Market Update
DoorDash Gross Orders and Revenues Jump, Holds $4 Billion Cash and No Debt
Scott Peters
06 May, 2022
New York City
DoorDash Inc reported first quarter revenues increased 40% to $1.5 billion and net loss jumped 50% to $167 million.
Diluted loss per share rose to 48 cents from 34 cents a year ago.
In the quarter, total orders increased 23% to 404 million and gross marketplace volume increased 23% to $12.4 billion.
Revenues in the quarter rose at a faster rate than in the gross market volume because of higher cost of delivery and extreme weather in the quarter a year ago.
Revenue margin, revenues as a percentage of gross order volume, increased to 11.8% from 10.9% a year ago.
Operating cash flow in the quarter was negative $20 million and free cash flow was negative $91 million.
For the trailing 12 months, operating cash flow was $506 million and free cash flow was $252 million.
The company still expects positive cash flow in the full-year 2022 and at the end of the quarter held $4.2 billion in cash, cash equivalent, liquid investments and no debt.
Guidance and Outlook
The company guided second quarter gross market volume between $12.1 billion and $12.5 billion and adjusted operating earnings between breakeven and $100 million.
The company revised higher full-year 2022 gross market volume range to between $49.0 billion and $51.0 billion from the previous estimate of $48.0 billion and $50.0 billion.
The company reiterated its adjusted operating earnings range between breakeven and $500 million.
Company and Stock
The company also confirmed that the acquisition of Helsinki-based Wolt, European delivery company, announced in November 2021 for all-stock $8.1 billion is expected to close in the second quarter 2022.
With the acquisition of Wolt, the company will expand into 23 new countries in Europe including Germany, Poland, and Czechia and Kazakhstan and Cyprus.
DoorDash Inc is headquartered in San Francisco, California and employs about 8,600 people.
DoorDash stock after the earnings release increased 45 cents to $73.52 and for the year-to-date declined 49.4%.
Movers: Cigna, Clouflare, DraftKings, DoorDash, Live Nation, Under Armour, Shake Shack
Barry Adams
06 May, 2022
New York City
Cigna Corp increased 4.7% to $263.09 after the health insurance company reported first quarter revenues rose nearly 10% to $44 billion and net income increased 18% to $1.9 billion or $3.68 a share.
Specialty pharmacy business recorded a strong revenue growth of 10% to $33.5 billion in the quarter.
Cloudflare Inc fell 19.7% to $62.21 after the internet security company reported first quarter revenues rose 54% to $212.2 million and net loss increased slightly to $41.4 million or 13 cents a share from a year ago.
The company guided second quarter revenues between $226.5 million and $227.5 million and non-GAAP earnings between a loss of 1 cent and breakeven.
Full-year revenues between $955 million and $959 million and non-GAAP earnings between 3 cents and 4 cents a share.
DraftKings Inc declined 5.7% to $13.73 after the sports betting company reported March quarter revenues soared 34% to $417 million and monthly unique paying customers increased 29% to 2 million.
The company lifted its fiscal year 2022 revenue guidance from a range of $1.85 billion to $2.0 billion to a range of $1.925 billion to $2.025 billion.
The company also improved its fiscal year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA guidance from between a loss of $825 million and $925 million to between a loss of $760 million and $840 million.
DoorDash Inc dropped 11% before rebounding 3% after the food delivery company reported strong quarterly results.
Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion and orders delivered rose 23% to 403 million from a year ago.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc rebounded to unchanged after dropping as much as 9% after the concert ticketing company reported first quarter revenues increased six-fold to $1.8 billion and profit was $27.1 million compared to a loss of $303 million a year ago.
The company sold about 11 million tickets in the first quarter compared to 15 million in the similar quarter in 2019.
Gross ticket volume in the first quarter was the second best in the company's history.
Cvent Holding and Eventbrite Inc fell as much as 10%.
Shake Shack Inc decreased 5.2% to $53.16 after the fast food restaurant chain reported first quarter sales increased 31% to $203.4 million and comparable stores sales rose 10.9%.
