Market Update
U.S. Job Growth Slows to 390,000 in May, Jobless Rate Steady at 3.6%
Brian Turner
03 Jun, 2022
New York City
The U.S. employers added 390,000 positions in May, according to the latest data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Civilian labor force in May increased to 164,376,000, an increase of 3.5 million or 2.4% from a year ago.
Most economists were looking for job additions between 325,000 and 335,000, according to an informal survey conducted by Ticker.com.
The unemployment rate held at 3.6% for the third month in a row and the number of unemployed remained unchanged at 6.0 million.
The household survey showed the unemployment rate was the lowest amongst Asians with a jobless rate of 2.4% and was highest among teenagers with 10.4%.
Unemployment rate among Blacks was 6.2%, Whites was 2.4%, and Hispanics was 4.2%.
The household survey measures the labor force status by demographics and the establishment survey measures non-farm employment, hours, and earnings by industries.
Labor market has still not fully healed as long term unemployed, those looking for jobs six months or longer, remained 235,000 above the February 2020 level.
Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.3%, and the employment- population ratio, at 60.1 percent, were little changed over the month.
Both measures are 1.1 percentage points below their February 2020 levels.
The number of people teleworking declined to 7.4% in May from 7.7% in April and about 1.8 million people said they had not been able to work before their employer closed or lost business because of the pandemic.
Despite the job gains for months, the BLS household survey showed that labor market has not yet fully recovered from the job losses during the pandemic.
Total nonfarm employment is down by 822,000, or 0.5%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.
Leisure and hospitality added 84,000 positions, professional business services increased 75,000, and transportation and warehousing gained 47,000 jobs and led job gains in the month.
However, retailers cut 61,000 positions as many businesses struggled with overstaffing and inventory challenges but employment level is above its February level by 159,000.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% from April to $31.50 and gained 5.2% from a year ago.
The bureau also lowered its estimate of job gains in March by 30,000 to 398,000 and revised higher 8,000 in April to 436,000.
With these changes employment in March and April is 22,000 lower than previously reported.
Movers: Alaska Air, Chegg, CrowdStrike, Lululemon, Okta, PagerDuty, RH
Barry Adams
03 Jun, 2022
New York City
Alaska Air gained 1% in premarket trading after the regional carrier revised its revenue outlook in the current quarter.
Revenues expectations compared to 2019 were revised higher to increase between 12% to 14% from the previous estimate of 5% to 8% increase.
Passenger load factor in the quarter is expected to be between 87% and 88% compared to previous estimates between 85% and 88%.
Chegg Inc jumped 6.3% to $21.70 after the online textbook and tutoring company said its board approved an additional $1 billion of share repurchase program. About $65 million are still available in the previous $1 billion stock repurchase plan.
CrowdStrike Holdings declined 4.7% to $165.90 after the cyber security technology company said first quarter revenues jumped 61% to $487.8 million and net loss declined to $31.5 million from $85.0 million a year ago.
Diluted loss per share fell to 14 cents from 38 cents a year ago.
The company added 1,620 net new subscription customers in the quarter for a total of 17,945 subscription customers as of April 30, 2022, 57% growth from a year ago.
Coinbase Global Inc declined 4.5% to $70.50 after the cryptocurrency exchange said in a blog post that it is placing a company-wide hiring freeze reflecting the current market downturn.
Lululemon Athletica added 0.5% to $304.02 after the premium sportswear retailer said first quarter revenues increased 32% to $1.6 billion on 24% comparable store sales.
The premium apparel retailer said when compared on a three-year basis, first quarter revenues jumped 106% representing a compounded annual growth rate of 27%.
Net income increased to $189.99 million or $1.48 a share compared to $144.9 million or $1.11 a share.
The company guided second quarter 2022 revenues between $1.750 billion and $1.775 billion and diluted earnings per share between $1.89 and $1.94.
The retailer also revised full-year 2022 revenues higher to a range between $7.61 billion and $7.71 billion and diluted earnings per share between $9.42 and $9.57.
