Stock Indexes Wrap: Nvidia, Big Tech Charge Higher as Housing, Consumer Stocks Stumble

13 hr 59 min ago

The Dow

Big tech charged higher, led by Salesforce (CRM), up 0.8%, and Microsoft (MSFT), up 0.7%.

Home Depot (HD) slid 3.6% amid a sell-off of stocks exposed to the U.S. housing market. 

Boeing (BA) shares fell 2.2% amid reports it had altered its offer to reacquire supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) from an all-cash to all-stock offer that valued the target at $35 per share. 

S&P 500

Carnival Corp. (CCL) led the index, rising 8.9% after reporting a surprise second-quarter profit as travelers shelled out for cruises and on-board goods and services. Competitors Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) rose 5.1% and 4%, respectively. 

Nvidia (NVDA) surged 6.8% as Wall Street bought the dip following a three-day sell-off that plunged the AI chip leader into correction territory. Fellow tech mega-caps followed Nvidia higher, with Alphabet (GOOGL) gaining 2.8% to close at a record high and Meta Platforms (META) adding 2.3%. 

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) rose 2.9% ahead of its 50-for-1 stock split, to take effect after the bell. 

Pool Corporation (POOL) tumbled 8% after the company lowered its full-year guidance, citing a pullback in discretionary spending amid a prolonged slump in the U.S. housing market.

Peers similarly exposed to the housing market followed Pool lower. Water treatment company Pentair (PNR) tumbled 7.1%, while flooring supplier Mohawk (MHK) slid 5.7%, and home improvement retailer Lowe’s (LOW) dropped 4.9%. 

Consumer stocks of all stripes declined Wednesday, including Hasbro (HAS), down 3.8%, and J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM), down 3.4%. 

Nasdaq 100

Core components of the burgeoning AI ecosystem advanced, including ARM Holdings (ARM), up 6.3%, and ASML Holding (ASML), up 2.1%. 

As with the S&P 500, consumer stocks made up most of the Nasdaq’s laggards. O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) fell 2.4%, while Dollar Tree (DLTR) declined 1.8% and Kraft Heinz (KHC) shed 1.2%.

Nvidia Lifts S&P 500 Into the Green

15 hr 22 min ago

Nvidia (NVDA) shares surged Tuesday, rebounding from a three-day pullback that drew the AI chip giant into correction territory.

Nvidia’s gains—more than 6% at the stock’s intraday highs—lifted the S&P 500 into positive territory, contributing about 21 points to the index’s 19-point gain as of 2:50 p.m ET.

The stock had lost about 12% of its value between last Tuesday, when it overtook Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company, and yesterday’s close.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite declined over the same period, even as the majority of stocks trading on U.S. exchanges advanced. The divergence exemplifies the massive importance of mega-cap tech stocks, and Nvidia specifically, to U.S. stock indexes and the funds that track them.

Pool Corporation Slashes Outlook as Economic Conditions Hurt Sales

16 hr 39 min ago

Pool Corporation (POOL) shares sank in intraday trading Tuesday, a day after the distributor of pool products slashed its guidance as economic conditions have led to a pullback in consumer discretionary spending and cut into demand. 

The company warned that sales are down about 6.5% so far this year, and it expects full-year sales to be in a “similar range.” Pool Corporation revised its outlook to reflect that, now anticipating 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $11.04 to $11.44, down from its earlier outlook of $13.19 to $14.19. It sees current-quarter EPS of $4.85 to $4.95, below analysts’ forecasts.

Pool Corporation said it now believes new pool construction activity could drop 15% to 20% from 2023. It expects remodeling to fall as much as 15%, versus its earlier forecast of flat to 10% lower.

Shares of Pool Corporation were down more than 7% Tuesday afternoon at $313.47, their lowest level since October. Shares of rival Leslie’s (LESL) were down more than 4%.

–Bill McColl

Carnival Stock Soars on Surprise Q2 Profit

17 hr 59 min ago

Carnival Corporation (CCL) shares sailed higher in intraday trading Tuesday when the cruise operator posted a surprising quarterly profit and boosted its guidance as customers spent more to sail. 

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected a per-share loss of $0.02. Revenue was up 17.7% to $5.78 billion, also above estimates.

Revenue, along with operating income of $560 million, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $1.2 billion, and booking levels all set second-quarter records. Total customer deposits of $8.3 billion were an all-time high.

