Today’s Big Picture
Asia-Pacific equity markets finished the day mixed. India’s SENSEX closed down 1.23% on what looks like some aggressive profit-taking, China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.40%, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.26%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Taiwan’s TAIEX came close to flat, down and up a mere 0.07%, respectively. Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries gained 0.21%, and South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.44% in a mixed day that saw an even advance/decline line of 381/381.
European markets are up in midday in midday trading and U.S. equity futures are mixed as Nasdaq-100 components Tesla (TSLA), and Intel (INTC) (more below) are coming under some pressure.
Following a new closing high for the S&P 500, one that shrugged off a warmer than expected print for February CPI data, equity futures are little changed this morning. With no market-moving earnings or economic reports expected today, one might think the market will be treading water ahead of tomorrow’s Retail Sales and Producer Price Index data for February. However, there are several investor conferences, including the Bank of America Consumer & Retail Conference, the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference, and the Citi Technology, Media & Telecom Conference happening today. Investors will be updating expectations for the current quarter and 1H 2024 based on management presentations at these events, looking for signs of strengthening landscapes and noting ones that might be faltering.
Data Download
International Economy
Industrial Production in the Euro Area decreased by 6.70% YoY in January.
Industrial production in the UK fell 0.2% month-over-month in January 2024, reversing a 0.6% increase in December compared to market estimates of a stable reading.
Domestic Economy
We have a modest day of economic data, with just the usual Wednesday “weeklies” coming our way - MBA Mortgage Applications and crude oil inventory data.
Markets
Yesterday saw Technology take the ball and run as the sector gained 2.05%, led by Microsoft (MSFT), and Nvidia (NVDA) which in turn were spurred on by Oracle (ORCL) as the three names combined to contribute to just over 65% of the sector return. Following a distance second and third were Communication Services (0.88%) and Consumer Discretionary (0.86%). Weakness came from Utilities which fell 0.97% as traders donned their “Risk On” hats. Despite The Dow gaining 0.61%, the S&P 500 rising 1.12% and the Nasdaq Composite closing 1.54%, the Russell 2000 still found a way to close down, off a mere 0.02%.
Taking its cue from yesterday’s pre-market trading, Southwest Airlines (LUV) ended the day down 14.86% as markets reacted to the company’s latest earnings release. Here’s how the major market indicators stack up year-to-date:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 3.49%
- S&P 500: 8.50%
- Nasdaq Composite: 8.36%
- Russell 2000: 1.89%
- Bitcoin (BTC-USD): 70.21%
- Ether (ETH-USD): 73.07%
Stocks to Watch
Dollar Tree (DLTR), Petco Health & Wellness (WOOF), and Williams Sonoma (WSM) are expected to release quarterly earnings before equities begin trading later this morning. Pre-market breadth is healthy today as 239 names in the S&P 500 have traded hands so far this morning with 153 gainers and 86 decliners. Dollar Tree (DLTR) and GE Healthcare (GEHC) are coming under some price pressure while Intel (INTC) (more below) and Tesla (TSLA) are seeing some heavy selling volume. Names catching a healthy bid this morning include Cooper Companies (COO), Verisign (VRSN), and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST).
The Pentagon has reportedly ended its plan to put forth $2.5 billion on a grant for semiconductor giant Intel. The decision now leaves the U.S. Commerce Department, which is responsible for doling out the funds from the U.S. CHIPs and Science Act, to make up the shortfall. The Commerce Dept. was initially only supposed to cover $1 billion of the $3.5 billion that Intel is slated to receive for advanced defense and intelligence-related semiconductors.
Toyota Motor (TM) agreed to union workers' demands for major salary increases and record bonus payments. While Toyota did not disclose the details of the pay hikes, the Toyota Motor Workers' Union had demanded bonus payments worth 7.6 months of salary, and monthly wage increases of up to 28,440 yen, reportedly the biggest increase in 25 years.
IPOs
Readers who want to dig deeper into the upcoming IPO calendar should visit Nasdaq’s Latest & Upcoming IPOs page.
After Today’s Market Close
Lennar (LEN) and SentinelOne (S) are expected to report quarterly results after equities stop trading today. Those looking for more on upcoming quarterly earnings reports should head on over to Nasdaq’s Earnings Calendar.
On the Horizon
Thursday, March 14
- US: Producer Price Index - February
- US: Retail Sales - February
- US: Business Inventories - January
Friday, March 15
- US: Import/Export Prices - February
- US: Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization - February
- US: The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (Preliminary) - March
Thought for the Day
'To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.' – Oscar Wilde
Disclosures
- Verisign (VRSN) is a constituent of the Foxberry Tematica Research Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Index
- Intel (INTC) is a constituent of the Tematica BITA Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity Index
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Other Topics
Stocks Economy Earnings Central Banks
Chris Versace
Christopher (Chris) Versace is the Chief Investment Officer and thematic strategist at Tematica Research. The proprietary thematic investing framework that he’s developed over the last decade leverages changing economic, demographic, psychographic and technology landscapes to identify pronounced, multi-year structural changes. This framework sits at the heart of Tematica’s investment themes and indices and builds on his more than 25 years analyzing industries, companies and their business models as well as financial statements. Versace is the co-author of “Cocktail Investing: Distilling Everyday Noise into Clear Investing Signals” and hosts the Thematic Signals podcast. He is also an Assistant Professor at NJCU School of Business, where he developed the NJCU New Jersey 50 Index.
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Mark Abssy
Mark Abssy is Head of Indexing at Tematica Research focused on index and Exchange Traded Product development. He has product development and management experience with Indexes, ETFs, ETNs, Mutual Funds and listed derivatives. In his 25 year career he has held product development and management positions at NYSE|ICE, ISE ETF Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments and Loomis Sayles. He received a BSBA from Northeastern University with a focus in Finance and International Business.
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