mills shares were up about 1.2% at $69.43 Wednesday afternoon. The stock is up about 6% on the year but down almost 14% over the last 12 months.

-Aaron McDade

Chipotle Stock Jumps After Announcing 50-for-1 Stock Split

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) jumped Wednesday after the fast casual restaurant chain announced that its board has approved a 50-for-1 stock split to make its shares more accessible to staff and a broader range of investors.

The Newport Beach, California-based company said late Tuesday it will seek shareholder approval for the split, the first in the restaurant chain’s 30-year history, at its annual meeting slated for June 6.

If successful, shareholders will receive an additional 49 shares for each Chipotle share held as of record date June 18, with the extra shares distributed after the closing bell on June 25. Shares are slated to begin trading on a post-split basis the following day.

Based on the stock’s Tuesday closing price of $2,797.56, the split would make the shares around $55.95 each. Chipotle shares, which have gained about 75% over the past 12 months, were up 4% at $2,909 Wednesday afternoon.

-Timothy Smith

Temu Parent PDD Surges on Q4 Earnings Beat 

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of PDD Holdings (PDD), the parent company of a number of companies including online discount retailer Temu, rose Wednesday morning following a strong fourth-quarter earnings report.

PDD posted quarterly revenue of 88.88 billion Chinese yuan ($12.52 billion) and adjusted net income of 25.48 billion yuan ($3.59 billion), or adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 17.32 yuan ($2.40), all well above analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

PDD more than doubled its revenue and net income over the same period in the prior fiscal year as Temu has grown substantially in the U.S., and Wednesday's earnings report is PDD's first since Temu aired multiple commercials during the Super Bowl, the biggest night of television in the U.S.

Jefferies analysts reiterated a "buy" rating on PDD in a note following the earnings report's release, with a price target of $157. ADRs of PDD were up about 2.4% late Wednesday morning. They are down about 10.5% so far this year, but have increased more than 65% in the last 12 months.

-Aaron McDade

Boeing Rises as CFO Projects Cash Burn, Negative Margins Stemming From 737 Issues

Boeing (BA) shares rose on Wednesday after the jet maker’s chief financial officer said the company would spend significantly more cash in the first quarter than previously expected as it grapples with the fallout of January’s Alaska Airlines incident and ensuing investigations. 

Brian West told attendees of a Bank of America conference in London that he expected cash outflow to be between $4 billion and $4.5 billion in the first quarter, more than the company had previously forecast. He said that difference was unlikely to be made up for in the rest of the year, putting full-year free cash flow in the low single-digit billions.

The higher outflows, West said, will also delay the company’s goal of achieving annual cash flow of $10 billion sometime in 2025 or 2026.

West also said he expects Boeing’s commercial unit to report first-quarter operating margins of approximately negative 20%. Margins would improve throughout the year, he said, but would likely remain negative for the full year. 

Boeing had decided to constrain 737 MAX production to less than 38 planes a month, West said, “and we’ll feel the impact of that over the next several months.”

The Federal Aviation Administration in January barred Boeing from expanding production of the 737 MAX amid an investigation of its safety practices following an incident in early January, in which a Boeing 737-9 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines lost part of its fuselage shortly after takeoff.

On the topic of Boeing’s possible acquisition of supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), which was spun off from Boeing in 2005, West said both companies felt the acquisition would be “what’s best for safety and for quality for the aerospace industry.” He also insisted that any acquisition would be funded by cash and debt, not equity.

Intel Stock Rises on Up To $8.5B CHIPS Act Grant

Intel Corp. (INTC) shares rose in early trading Wednesday after the White House announced that the chipmaker had been awarded up to $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding to expand production in the U.S.

“The announcement will support the construction and expansion of Intel facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon, creating nearly 30,000 jobs and supporting tens of thousands of indirect jobs,” the White House statement said.

Over the next five years, Intel expects its U.S. investments to exceed $100 billion, as it expands capacity and capabilities in those four states, the Commerce Department said in a separate statement.

Intel could also receive an additional $11 billion in loans from the CHIPS and Science Act, which was passed in 2022 and is meant to grow U.S. manufacturing of key industries like chipmaking amid growing geopolitical tensions with China.

Intel shares were up 0.7% Wednesday morning, but are down about 15% year to date.

-Fatima Attarwala

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves in Early Trading

Gains:

• PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD): Shares of the Chinese e-commerce company soared more than 16% after its fourth-quarter revenue and earnings blew past analyst estimates. 
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG): Shares of the fast-casual chain restaurant jumped 5% after it announced its board had approved a 50-to-1 stock split. 
• Intel Corp. (INTC): Shares of the chipmaker rose about 3% after the White House awarded it $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants for the expansion of its U.S. manufacturing capacity. 
  

Losses:

• Nasdaq Inc. (NDAQ): Shares of the stock exchange and trading services provider slid more than 4% after Bourse Dubai, its largest shareholder, said it would sell one-third of its stake for about $1.6 billion. 
• Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI): Shares of the IT and computer products company fell more than 2% to about $890 after it priced its public offering, announced yesterday, at $875. 
• Boeing Co. (BA): Shares of the jet maker fell nearly 2% after its CEO said its commercial plane unit’s operating profit margin would plunge to -20% in the first quarter amid fallout from January’s Alaska Airlines door plug incident. 

Stock Futures Mixed Ahead of Fed Rate Decision

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 0.1% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

S&P 500 futures were up little changed from Tuesday's close.

Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.2% higher about an hour before markets opened.