Okta Inc jumped 15% in premarket trading on top of an 11% rise in the previous session to $108.22 after the identity management company reported strong quarterly results.
The security and identity management company also indicated that the current macro headwinds are not impacting the business.
Sales in the first quarter ending in April soared 65% to $415 million and net loss surged to $243 million or $1.56 a share compared to $109 million or $0.83 a share.
The company guided revenues in the second quarter to fall between $428 million and $430 million and for the full-year fiscal 2023 between $1.805 billion and $1.815 billion.
PagerDuty Inc jumped 3.4% to $28.37 after the cloud computing company said first quarter revenues rose 34#.5 to $85.4 million and net loss jumped to $32.8 million or 38 cents a share from $22.6 million or 27 cents a share.
The quarterly results were ahead of expectations.
The company guided second quarter revenue between $87.0 million and $89.0 million an increase between 29% and 32% from a year ago and fiscal 2023 revenue of $364.0 million to $369.0 million, an increase between 29% and 31% from a year ago.
RH Inc decreased 2.9% to $296 million in premarket trading after the furniture retailer said first quarter revenues increased 11% to $957 million and net income jumped 54% to $201 million.
Diluted earnings per share soared to $12.16 from $4.19 a year ago.
The company's gross margin increased 480 basis points driven by product margin increase of 390 basis points as the retailer refrained from the industry-wide trend of discounting.
Tech Rally Lifts Nasdaq 2%, S&P 500 Adds 1.4%
Barry Adams
02 Jun, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks advanced and investors shook off Microsoft warnings and elevated oil prices and searched for bargains in tech stocks.
The S&P 500 index 1.4% to 4,158.45 and the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 2.4% to 12,286.23.
Tech stocks led the gainers and ignored Microsoft earnings and sales downward revision.
Microsoft fell as much as 3% before recovering to 0.5% to $273.31 after the company said revenues and earnings are likely to be lower than the previous guidance on the foreign exchange adjustments.
Diluted earnings per share in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in June is now expected to range between $2.24 and $2.34 from the previous estimate between $2.28 and $2.35.
The rally in tech stocks lifted Zoom Video Communications 4.5% to $112.54, Nvidia Corp 5.9% to $194.08, and Tesla Inc 5% to $778.70.
Meta Platforms gained 5.8% to $199.60 and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg resigned after guiding the company for 14 years.
Investors also parsed the latest earnings from Chewy, GameStop, MongoDB, PVH Corp, Victoria's Secret, and HP Enterprise.
Chewy soared 21.6% to $28.57 after the online pet food seller reported a surprise profit and said active customer base expanded by 4.2% to 20.6 million.
MongoDB jumped 17.8% to $284.90 after the database developer reported higher than expected sales and smaller than expected loss. The company also guided higher sales in the current quarter.
PVH Corp, the maker of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger branded apparel, jumped 2% to $72.26 after the company beat the earnings estimates.
Crude oil prices advanced $1.17 to $117.04 a barrel but natural gas prices eased 20 cents to $8.50 a unit.
Oil was in focus and fell as much as 2% before recovering ahead of the OPEC+ meeting today on the speculation that the alliance of oil producing nations and Russia will increase supply to Europe replacing the banned oil imports from Russia.
OPEC members agreed to bring forward the additional supply of 648,000 barrels of oil per day from the previous plan of 432,000 bpd over three months to September.
The stock market surge also pulled down the yield on 10-year Treasury notes to 2.917%.
Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims at the end of last week fell to 200,000, a decline of 11,000 from the upwardly revised previous week's data, the Labor Department moted in a report today.
A private survey conducted by ADP also showed private sector job additions declined to 128,000 in May, the slowest pace of increase in the last two years.
Investors are also looking ahead to Friday's employment report from the the Bureau of Labor Statistics and economists expect May job additions to be slower than 428,000 in April. Unemployment rate in the month held at 3.6%.
Economists estimate between 325,000 and 345,000 job additions in May.