The company reported a quarterly loss of $10.2 million or 26 cents a share compared to profit of $0.6 million or 3 cents a share.
Under Armour Inc plunged 27.2% to $10.44 after the apparel retailer reported March quarter revenues rose 3% to $1.3 billion and gross margin declined 350 basis points to 46.5%
The fashion retailer guided fiscal year 2023 revenues to increase between 5% and 7% to $5.7 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share between 63 cents and 68 cents compared to 68 cents in the baseline period.
The company recently changed its fiscal year from December 31 to March 31 and there will be no fiscal year 2022.
Zillow Group declined 11.3% to $35.29 after the company guided softening market conditions in the second quarter.
The real estate platform and a brokerage group reported 211 million unique visitors in the month. Consolidated revenues increased about 10% to $536 million, excluding the home flipping business.
The company guided core business - Internet, media, and technology segment - revenues in the June 1uarter between $472 million and $492 million.
U.S. Employers Added 428,000 Jobs, Labor Participation Rate Falls
Brian Turner
06 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. employers added jobs at a slower pace in April broadly and a sustained recovery in the labor market extends to the 12th month in a row.
Non-farm payroll increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate held at 3.6% from March.
Hospitality and leisure sector led the job growth in the month with 78,000 additions, manufacturing added 55,000, and transportation and warehousing jobs increased by 52,000.
Financial activities added 35,000 jobs and healthcare employment increased 34,000.
Average hourly earnings rose 10 cents or 0.3% to $31.85 or increased 5.5% on a 12-month basis.
March payroll increase was revised down 36,000 to 714,000 and February data was revised lower 3,000 to 428,000.
Labor force participation rate held at 62.2% and the employment-population ratio stayed nearly unchanged at 60.0% compared to a month ago.
Civilian labor force unexpectedly shrank 363,000 to 164.04 million and labor force participation rate declined 0.2 percentage point from March to 62.2%.
The latest jobs report is not likely to sway the Federal Reserve from its stated policy of slow tightening.
Month-to-month decline in labor participation rate may be a one-month noise or indicate a trend reversal, but the rate data will be closely watched in the months to come.
The Fed is hoping to cool the labor demand by slowing the economy if not enough people join the labor market in the coming months.
Prior to the pandemic, the civilian labor force peaked at 164.5 million in February 2020 with the participation rate peaking at 63.4% in the month.
U.S. Indexes Drop 1% After Strong Jobs Report
Barry Adams
06 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. market indexes turned lower at the opening and accelerated declines after 20 minutes of trading.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.8% or 73.8 points and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 2.4% or 289 points.
The U.S. stock decline on Thursday erased more than the gains in Wednesday's trading on the worries that the Fed's response to the latest bout of inflation is not going to be adequate and labor markets conditions remain tight.
The latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor indicated employment increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate was 3.6% matching the rate in March.
UnderArmour plunged more than 19% after the apparel company reported adjusted profit of 1 cents below the estimated range between 3 and 6 cents. The company also issued a weaker-than-expected outlook.
Zillow Group fell 15% after the real estate broker reported strong quarterly results but issued weak annual outlook.
DoorDash Inc gained 2% after the delivery company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the orders delivered rose 23% from a year ago to 402 million.
Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion.
In Europe, the DAX index and the CAC-40 index declined 1.2% and the FTSE index fell 1% after the Bank of England yesterday estimated that the elevated energy prices are pushing the U.K. economy to a sharp slowdown.
In Asian markets, the Nikkei index edged up 0.7% but the indexes in Hong Kong declined 3.8% and in Shanghai dropped 2.2%.
Markets in China were on the defensive after top Chinese leaders issued strongly worded public comments in support of the zero-Covid policy.
China's premier Xi Jinping and other top leaders reiterated strong support for zero-Covid policy and sent strongest warnings to anyone doubting the government's commitment to zero-Covid policy.