Carnival said the results were driven by higher ticket prices, increased onboard spending by passengers, and the timing of expenses between quarters.

 Carnival now anticipates full-year adjusted EBITDA of $5.83 billion, up about $200 million from the previous outlook.  

Carnival stock surged nearly 8%, lifting shares of other cruise companies, including Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Group (RCL). However, even with today’s advance, Carnival shares are down nearly 5% year-to-date.

–Bill McColl

SolarEdge Technologies Stock Plunges on Customer Bankruptcy

18 hr 55 min ago

SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) shares cratered Tuesday, a day after the solar power equipment maker announced that one of its customers has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and likely won’t be able to pay its multi-million-dollar debt. It also warned about current-quarter spending, and announced a new sale of bonds.

SolarEdge wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Monday that PM&M Electric, a solar panel installer in Arizona, owes the company $11.4 million, and noted that while it is monitoring the bankruptcy, “it cannot guarantee the outcome of the proceedings and may fail to collect the amounts due to the Company or collect such amounts only after significant delay.”

In the same report, SolarEdge explained that it expects to have used $150 million in free cash in the second quarter, primarily because of “certain discretionary minority investments, extensions of credit provided to certain customers, higher than expected working capital related to the ramp of U.S. manufacturing and a slower pace of payments on accounts receivable.”

In addition, the company said it would be selling $300 million in convertible senior notes due in 2029. It plans to use the money to cover the cost of capped call transactions, repay earlier debt, and general corporate purposes.

Shares of SolarEdge Technologies plunged more than 16% and are trading at their lowest levels in seven years.

–Bill McColl

Novo Nordisk Rises as Wegovy Is Approved in China

19 hr 51 min ago

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) rose Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after the company announced that its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy has been approved to start being sold in China.

The treatment for overweight and obese patients was approved “recently” by China’s National Medical Products Administration, according to a translation of a Chinese release from Novo Nordisk released Tuesday morning.

Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy have exploded in popularity over the last several years, boosting the company’s earnings and stock price to make it the most valuable company in Europe, while its U.S. competitor Eli Lilly (LLY) has seen similar growththanks to its weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.

The announcement comes a day after Novo Nordisk said it plans to spend just over $4 billion expanding its U.S. manufacturing with a new facility in North Carolina as part of a broader $6.8 billion effort to boost capacity this year. The company has also completed a number of acquisitions over the last year to increase its production.

Novo Nordisk ADRs rose almost 4% and are 40% higher in 2024.

-Aaron McDade

Spirit AeroSystems Stock Slides After Boeing Reportedly Changes Offer Terms

20 hr 25 min ago

Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) shares dropped after Bloomberg reported late Monday that Boeing (BA) changed the terms of its all-cash offer to reacquire the parts supplier for a mostly stock deal valuing the aerostructure supplier at about $35 per share.

If accepted, the offer of $35 per share would represent a premium of about 6% to Spirit’s $33.07 Monday close and implies 22% upside from the stock’s Feb. 29, close, the day prior to the takeover discussions becoming public.

In addition, the deal will require Spirit to spin off some of its manufacturing plants to Boeing’s European rival Airbus (EADSY), Bloomberg reported. Discussions have faced headwinds in recent months after Airbus threatened to block the deal if it involved Boeing building any of its newest aircraft.

 The embattled plane maker has come under intense scrutiny from federal aviation regulators and lawmakers this year following a door plug of an Alaska Airlines (ALK) 737 Max jet detaching mid-flight in January.

Taking a look at the weekly chart, Spirit AeroSystems shares broke above a multi-year downtrend line in early March after news of Boeing’s potential takeover of the company emerged. 

Since that time, the price initially retraced, but found support from the breakout point and now trades just below the neckline of an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a chart formation that indicates a potential reversal back to the upside. 

Looking ahead, investors may monitor for a volume-backed breakout above the pattern’s neckline at $35. Such a move could mark the beginning of a new uptrend and see the stock climb to around $54 where it would likely encounter overhead resistance from a horizontal line that connects a series of price action stretching back to May 2017.

–Tim Smith

Stock Futures Mostly Higher

21 hr 40 min ago

Dow futures were down 0.1% in premarket trading Tuesday.

S&P futures rose 0.2%.

Nasdaq futures rose 0.3%.