PVH Corp, Parent of Calvin Klein, Lowered Annual Outlook
Scott Peters
02 Jun, 2022
New York City
PVH Corp, the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, said sales in the first quarter ending in April 2022 rose 2% to $2.123 billion and net income increased 33% to $133.1 million from a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share were ahead of expectations and rose to $1.94 from $1.38 a year ago.
Segment Sales
Tommy Hilfiger revenue increased 2% and advanced 7% on a constant currency basis, including a 2% decrease or 5% increase on a constant currency basis in International revenue and a 15% increase in North America revenue.
Calvin Klein revenue increased 13% and jumped 17% on a constant currency basis, including a 7% increase or 13% increase on a constant currency basis in International revenue and a 26% increase in North America.
Heritage Brands revenue dropped 31% from a year ago and includes a 42% decrease resulting from the Heritage Brands transaction and the exit from the Heritage Brands retail business.
In-transit inventories rose 10% from a year ago largely because of supply chain disruptions but total inventories fell 4% accounting for Heritage transaction and foreign exchange adjustments.
Stock Repurchase Plan
The Company repurchased 1.2 million shares of its common stock for $100 million during the first quarter of 2022 and has used $1.9 billion of its $3.0 billion stock repurchase program.
The company plans to increase its stock repurchases in 2022 to $400 million from $225 million, following the recently approved $1.0 billion increase to the stock repurchase authorization
Guidance and Outlook
The branded apparel maker lowered its full-year 2022 revenue growth estimate to between 1% and 2% from the earlier estimated range between 2% and 3%.
The company lowered its annual earnings per share outlook to $9.20 a share including the revised foreign exchange adjustment of 85 cents compared to previous estimate of 70 cents.
The apparel maker reported $13.25 a share in 2021.
Effective tax rate is expected to be higher than in 2021 and range between 28.5% and 29.5%.
Revenues in the second quarter is expected to range between 3% and 4% and earnings per share to range between $2.20 and $2.51.
Company and Stock
PVH Corp gained 1.8% to $72.63 after the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger reported quarterly results.
PVH has lost 32.7% in the year so far.
Movers: Chewy, Ciena, GameStop, Microsoft, MongoDB, PVH, Victoria's Secret
Barry Adams
02 Jun, 2022
New York City
Chewy Inc jumped 18.1% to $27.81 after the online pet care and food products retailer reported rising sales as consumers ordered healthcare and consumable items and avoided non-discretionary purchases.
Chewy said sales in the first quarter of 2022 rose 13.7% to $2.43 billion and net income fell 52.3% to $18.5 million.
During the quarter, auto shipments rose to 72.2% of total sales, a new record high for the online retailer.
Ciena Corp declined 1.3% to $50.68 after the networking gear maker said revenues in fiscal 2022 second quarter ending in April jumped 13.8% to $949.2 million and net income plunged 62.1% to $38.9 million or 25 cents from 66 cents a year ago.
The company said demand for its products are strong but supply chain constraints are increasing uncertainties.
GameStop Corp soared 4% to $124.32 after the retailer reported first quarter 2022 revenues increased 7.8% to $1.38 billion and net loss increased to $157.9 million from $66.8 million a year ago.
The company reiterated its commitment to launch NFT wallet in the second quarter and expand its digital assets beyond physical retail stores.
Land's End , Inc soared 18.6% to $13.22 after the apparel retailer said sales in the first quarter of 2022 ending in April declined 5.5% to $303.7 million and swung to a net loss of $2.4 million or 7 cents a share compared to net income of $2.6 million or 8 cents a share.
Inventories jumped 10% to $436.9 million from a year ago.
The retailer guided second quarter sales between $335 million and $350 million and net loss between $3 million and $6 million or 9 cents and 18 cents a share.
For fiscal 2022 the retailer estimated revenues between $1.62 billion and $1.68 billion and earnings per share between $20.0 million and $29.0 million or 60 and 88 cents a share.
Meta Platforms Inc rose 2.02% to $194.21 and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg resigned and was replaced by the current chief growth officer Javier Olivan.