Dozens of cities in China are going through severe restrictions or lockdowns.
In a broad sell-off in Mumbai, banks led the losers and small and mid-cap indexes also dropped more than 1%.
The rupee declined 57 cents to 76.92 against a dollar and crude oil edged up 2% in international trading to $113.46 a barrel.
Etsy Net Income Falls 40% After Platform Sales Volume Drops
Scott Peters
05 May, 2022
New York City
Etsy, Inc, the online marketplace, reported first quarter revenues increased 5.2% to $579.2 million and net income fell 40.1% to $86.1 million from a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share fell to 68 cents from $1.14 a year ago.
Consolidated gross market sales increased 3.5% to $3.3 billion and sales on the Etsy platform decreased 2.0% to $2.8 billion from a year ago
Consolidated gross market sales fell 20% from $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter 2021.
Active sellers in the quarter increased 63% to 7.6 million and buyers rose 4.9% to 95.1 million.
The company repurchases 420,398 shares for $68 million in the first quarter and the quarter with $1.0 billion in cash and cash equivalent and marketable securities.
Guidance and Outlook
The company guided between $540 million and $590 million revenues in the second quarter and gross marketplace sales between $2.9 billion and $3.2 billion and adjusted operating earnings margin of 25%.
Company and Stock
Etsy Inc is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and employs about 2,400 people.
In today's trading, Etsy, Inc plunged 16.8% to close at $90.93 and has declined 57% in the year-so-far.
Stock Indexes Plunge On Fears Rates Will Lag Inflation For Months
Barry Adams
05 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. indexes opened lower and accelerated declines after investors digested Fed action and comments and reassessed the Fed's plan in combating inflation.
Fed Chairman Powell's comments suggested that the larger monetary tightening is not on the table unless the new economic data requires.
The S&P 500 index plunged 3.6% to 4,146.87 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 5% to 12,317.69.
10-year U.S. Treasury yield jumped to close at 3.09% and crude oil advanced 50 cents to close at $108.34.
Chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference after the rate decision yesterday highlighted the need to bring down the inflation from the current 8.5% rate to the Fed target rate of 2%.
However, Powell also added "our tools do not do well" with supply side shocks.
Chairman Powell added that the Fed is powerless in impacting the Inflation emanating from the rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to China's Covid-19 lockdowns.
Powell went on to add that the "economy is strong" and "labor markets are stronger" and the labor market imbalance needs to be reduced using monetary policy tools.
The JOLT report released by the U.S. Department of Labor indicated there are at least 11.5 million job openings and 6.5 million people are looking for work.
Yet, the labor participation rate is held steady between 61% and 63% and the rate is expected to decline.
In a broad sell-off, tech stocks led the losers and e-commerce stocks plunged more than 15%.
Ebay, Etsy, Wayfair, Shopify dropped between 11% and 26%.
Large tech companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Alphabet declined between 4%and 6%.
European markets traded higher but turned negative after the U.S. indexes accelerated losses.
The DAX index fell 0.5% in Frankfurt, the CAC-40 index declined 0.4% in Paris, and the FTSE 100 index closed up 0.1% after rising as much as 1.3%.
The U.K. pound tumbled after the Bank of England lifted the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1%.
The central bank raised rates for the fourth time in a row and highlighted the risk of economic slowdown and added that the inflation is likely to peak around 10%.
The pound dropped 2% and fell to $1.23.
Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed today.
Market indexes in Mumbai surged at opening after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key rate 50 basis points and said that the faster rate increase of 75 basis points is not discussed at least for the next couple of meetings.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.4% after China's service sector contracted at the second fastest pace in April and on the ongoing China lockdowns and tech sector crackdown worries.
The ASX 200 index in Sydney rose 0.8%.
Shopify Swings to Quarterly Loss After Growth Skids
Scott Peters
05 May, 2022
New York City
Shopify Inc, the online merchant services provider, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenues of $1.2 billion, an increase of 22% from a year ago.
