U.S. stocks rose again Thursday, with the major benchmarks reaching new record intraday highs, following the signing of a formal trade truce between the U.S. and China, completed at a White House signing ceremony on Wednesday.
Investors were also parsing a batch of healthy U.S. economic reports including those on retail sales and jobless claims and a fresh batch of quarterly results, headlined by those from Morgan Stanley.
How has the American stock market evolved?
Morgan Stanley – the investment bank reported quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share, beating the consensus estimate of 99 cents a share. The $1.30 including a 10 cent discrete tax benefit. Revenue was well above Wall Street forecasts, with firmwide revenue exceeding $10 billion for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Southwest took Boeing’s (BA) grounded 737 Max jet off its flight schedule through June 6.
XPO Logistics (XPO) – XPO is considering a sale of the company or a spin-off of one or more business units. Such a move would reverse recent strategy for the provider of warehousing and delivery services, which made 17 acquisitions from 2011 to 2015.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla saw vehicle registrations in California cut nearly in half during the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to a year earlier. That decline comes amid a significant drop in federal tax credits for electric vehicle buyers during 2019. Separately, Tesla was downgraded to “underweight” from “equal-weight” at Morgan Stanley, which pointed to the recent stock run-up as well as long term risks to the automaker’s China business.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) – Taiwan Semi said its current-quarter revenue should show a 45% jump compared to a year ago. The world’s largest contract chipmaker also raised its capital spending plan for the year on expectations of strong demand for 5G smartphones.
American Outdoor Brands (AOBC) – The company said CEO James Debney left the Smith & Wesson parent after he was found to have engaged in behavior “inconsistent with a non-financial company policy.” The company did not provide more details.
Alcoa (AA) – Alcoa lost 31 cents per share for the fourth quarter, wider than the 22 cents a share loss that analysts had been expecting. The aluminum producer’s revenue also came in below estimates, due in large part to lower prices. Alcoa said it expected aluminum demand to pick up this year.
Netflix (NFLX) – Netflix is collaborating with Ben & Jerry’s on a new ice cream flavor called “Netflix & Chilll’d.” The new flavor mixes pretzel swirls and fudge brownies in peanut butter ice cream.
Nike (NKE) – Nike’s Vaporfly shoe reportedly is set to be banned by World Athletics, amid allegations that it gives an unfair advantage to runners. The Daily Mail reports that the shoe’s design is under review, with findings to be revealed later this month. The Vaporfly has been worn by both men and women in recent record-breaking marathon races.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – A Glaxo executive told Bloomberg that the drugmaker has not given much thought to an initial public offering of its consumer health care joint venture with Pfizer (PFE). The comments come after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said such a move could happen within three to four years.
Spirit Airlines (SAVE) – The airline updated its fourth-quarter guidance, saying a decline in total operating revenue per available seat mile would decline less than previously expected.
PPG Industries (PPG) – The paint maker missed estimates by 3 cents a share, with quarterly profit of $1.31 per share. Revenue also came in slightly below Street forecasts. with PPG noting weak conditions in the industrial markets that it serves.
Source: cnbc.com