Sandberg resigned after holding the position for a decade and guiding the company through a rapid growth phase.
Sandberg will continue as a board member.
Microsoft Corp fell 3% to $264.57 after the company said revenues and earnings are likely to lower than the previous guidance on the foreign exchange adjustments.
The software company lowered its annual sales outlook to a new range between $51.94 billion and $52.74 billion from the previous range between $52.40 and $53.20.
Diluted earnings per share in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in June is now expected to range between $2.24 and $2.34 from the previous estimate between $2.28 and $2.35.
MongoDB Inc soared 16.9% to $282.31 after the company reported sales in the first quarter 2023 increased 57% to $285.4 million and net loss increased to $77.3 million or $1.14 a share compared to a loss of $64.0 million or $1.04 a share.
The database developer guided second quarter revenues between $279.0 million and $282.0 million and fiscal 2023 revenues between $1,1172.0 million and 1,192.0 million.
Stock surged after the quarterly results were ahead of expectations of sales and net loss.
PVH Corp gained 1.8% to $72.63 after the parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said sales in the first quarter ending in April 2022 rose 2% to $2.123 billion and net income increased 33% to $133.1 million from a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share were ahead of expectations and rose to $1.94 from $1.38 a year ago.
The branded apparel maker lowered its full-year 2022 revenue growth estimate to between 1% and 2% from the earlier estimated range between 2% and 3%.
The company lowered its annual earnings per share outlook to $9.20 a share including the revised foreign exchange adjustment of 85 cents compared to previous estimate of 70 cents.
Victoria's Secret rose 1.6% to $45.60 after the intimate apparel retailer reported fist quarter 2022 sales declined 4.5% to $1.48 billion and net income declined to $80.8 million from $174.03 million a year ago.
The sales decline was driven by a 19.3% decline in direct or online sales to $420.6 million from $520.9 million a year ago.
U.S. Stocks Trend Lower On Microsoft Warning and OPEC Output Decision
Barry Adams
02 Jun, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks opened lower after the recession and rate worries drove the market sentiment and limited action from the OPEC+.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.25% to 4,091.89 and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.1% to 11,952.07.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes increased to 2.94%.
Microsoft fell 3% to $264.57 after the company said revenues and earnings are likely to lower than the previous guidance on the foreign exchange adjustments.
Diluted earnings per share in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in June is now expected to range between $2.24 and $2.34 from the previous estimate between $2.28 and $2.35.
Investors also parsed the latest earnings from Chewy, GameStop, Victoria's Secret, and HP Enterprise.
GameStop Corp soared 4% to $124.32 after the retailer reported first quarter 2022 revenues increased 7.8% to $1.38 billion and net loss increased to $157.9 million from $66.8 million a year ago.
The company reiterated its commitment to launch NFT wallet in the second quarter and expand its digital assets beyond physical retail stores.
Victoria's Secret rose 1.6% to $45.60 after the intimate apparel retailer reported fist quarter 2022 sales declined 4.5% to $1.48 billion and net income declined to $80.8 million from $174.03 million a year ago.
The sales decline was driven by a 19.3% decline in direct or online sales to $420.6 million from $520.9 million a year ago.
Oil was in focus and fell 2% ahead of the OPEC+ meeting today on the speculation that the alliance of oil producing nations and Russia will increase supply to Europe replacing the banned oil imports from Russia.
OPEC members agreed to bring forward the additional supply of 648,000 barrels of oil per day from the previous plan of 432,000 bpd over three months to September.
OPEC members have little spare capacity to boost the output.
European markets advanced after crude oil futures declined on the hopes that the Middle East nations will lift oil productions and increase supply to Europe after the region's leaders placed a ban on Russian oil.
The DAX index increased 0.6% to 14,427.07 and the CAC-40 index jumped 1.1% to 6,485.85
Markets in the U.K. are closed Thursday and Friday to mark the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
During the 70 years as the head of Commonwealth nations, Elizabeth II rarely promoted the interests of nations other than the U.K., supported the apartheid regime in South Africa, and has consistently rejected the returning of the stolen 105.6 carat Kohinoor diamond placed in the crown of Mother Queen.