Monthly recurring revenues increased 17% to $105.2 million.
Net loss in the quarter was $1.5 billion compared to $1.3 billion of net income. Diluted loss per share was $11.70 compared to net income of $9.94.
Subscription revenues increased 8% to $344.8 million as more merchants joined the platform.
Gross merchandise volume increased 16% to $43.2 billion and gross payment volume rose 46% to $22 billion.
Merchant solutions which include the fees received for processing payment increased 29% to 858.9 million from a year ago.
Adjusted operating earnings were $31.9 million or 3% of revenues in the quarter compared to $210.8 million or 21% of revenues in the quarter a year ago.
The company also announced plans to acquire San Francisco-based merchant fulfillment services provider Deliverr for $2.1 billion paid 80% in cash and 20% in Shopify Class A Subordinate Voting Shares.
Deliverr ships over one million orders a month across the United States.
At the end of the quarter, Shopify had $7.25 billion in cash equivalent compared to $7.77 billion a year ago.
Guidance and Outlook
The company guided lower revenues in the first-half compared to the period a year ago after eliminating certain revenue sharing fees with smaller merchants with less than one million in revenues.
Subscription revenues growth are estimated to match the 2021 growth levels and merchant revenues are estimated to be twice the rate of subscription revenues growth.
The company estimates capital expenditure of $200 million and stock-based compensation including payroll taxes of $800 million.
Shopify Inc is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and employs about 10,000 people.
In today's trading, Shopify stock declined 15.8% to $409.37 and has fallen 70% in the year-so-far.
Tripadvisor Revenues Double as Travel, Dining Pick Up
Scott Peters
05 May, 2022
New York City
Tripadvisor, Inc reported first quarter 2022 revenues increased 113% to $262 million and net loss declined to $34 million from $80 million.
Revenues in the quarter were 70% of the comparable period in 2019.
Diluted loss per share declined 75% to $13 million from a loss of $75 million a year ago.
Hotels, media, and platform segment revenues soared 82% to $160 million and experiences and dining segment revenues surged 229% to $92 million.
In the first quarter average monthly unique users on Tripadvisor-branded websites rose 27% from a year ago and reached 71% in the comparable period in 2019.
The company appointed media veteran Matt Goldberg as its chief executive officer replacing long-time CEO and co-founder Stephen Kaufer.
Tripadvisor Inc is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts.
Tripadvisor stock increased 2.4% to $25.14 and has declined 11.4% in the year-so-far.
Wayfair Swings to Quarterly Loss, Orders Plunge 33%
Scott Peters
05 May, 2022
New York City
Wayfair Inc, the online home furnishing platform reported March quarter total net revenues declined 13.9% to $3.0 billion and the U.S. net revenues fell 9.9% to $2.5 billion.
The company also reported a quarterly loss of $319 million compared to $18 million a year ago.
International revenues fell 31.4% to $500 million and the decline in constant currency was 29.6%.
Revenues per customer in the last 12 months increased 12.8% to $520 and order per customer decreased to 1.87 from 1.98 in the period ending in the first quarter 2021.
Number of active subscribers fell 23.4% to 25,6 million and orders delivered plunged 33% to 10 million from a year ago.
Average order increased 21% to $287 from $237 a year ago and about 60% of all orders were placed using mobile
Wayfair Inc is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and employs about 18,000 people.
Wayfair stock fell 24.25% to $68.73 and has fallen 65% in the year so far.
Movers: EPAM, Etsy, Shopify, Sprouts, Tripadvisor, Wayfair
Barry Adams
05 May, 2022
New York City
EPAM System, Inc surged 13.6% to $354.72 after the tech support services for social media marketing said first quarter revenues rose 50.1% to $1.2 billion but net income decreased 18% to $89.7 million.
The company also guided second quarter revenues of at least $1.14 billion and diluted earnings per share of at least 73 cents.
Etsy, Inc plunged 14.8% to $92.80 after the online marketplace reported consolidated gross market sales increased 3.5% to $3.3 billion.
