Market overview, Fed chief on interest rates, Tesla, relevant in stock markets
- The US stock market remains under pressure from sagging liquidity due to tax payments. When the Treasury begins to return liquidity with budget payments, then the bullish trend will return - in a week or two.
- Stocks are falling by more than a percent, oil is rising by 3%, government bonds are becoming more expensive and gold has set a new record. The fear and greed index is briskly moving towards the fear zone. Bitcoin tests $60 thousand. Risk aversion is gaining strength.
- Fed's Williams: If the data calls for a rate hike, the Fed will raise it. But eventually the rates will be reduced.
Fed's Bostic: We won't be able to cut rates until the end of the year.
- Bank of England Governor Megan Green said the UK faces a difficult choice on whether to cut interest rates
as core inflation remains high and economic growth remains weak.
- Tesla (TSLA): rated "neutral" by Barclays. The company's upcoming report will be a negative catalyst for the stock. Management's statements will not reassure investors about weak fundamentals in the short term. If it turns out that Tesla is really abandoning the production of EVs for the mass market and is moving on to producing robotaxis, this will be a clear negative for the investment agenda. Tesla shares fell to their lowest level in more than a year on Thursday after Deutsche Bank reiterated the concerns. Tesla EV registrations in the EU fell by 30% in March.
- AltStore PAL, an alternative application store for iOS, was launched in the European Union. After a recent beta test, third-party iOS app store AltStore PAL began operating in the EU, The Verge reports. The store requires an annual subscription of €1.50 to cover Apple's Core Technology Fee (CTF).
- Microsoft's MSFT partnership with OpenAi may face antitrust investigation in the EU - BBG. Google fired 28 employees after they participated in protests against the Nimbus project.
- Joint contract with Amazon Inc. for $1.2 billion, which provides for the provision of artificial intelligence and cloud services to the Israeli government and military.
- Northrop Grumman is working with Musk's SpaceX on a US spy satellite system. A secret spy satellite is already taking high-resolution images of Earth, according to people familiar with the program.
- TSM shares fell 5% after the report. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing downgraded its forecast for chip market expansion, warning that the smartphone and personal computer markets remain weak.
- Meta shares rose 1.5% yesterday. The company has launched the Meta.ai website, a new free, standalone version of the Meta Ai chatbot that will compete with Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing and others.
- Genuine Parts (GPC) shares rose 11% yesterday. The auto and industrial parts distributor raised its forecast for adjusted earnings per share this year.
- L'Oreal reported first-quarter sales growth of 9.4% year-on-year. Exceeding expectations and allaying fears of a slowdown in the leading US beauty market.
- Shares of Indian company Infosys (INFY) fell 3% yesterday. The IT services provider's fourth-quarter revenue fell short of analysts' estimates.
- Shares of developer DHI remained neutral after the report. The company beat forecasts and raised expectations. But rising mortgage rates weighed on stocks.
— Texas farm groups are warning of a disastrous season for citrus and sugar. As Mexican and U.S. officials try to resolve a dispute over a ten-year water agreement that provides critical irrigation to U.S. farmers
- US mortgage rates rose to their highest level since November, reaching 7.1%. Affordability issues are impacting the housing market. The average monthly home payment has hit a record, Redfin reports.
- Google will merge its Android software division and Chrome browser with its hardware division (Pixel smartphones and Fitbit wearables). This is part of a broader plan to integrate artificial intelligence more widely across the company.
The company is looking for ways to reinvent itself in the face of a threat to its advertising business.
- Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) rose 26% yesterday. The company is fighting short sellers.
- Nordstrom (JWN) shares are up 2% in premarket trading. Yesterday they rose by 4%. Shareholders are putting pressure on the company (a chain of department stores) to increase profits as demand for clothing cools. Founding family members CEO Erik Nordstrom and President Pete Nordstrom have an interest in taking the company private and buying back shares from the market.
- Paramount Global (PARA) shares are up 1% in premarket trading. Sony's film division is in talks with Apollo Global Management to jointly buy Paramount.
-Constellation Brands (STZ) is exiting the business of cannabis producer Canopy Growth (CGC). Beer maker Corona converted its stake in Canopy into common shares and gave up three seats on the Board of Directors, and reduced Canopy's debt load by approximately CAD 100 million.
- CGC shares rose 21% yesterday. And in the premarket they fall by 5%.
- Jabil (JBL) shares are down 3% in premarket trading. The CEO goes on paid leave pending an investigation into company policies.
- Shares of Frontier Communications Parent (FYBR) are down 4% in premarket trading. The company suffered from a cyber attack.
- Shares of developer KBH are growing by 3% in premarket trading. The company increased dividends and buybacks.
- Netflix (NFLX) shares are down 5% in premarket trading. The company reported well and showed a strong increase in subscribers. But she gave a forecast slightly lower than analysts' expectations. Netflix added that after a year it will stop providing quarterly data on membership and average revenue generated per member. Wall Street didn't like it.