Markets in Asia closed mixed with a downward bias after oil traded lower and investors remained focused on the rising inflation and slowing economies.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo declined 27,413.88, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.0% to 21,082.13, and the Sensex index in Mumbai jumped 0.8% to 55,818.11.
The index in Hong Kong fell after new coronavirus infections were detected in the city.
Chewy First Quarter Sales Rise 14%, Net Income Falls 52%
Anand Sheth
01 Jun, 2022
New York City
Chewy, the online pet care store, reported rising sales as consumers ordered healthcare and consumable items and avoided non-discretionary purchases.
Chewy, Inc said sales in the first quarter 2022 rose 13.7% to $2.43 billion and net income fell 52.3% to $18.5 million.
Net income included stock-based compensation and related tax expense of $27.2 million compared to $24.8 million a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share declined to 4 cents from 9 cents a year ago.
Despite the supply chain disruptions and higher freight costs gross margin fell only slightly lower by 10 basis points to 27.5% but 210 basis points higher sequentially compared to the fourth quarter 2021.
During the quarter, auto shipments rose to 72.2% of total sales, a new record high for the online retailer.
New and existing customers bought more items from the retailer and net sales per active customer rose 15% to $446, an increase of $86 or 24% in two years since the onset of the pandemic.
Active customer base also increased 4.2% to 20.6 million as many customers looked for alternative to other large online stores that ran out of products.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $82.4 million compared to $98.4 million in the first quarter of 2021.
Free cash flow declined to s $6.4 million compared to $59.5 million a year ago.
Inventories at the end of the quarter rose nearly 8% to $598.2 million from a year ago as the company focused on ordering more items in bulk.
Net income margin declined 100 basis points to 0.8% from a year ago.
Guidance and Outlook
The company reiterated its second quarter sales to increase between 13% to 14% to $2.43 billion and $2.46 billion.
Fiscal 2022 sales are estimated to increase between $10.2 billion and $10.4 billion, an increase between 15% and 17%.
The company also estimated adjusted EBIDA margin between breakeven and 1% increase in the fiscal 2022.
Company and Stock
Chewy, Inc is headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida and the company is active in pet care industry that generated about $117 billion in 2021.
Chewy closed down 5.3% to $23.49 in regular trading hours and jumped 18.8% to $27.90 in the after-hours trading.
Chewy stock has fallen 59.1% in the year so far.
Sentiment Sours On Economic Worries, Rising Mortgage Rates, and Elevated Energy Prices
Barry Adams
01 Jun, 2022
New York City
Market indexes in New York retained a downward bias on the worries that the U.S. economy may face stronger headwinds ahead.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.7% to 4,101.79 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 11,994.45.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes increased to 2.935%.
The futures of crude oil jumped 69 cents to $115.37 a barrel and natural gas jumped 7% to $8.53 a mBTU unit.
In volatile trading, market indexes opened higher and quickly dropped below the flatline after the the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the JOLTS or Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The indexes continued to decline for the next three hours and touched the intra-day low before 1:00 p.m. ET but managed to rebound and erased most of the losses before 3 p.m. ET.
In the final hour of trading, stocks lacked direction and closed down.
The job openings declined 445,000 from an upwardly revised record 11.855 million in March.
The gap between the number of people searching for jobs and available jobs shrank to 5.46 million in April from 5.6 million in March.
Job openings as a share of the labor force declined to 7%.
Recent comments from JPMorgan Chairman Jamie Dimon also weighed on the market.
The economy is "headed for a hurricane" and "you better brace yourself" and no one knows if the hurricane is
April Job Openings Ease from Record March 11.9 Million
Brian Turner
01 Jun, 2022
New York City
Job openings eased in April but still remained above 11 million indicating tight labor market conditions.
The openings declined 445,000 in April from an upwardly revised record 11.855 million in March.