First quarter revenues increased 5.2% to $579.2 million and net income fell 40.1% to $86.1 million from a year ago.
Active sellers in the quarter increased 63% to 7.6 million and buyers rose 4.9% to 95.1 million.
The company guided between $540 million and $590 million revenues in the second quarter and gross marketplace sales between $2.9 billion and $3.2 billion and adjusted operating earnings margin of 25%.
The Hain Celestial Group dropped 18.2% to $27.46 after the organic food maker reported March quarter revenues rose 2.1% to $502.9 million and net income fell about 30% to $24.5 million from a year ago.
Earnings per share declined to 24 cents in the quarter compared to 34 cents a year ago.
The company guided fiscal year fourth quarter 2022 adjusted revenues to increase in low to mid-single digit and adjusted annual net sales to be flat.
Shopify Inc plunged 17.6% to $399.10 after the online merchant services provider reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenues of $1.2 billion, an increase of 22% from a year ago.
Monthly recurring revenues increased 17% to $105.2 million.
Adjusted operating earnings were $31.9 million or 3% of revenues in the quarter compared to $210.8 million or 21% of revenues in the quarter a year ago.
The company also announced plans to acquire San Francisco-based merchant fulfillment services provider Deliverr for $2.1 billion.
Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc plunged 24% to $23.83 after the organic food retailer said first quarter revenues increased 4% to $1.6 billion and net income increased 6% to $88.3 million.
Earnings per share increased to 80 cents from 70 cents a year ago.
The food retailer also said its annual earnings per share, earnings, and revenues outlook is more likely to be near the low end of the previous guidance. Rising inflation is forcing more customers to buy fewer items in the store.
The company also guided second quarter comparable store sales to be "relatively flat" and earnings per share between 49 cents and 53 cents.
Tripadvisor, Inc rose 5.6% to $25.93 after the travel support services provider reported first quarter revenues increased 113% to $262 million and net loss declined to $34 million from $80 million.
The company also appointed media veteran Matt Goldberg as its chief executive officer.
Wayfair Inc plunged 18% to $75.05 after the online home furnishing store reported March quarter total net revenues declined 13.9% to $3.0 billion and the U.S. net revenues fell 9.9% to $2.5 billion.
The company also reported a quarterly loss of $319 million compared to $18 million a year ago.
Number of active subscribers fell 23.4% to 25,6 million and orders delivered plunged 33% to 10 million from a year ago.
Indexes Fall 4% On Fed's Inabilities In Controlling Supply Shocks
Barry Adams
05 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks turned negative at the opening and began erasing most of the gains logged a day ago after the Fed lifted rates as widely anticipated and for now rejected the need for faster rate hike.
The S&P 500 index gained 1.1% to 4,249.34 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.8% to 12,738.02.
Chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference after the rate decision yesterday highlighted the need to bring down the inflation from the current 8.5% rate to the Fed target rate of 2%.
However, Powell also added "our tools do not do well" with supply side shocks.
Chairman Powell added that the Fed is powerless in impacting the Inflation emanating from the rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to China's Covid-19 lockdowns.
Powell went on to add that the "economy is strong" and "labor markets are stronger" and the labor market imbalance can be brought in sync using monetary policy tools.
The JOLT report released by the U.S. Department of Labor indicated there are at least 11.5 million job openings and 6.5 million people are looking for work.
Yet, the labor participation rate is held steady between 61% and 63% and the rate is expected to decline.
European markets traded higher and the pound tumbled after the Bank of England lifted the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1%.
The central bank raised rates for the fourth time in a row and highlighted the risk of economic slowdown and added that the inflation is likely to peak around 10%.
The pound dropped 2% and fell to $1.23.
Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed today.
Market indexes in Mumbai surged at opening after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key rate 50 basis points and said that the faster rate increase of 75 basis points is not discussed at least for the next couple of meetings.
Benchmark indexes soared as much as 2% after 20 minutes of trading and traded in a tight range for the next two hours but erased most of the gains near close.
