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China Stocks Slide, Auto Sales Fall 10%, Inflation Rises

Barry Adams
11 Apr, 2022
New York City

China stocks took another dive as Covid-19 lockdown begins to bite activities. Auto sales in March fell 10% from a year ago to 1.58 million as factories remain constrained and supply chains are disrupted. Producer price inflation increased higher than expected 8.3% in March. Guangzhou, the manufacturing hub, closed in-person schools. The EV maker Niio on Saturday suspended vehicle production.

SailPoint Jumps 29% on $6.9 Billion Buyout Offer

Bridgette Randall
11 Apr, 2022
New York City

SailPoint Technologies soared 30% after the company agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $6.9 billion or $65.25 a share. The cyber security and identity management firm has doubled its revenues in the last five years with mounting losses. SailPoint listed its stock for $12 a share in a public offering on Nov 17, 2017 and raised $240 million according to 123jump data.

Movers: Twitter, Shopify, Nvidia

Barry Adams
11 Apr, 2022
New York City

Tech stocks led the declines for the fourth week in a row and Microsoft, Tesla, AMD, Nvidia fell 3%.

Airlines stocks advanced ahead of Delta Air earnings. Twitter plunged after Tesla CEO Musk declined to join the Twitter board.

Shopify proposed to split stock 10-to-1 and increase CEO Lutke's voting power 40% from 34% and create founder share.

Nvidia said it plans to double its authorized shares.

Airlines Advance Ahead of Delta Air Earnings

Barry Adams
11 Apr, 2022
New York City

Airlines stocks advanced ahead of Delta Air earnings scheduled on Wednesday. Despite the surge in fuel cost in the previous quarter, jet fuel price increases are still lagging while the demand for leisure and corporate travel is healthier than a year ago. Leading airlines have shown the pricing power and domestic ticket costs are at least up 30% from the previous quarter.

Nsadaq 1% Loss Sets Negative Tone, 10-Year Bond at 2.77%

Barry Adams
11 Apr, 2022
New York City

Market indexes opened lower led by weakness in tech stocks for the fourth week in a row and bond yields climbed as investors prepared for faster than anticipated rise in interest rates. Earnings season is expected to pick up momentum this week with large banks and airlines scheduled to report. Crude oil prices fell in New York and international markets on China demand worries.

Macron in Tight French Presidential Election Runoff

Barry Adams
10 Apr, 2022
New York City

Emmannuel Macron and Marine Le Pen qualified for the second round of the French presidential election today. Macron led with 28.3% and Le Pen with 23.3% votes, according to the exit polls in Paris. President Macron is projected to win in the second round on April 24 but the election is too tight to call. Ten other candidates failed to qualify. The euro is expected to inch higher.

Tech Stocks Lead Decliners, Nasdaq's YTD Loss 13%

Brian Turner
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

Tech stocks led the decliners for the third week in a row and U.S. indexes closed mixed. Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3% on Friday capping the weekly loss of 3.9% while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and 1.3% respectively. Chipmakers led the weakness with persistent supply chain worries and growing threat of a recession. For the year, tech heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are down 13.4% and 6.4% respectively.

Freight Recession Worries Sink Transportation Stocks Lower

Brian Turner
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

Transportation stocks fell again on the rising supply chain disruptions linked to China and Europe and surging inflation in the U.S. The tight lockdowns in China, the rerouting of energy supplies in Europe, and the elevated inflation are trimming the freight demand volume in the U.S. UPS fell for the 8th day in a row and for the year the industry index is down 12%.

WD-40 Earnings Beat Lifts Stock, Gross Margin Fell

Scott Peters
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

WD-40 second quarter sales rose 16% to $130 million and net income gained 13% to $19.5 million from a year ago period. Diluted earnings per share rose to $1.41 from $1.24 but gross margins declined to 50.4% from 55.4%. The lubricant maker is planning to pass on higher prices and increase gross margins in the longer term and revised annual EPS range higher to between $5.14 and 5.27.

PriceSmart Comparable Stores Sales, Quarterly Sales Up 10%

Scott Peters
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

PriceSmart, the warehouse club operator said total sales in the fiscal second quarter increased 10.8% to $1.04 billion from a year ago and net income increased 11% to $31.5 million. Comparable store sales increased 10.3% from a year ago and the club operator opened 2 stores in 52 weeks totaling 49.

Movers: WD-40, PriceSmart, EPAM, Kroger, Target

Barry Adams
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

WD-40 soared after the lubricant maker reported stronger earnings. PriceSmart advanced in active volume after the warehouse club chain said comparable store sales increased 10.3%. EPAM Systems said it has terminated its operations in Russia and plans to spend as much as $100 million in assisting Ukrainian employees in relocating. Kroger and Target gained on broker recommendations.

10-Year Bond Yield at 2.69%, Commodities ETFs in Favor

Barry Adams
08 Apr, 2022
New York City

U.S. indexes are inching higher after a volatile week as investors digest the change of inflation stance by the Federal Reserve. For the week so far, Nasdaq Composite is down 2.6% and S&P 500 has fallen 1%. Investors continue to pour money into commodities ETFs. 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds are yielding near 2.69%, a steady rise from 1.63% at the start of the year.

U.S. Revokes Russia's Trade Status, Bans Luxury Exports and Energy, Alcohol Imports

Hossain Akhtar
07 Apr, 2022
New York City

The U.S. Senate in a unanimous vote approved to drop the most favored nation status of Russia and Belarus and ban oil and coal imports. The measure was also approved by the House The import ban against alcohol, diamonds, and seafood adds up to about $1 billion. Natural resources including silver, palladium, rhodium, plywood, and semi-finished steel will face higher import taxes replacing tariffs.

Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

Barry Adams
07 Apr, 2022
New York City

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed after a contentious battle by the U.S. Senate 53-47 vote as the Supreme Court Justice as the first black woman to serve on the bench. The 116th Justice Jackson will fill Stephen Breyer's seat at the end of this summer and diversify the bench but is unlikely to tilt the conservative ideology dominating the court.

Movers: HP, System1, Sprinklr

Barry Adams
07 Apr, 2022
New York City

HP Inc surged 15% after Warren Buffett controlled Berkshire Hathaway disclosed 11% stake in the company. System1 extended its week-long advance after the release of fourth-quarter earnings and better than expected outlook. Sprinklr, the customer experience software developer, reported higher than expected revenues and next quarter and annual revenues.

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