New hires in the month were little unchanged at 6.6 million and separations including quits and layoffs were also nearly unchanged at 6.0 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The JOLT survey, based on 20,700 companies of the nearly 9.4 million establishments, showed job openings declined but were still strong at 11.4 million.
The largest increases were in transportation, warehousing, and utilities with 97,000 job openings followed by nondurable goods manufacturing with 67,000; and durable goods manufacturing with 53,000.
The largest decreases in job openings were in health care and social assistance with 266,000, retail trade with 162,000, and accommodation and food services with 113,000.
Total job openings rate declined to 7.0% in April from 7.3% in March.
Large number of hires and separations occur in the U.S. economy indicating its dynamism.
Hires totaled 78.0 million and separations totaled 71.6 million, yielding a net employment gain of 6.4 million, in 12 months to April.
These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.
Movers: Chewy, Delta Air, Levi Strauss, HP, Salesforce, Sportsman's Warehouse
Barry Adams
01 Jun, 2022
New York City
Chewy Inc declined 6.05% to $23.30 ahead of the online pet food retailer's first quarter earnings after the market-close today.
The analysts are expecting the company to report first quarter 2022 revenues of at least $2.41 billion and net loss of 10 cents a share, according to a survey conducted by Refinitive.
Sales in fiscal 2021 ending in January jumped 24% to $8.89 billion and net loss of $63.6 billion.
Delta Air Lines dropped 5.4% to $39.45 after the company said in a regulatory filing that it expects to reach revenues this quarter matching the 2019 levels on strong travel demands and higher fares surpassing the higher fuel costs.
The airline revised higher operating margin between 13% and 14% from the previous estimate between 12% and 14%.
The company also estimated $1.5 billion of free cash flow and adjusted net debt below $20 billion.
American Airlines dropped 3.5% and United Airlines declined 4.5% after the Memorial Day weekend saw as many as 7,000 flight cancellations and stranded thousands of passengers in bad weather.
Levi Strauss jumped 0.7% to $18.29 after the company unveiled its five-year plan to accelerate sales and triple its e-commerce sales in the period and set the target of 2027 revenues between $9 billion and $10 billion reflecting 6% to 8% of organic annual growth.
The Board of Directors also authorized repurchase of $700 million of its stock.
HP Inc rose 2.8% to $39.92 after the computer and peripheral maker said second quarter sales increased 3.9% to $16.5 billion and net income declined 19% to $1.0 billion.
During the quarter, free cash flow declined 74% to $400 million.
The company estimated for the fiscal third quarter 2022 diluted earnings per share between 91 cents and 96 cents and for the full-year between $3.79 and $3.93.
Salesforce Inc jumped 9.3% to $175.41 after the company reported April quarter revenues rose 24% to $7.41 billion and net income dropped 94% to $98 million.
The company lifted its fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings outlook between $4.74 and $4.76 a share from the previous estimate between $4.62 and $4.64.
Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings dropped 7.8% to $8.73 after the retailer said sales in the first quarter ending in April declined 3.5% to $309.5 million.
Same store sales fell 11.5% on lower demand and customers retrenched on rising inflation and food prices and ending of the stimulus payments.
Net income declined to $2 million of 5 cents a share compared to $10.5 million or 23 cents a year ago.
In the second quarter, the retailer anticipates same store sales to fall between 10% and 16% and total sales between $330 million and $350 million and adjusted earnings between 22 cents and 30 cents a share.
Stocks Drop After JOBS Report and Dimon Hurricane Comments
Barry Adams
01 Jun, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks struggled after the latest employment survey showed a sharp decline in available jobs.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.6% to 4,105.29 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 12,055.70.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes increased to 2.93%.
The futures of crude oil jumped 2% to $116.15 a barrel and natural gas jumped 5% to $8.53 a mBTU unit.
In volatile trading, market indexes opened higher and quickly dropped below the flatline after the the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the JOLTS or Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The job openings declined 445,000 from an upwardly revised 11.855 million in March.