Tech stocks led the gainers followed by the strength in auto, steel, real estate and banks.
Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy, Nestle India, Maruti Suzuki and Ultratech Cement led gainers.
Life Insurance Corporation public offering was subscribed 91% with policyholders nearly three times and employees nearly two times subscribing the allocated quota.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.4% after China's service sector contracted at the second fastest pace in April and on the ongoing China lockdowns and tech sector crackdown worries.
The ASX 200 index in Sydney rose 0.8%.
Steady Rise In Monthly Trade Deficit for Two Years Reaches a New Record In March
Brian Turner
04 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high $109.8 billion in March from a revised $89.8 billion in February.
The trade deficit in goods and services are on the rise since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic on the rising demand driven by the government stimulus and near doubling of energy prices.
U.S. trade deficit in March 2020 was $47 billion and has risen steadily on the growing goods deficit from $68 billion to $128 billion in two years and the falling services surplus from $22 billion to $18 billion.
Total value of goods and services imports in the month soared 10.3% to $351.5 billion and exports rose 5.6% to $241.7 billion.
March merchandise exports increased $12.9 billion from February to $241.7 billion, and merchandise imports gained $32.9 billion to $351.5 billion.
Merchandise trade deficit increased to $128 billion from $107.7 billion in February.
Services exports in March increased slightly to $71 billion and imports edged up a fraction to $52.7 billion resulting in a slight increase in service surplus to $18.3 billion.
Year-to-date total exports increased 17.7% to $983.8 billion, total imports rose 23.8% to $485.6 billion and the trade deficit rose 41.5% to $288.8 billion from the same period a year ago.
Indexes Surge 3% After Powell Rejects Larger Rate Increases In Future
Barry Adams
04 May, 2022
New York City
U.S. stocks rallied after the Fed announced a widely expected rate hike of 0.5% and a plan to reduce the portfolio of government debt beginning next month.
The benchmark indexes rose sharply after the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell quashed the possibilities of larger rate hikes of 75 basis points.
The S&P 500 index jumped 3% to 4,300.17 and the Nasdaq Composite index added 3.2% to 12,964,86.
The Fed plans to let some of the maturing bonds roll-off and adjust the amount reinvested in government securities.
The Fed plans to let $30 billion of U.S. Treasury bonds and $17.5 billion of mortgage securities roll off for the next three months and then increase the cap to $60 billion a month.
At the proposed rate of caps, the Fed will shrink its portfolio by less than 10% over a year, if the plan is executed every month.
The 50 basis points is the largest increase that the policy committee has approved since May 2000 when the rates were increased to 6.5% after the collapse of internet stocks and dot com bubble.
In other economic news, U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high $109.8 billion in March from a revised $89.8 billion in February.
Imports in the month soared 10.3% to $351.5 billion and exports rose 5.6% to $241.7 billion.
Earnings were in focus also after AMD reported a surge in quarterly revenues and lifted the 2022 outlook, CVS earnings were ahead of expectations, and Airbnb said bookings have crossed pre-pandemic levels.
Stocks have rebounded for the second day in a row after the Nasdaq index lost the most since 2008 in April and the S&P 500's decline was the worst since March 2020 in the month.
In Europe, the DAX index fell 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.9% and the CAC-40 index declined 1.3%.
The European Union proposed a ban on Russian oil imports and is working to prepare sanctions on Russian military officials accused of war crimes.
Eurozone private sector activities rose to the highest level in seven months in April on the strength in the service sector. The economic activities are roaring back on the easing of pandemic related restrictions.
The S&P Global composite output index increased to 55.8 in April, the most since September 2021 and the services Purchasing Managers' Index increased to an eight-month high of 57.7 in April from 55.6 in March.
Activities in France picked up at the fastest pace in April since the start of 2018 and in Italy the activities rose for the fifteenth month in a row.
Volkswagen AG posted higher quarterly profit and said vehicle deliveries are expected to increase between 5% and 10% and said semiconductor supplies are expected to improve in the second-half.
