U.S. Indexes Advance After Strong Earnings and Retail Sales, Tesla Plans to Layoff 10% of Global Staff

Barry Adams
15 Apr, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street headed higher after investors reviewed the latest update on retail sales and a fresh batch of earnings and hoped that tensions in the Middle East would not escalate. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite advanced in Monday's trading after registering a loss in the previous two weeks in a row. 

Market sentiment was positive after U.S. retail sales in March rose 4% from a year ago and advanced 0.8% from the previous month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The larger-than-expected increase in retail sales helped market sentiment overcome the worries of a widening war in the Middle East. 

Iran conducted its missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli territory over the weekend, retaliating for Israel's military strike on Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1. 

The prospect of a wider war in the Middle East raised worries about crude oil supply disruptions and more attacks in the Red Sea. 

Crude oil futures prices traded volatile amid growing worries of supply disruptions in the Middle East, and Brent crude oil prices hovered near a five-month high of $84.62 a barrel in New York. 

Investors are hoping that Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will avoid a retaliatory strike and prevent the conflict from further escalating after U.S. President Joe Biden's administration urged Israel to restrain and exercise caution. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.4% to 5,141.18, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% to 16,197.63. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.95%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.63%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged up to 4.73%.

Crude oil prices surged after Iran conducted its first-ever direct attack on Israel in response to Israel's attack on Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1. 

WTI crude oil decreased $0.97 to $84.72 a barrel, and natural gas prices decreased 5 cents to $1.71 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $7.89 to $2,350.27 an ounce, and silver rose 78 cents to $28.62. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 106.11.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Tesla declined 2.8% to $166.26 on the news that the electric vehicle maker is planning to cut 10% of its global headcount. 

"We have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally.

 There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative, and hungry for the next growth phase cycle," said chief executive Elon Musk in a memo sent to employees. 

The electric vehicle industry news publication Electrek first reported on Tesla's internal memo. 

Charles Schwab increased 4% to $72.83 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results. 

Net revenue in the March quarter declined 7% to $4.7 billion from $5.1 billion, net income fell 15% to $1.36 billion from $1.60 billion, and diluted earnings per share dropped 18% to 68 cents from 73 cents a year ago. 

Net interest margin increased by 13 basis points from the previous quarter to 2.02% due to greater margin balance utilization and a decline in outstanding supplemental funding. 

Asset management and administration fees increased by 21% over the prior year to a record $1.3 billion. 

Goldman Sachs Group increased 3.8% to $404.40 after the financial services provider reported better-than-expected quarterly results. 

Net revenue in the first quarter rose 16% to $14.2 billion; net earnings increased 28% to $4.1 billion from $3.2 billion; and diluted earnings per share advanced 32% to $11.58 from $8.79 a year ago.