The gap between the number of people searching for jobs and available jobs shrank to 5.46 million in April from 5.6 million in March.
Job openings as a share of the labor force declined to 7%.
Recent comments from JPMorgan Chairman Jamie Dimon also weighed on the market.
The economy is "headed for a hurricane" and "you better brace yourself" and no one knows if the hurricane is
U.S. Indexes Extend May Losses
Barry Adams
31 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks closed down after lackluster trading and inflation and oil prices weighed on the market sentiment.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.6% to 4132.12 and the Nasdaq Composite index edged down 0.54% to 12,081.39.
In May, the S&P 500 index fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 3.6% after a month of wild trading.
Home prices continued to advance in March despite the rising mortgage rates.
The controversial S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA index showed 3-month average prices to March increased 20.6% after rising at 20% in February.
The price index in 20 metropolitan cities surged 21.2% from 20.3% in February and in 10-city composite increased 19.5% from 18.7% in the previous month.
Tampa, Phoenix, and Miami reported the largest annual gains among the 20 cities in March.
Tampa led the list with 34.8% annual price increase, followed by Phoenix with a 32.4% increase, and Miami with a 32.0% increase.
Inflation worries resurfaced after crude oil extended gains and reached a new 8-yeare high.
Energy prices advanced after China eased restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai and activities are expected to pick up across large cities.
Moreover, European Union leaders except Hungary, agreed to ban most oil products from Russia by the year's end.
Futures of crude oil jumped as much as 4% in early trading but closed up 34 cents to $115.44 a barrel and natural gas declined 51 cents or 5.1% to $8.22 a unit.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes increased a fraction to 2.855%.
Euro zone consumer price index jumped to more than expected 8.1% and France and Austria also reported record high inflation not seen in the last several decades.
The latest data from the Eurostat, the statistics office in the currency union, showed consumer prices harmonized in May rose 8.1% after rising at 7.4% in April, seventh monthly record increase in a row.
May Inflation in France jumped to 5.8% from 5.4% in April and in Germany surged to 8.7% from 7.8% in April.
Harmonized inflation in Italy rose 7.3% in May from 6.3% in April.
The main driver of inflation in the region is the 39.2% surge in crude oil prices in May after rising 37.5% in April.
The DAX index declined 1.3% to 14,388.35, the CAC 40 index dropped 1.4% to 6,468.30, and the FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 7,607.66.
Chinese stocks trading in New York jumped after residents are allowed to visit malls, public places, and parks from June 1.
Workers are also scheduled to return to office after the easing of the Covid restrictions from next month.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd jumped 3.4% to $96.62, JD.com jumped 52% to $56.51, Baidu Inc jumped 3.1% to $143.38, and Nio Inc jumped 5% to $17.41.
Healthcare stocks led the decliners. UnitedHealth declined 2% to $496.93, Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 0.6% to $43.99, Cigna Group declined 0.7% to $270.19, and HCA Healthcare fell 2.01% to $211.06.
Cracker Barrel declined 3% to $101.99 and extended loss in the year so far to 22.5% ahead of the release of its earnings on June 6.
Movers: Alibaba, American Eagle, Cracker Barrel, Kirkland's, Nio, PVH
Barry Adams
31 May, 2022
New York City
Chinese stocks trading in New York jumped after residents are allowed to visit malls, public places, and parks from June 1.
Workers are also scheduled to return to office after the easing of the Covid restrictions from next month.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd jumped 3.4% to $96.62, JD.com jumped 52% to $56.51, Baidu Inc jumped 3.1% to $143.38, and Nio Inc jumped 5% to $17.41.
Healthcare stocks led the decliners.
UnitedHealth declined 2% to $496.93, Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 0.6% to $43.99, Cigna Group declined 0.7% to $270.19, and HCA Healthcare fell 2.01% to $211.06.
Cracker Barrel declined 3% to $101.99 and extended loss in the year so far to 22.5% ahead of the release of its earnings on June 6th.
American Eagle Outfitters declined 7.5% to $12.11 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock "underweight" and added the rating could sink further citing margin pressures and inventory challenges.