First quarter earnings surged to 6.56 billion euros or 13.05 euros per share from 3.24 billion euros or 6.45 euros per share in the previous year.
In Asia, markets in Japan were closed for Greenery Day holiday, China for Labor Day, and Indonesia and Malaysia for Eid celebration.
The benchmark index in Hong Kong fell 1% and in Taiwan gained 0.4%. Market indexes in South Korea, New Zealand, and Singapore closed nearly unchanged.
Stocks in Mumbai plunged after the Reserve Bank of India announced a rate hike in a surprise move citing acute inflationary pressures.
The Sensex index declined 1,306.96 or 2.3% to 55,669.03 and the Nifty index fell 391.50 or 2.3% to 16,677.60.
The Reserve Bank of India increased repo rate 40 basis points to 4.4% and cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points to 4.5% from May 21.
Fed Takes Two-pronged Approach In Taming Inflation
Brian Turner
04 May, 2022
New York City
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lifted fed fund rates by 50 basis points and set the new target rate between 0.75% and 1%.
The central bank also proposed a plan to shrink its $9 trillion portfolio of government bonds beginning next month.
The two moves were widely anticipated by the market and stocks rallied after the release of the policy committee meeting statement and the plan.
The focus quickly shifted to the next policy meeting and investors are anticipating more aggressive rate hikes beginning June.
The Fed plans to let some of the maturing bonds roll-off and adjust the amount reinvested in government securities.
The Fed plans to let $30 billion of U.S. Treasury bonds and $17.5 billion of mortgage securities roll off for the next three months and then increase the cap to $60 billion a month.
At the proposed rate of caps, the Fed will shrink its portfolio by less than 10% over a year, if the plan is executed every month.
The 50 basis points is the largest increase that the policy committee has approved since May 2000 when the rates were increased to 6.5% after the collapse of internet stocks and dot com bubble.
Sustained hike in energy and home prices has lifted the consumer price inflation to a 4-decade high of 8.5% in March.
The Fed is hoping that its two-prong approach will cool down inflation and slow down the housing market.
For the year 2022, stocks and bonds have diverged in different directions and the S&P 500 index has fallen nearly 13% and the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds has jumped to 3%.
Airbnb Revenues, Gross Bookings, Average Daily Rate Jump
Scott Peters
04 May, 2022
New York City
Airbnb, Inc reported first quarter revenues increased 70% to $1,5 billion and net loss shrank to $19 million from $1.2 billion a year ago.
Diluted loss per share in the quarter fell to 3 cents from $1.95 a year ago.
Nights and experiences booked in the quarter jumped to $02.1 million from 64.4 million a year ago.
In the first quarter, gross booking volume soared to $17.2 billion from $10.3 billion a year ago.
The long-term stays of 28 days or more continue to be the fastest-growing category by trip length compared to 2019 and are at an all-time high.
Long-term stays accounted for 21% of gross nights booked in the first quarter 2022, up from 13% in the first quarter 2019 and down from 24% in the first quarter 2021.
In the quarter, the non-urban gross nights booked soared 80% from the first quarter in 2019 domestic gross nights booked also increased 65% in the period.
Gross nights booked to high-density urban destinations grew 80% compared to first quarter 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic first quarter 2019 levels, and gross nights booked for cross-border travel more than tripled from first quarter 2021, returning to near pre-pandemic first quarter 2019 levels.
U.S. and North America bookings in the quarter rose 25% from a year ago and jumped 55% from the first quarter in 2019.
EMEA bookings in the quarter rose 20% above the first quarter levels in 2019 but Asia Pacific travel remained depressed in the period as the region historically has relied on cross-border travel.
Latin America bookings in the quarter were 65% above the levels reached in the first quarter 2019.
Average daily rate increased 5% to $168 from the quarter a year ago surged 37% from the same period in 2019 driven by the price increase and business mix shift towards booking in North America, entire homes, non-urban destinations.