PVH Corp gained 0.1% to $70.87 ahead of its first quarter 2022 earnings release on June 2.
The Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger apparel maker reported $1.92 a share in the first quarter 2021 beating the consensus estimate of 93 cents.
Kirkland's declined 14.7% to $5.79 after the retailer of home decor, furnishing and gifts reported first quarter 2022 net sales declined 18% to $103 million on 15.8% fall in comparable sales from a year ago.
In the quarter, the retailer swung to a loss of $7.9 million or 63 cents a share from profit of $1.7 million or 11 cents a share.
The retailer shifting consumer priorities on rising inflation and energy prices and supply chain disruptions and elevated freight rates also impacted quarterly results.
Kirkland's stock has declined 63% in the year-so-far.
Tampa, Phoenix, and Miami Lead Home Price Increase in March
Brian Turner
31 May, 2022
New York City
Home prices continued to advance in March despite the rising mortgage rates.
The controversial S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA index showed 3-month average prices to March increased 20.6% after rising at 20% in February.
The price index in 20 metropolitan cities surged 21.2% from 20.3% in February and in 10-city composite increased 19.5% from 18.7% in the previous month.
Tampa, Phoenix, and Miami reported the largest annual gains among the 20 cities in March.
Tampa led the list with 34.8% annual price increase, followed by Phoenix with a 32.4% increase, and Miami with a 32.0% increase.
Seventeen of the 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending March 2022 versus the year ending February 2022.
"Those of us who have been anticipating a deceleration in the growth rate of U.S. home prices will have to wait at least a month longer," says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI.
On a monthly basis and before adjusted for seasonal factors, home prices rose 2.6% across the nation, jumped 2.8% and 3.1% across 10 and 20 city composites.
After leading the national price increase for nearly three years, Phoenix was replaced by Tampa for the first time.
Home price index in Tampa soared 248% in March followed by 32.4% in Phoenix and 32% in Miami.
Average mortgage rate across the country was reported at 3.29% in January and jumped to 4.67% in March according to the data reported by Mortgage News Daily.
Mortgage rates have continued to rise since then and peaked 5.57% in May.
New and existing home sales have been falling for more than three months and home supplies available for sales are increasing as more homeowners are listing properties before the hot market cools.
U.S. Stocks Turn Lower After Oil Jumps 3%
Barry Adams
31 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks turned lower after crude oil prices extended gains and eurozone inflation touched multi-decade higher.
The S&P 500 index declined 1.1% to 4,114.08 and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.2% to 11,984.17.
Crude oil futures in New York gained 3.5% to $119.10 a barrel after the European Union imposed a partial ban on the import of Russian crude oil and energy products.
Euro zone consumer price index jumped to more than expected 8.1% and France and Austria also reported record high inflation not seen in the last several decades.
The latest data from the Eurostat, the statistics office in the currency union, showed consumer prices harmonized in May rose 8.1% after rising at 7.4% in April, seventh monthly record increase in a row.
May Inflation in France jumped to 5.8% from 5.4% in April and in Germany surged to 8.7% from 7.8% in April.
Harmonized inflation in Italy rose 7.3% in May from 6.3% in April.
The main driver of inflation in the region is the 39.2% surge in crude oil prices in May after rising 37.5% in April.
In today's trading crude oil prices increased 1.5% to $119.81 in London, U.K. trading after the European Union leaders proposed to partially ban Russian oil imports.
The popular indexes in New York reversed course after a week of rise that lifted the S&P 500 index 6.5% and the Nasdaq Composite index 6.8%.
The indexes were also under the pressure after the oil prices reached a new 8-year high and investors recalibrated economic slow down prospects.
Crude oil prices also gained after China eased restrictions on return to office work and social gathering in Beijing and Shanghai.
Investors are also looking ahead to earnings from more than 150 companies this week including results from Salesforce.com, Victoria's Secret, HP, Chewy, Lululemon Athletica, and Veeva Systems.