- Stocks Slide as Traders Await Nvidia Earnings: Markets Wrap
Stocks in Asia fell as a dearth of local drivers kept traders in wait mode until Nvidia Corp.’s results. The MSCI
Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.5%, paring its near 1% advance in the previous session. Shares in Japan and
Australia fell, while those in mainland China and Hong Kong traded mixed. US contracts climbed after Wall
Street benchmarks closed with gains, reversing earlier losses driven by an escalation in Russia’s war against
Ukraine. - Nasdaq jumps 1% as Wall Street looks past Russia-Ukraine tensions, Nvidia shares surge
The Nasdaq Composite gained Tuesday, driven by Nvidia shares, as investors shrugged off concerns of
mounting geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The Nasdaq popped 1.04% to finish at
18,987.47, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to end at 5,916.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped
120.66 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 43,268.94. - Crude oil prices steady after Ukraine hits Russia with U.S.-made, longer-range missiles
Crude oil futures held steady on Tuesday after Ukraine struck Russia with longer-range, U.S.-made missiles.
The strikes came after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use the longer-range missiles for limited
strikes in Russia in a major departure from Washington’s previous position. Russia’s defense ministry said
Tuesday that Ukraine hit a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACAMS missiles as tensions escalate in
Eastern Europe. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered Moscow’s threshold for using nuclear
weapons. - Gold gains on softer dollar, widening Russia-Ukraine tensions
Gold prices rose for a third consecutive session to a one-week high on Wednesday, driven by a softer dollar
and escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions that raised the demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold added 0.32%
to $2,640.19 per ounce by 0323 GMT, its highest since Nov. 11. U.S. gold futures climbed 0.5% to $2,643.70.
The U.S. dollar rally paused after hitting a one-year high last week, making bullion more appealing to buyers
holding other currencies. Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in
response to a broader range of conventional attacks, days after reports said Washington had allowed Ukraine
to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia. - China leaves loan prime rate unchanged amid stimulus, tariff watch
The People’s Bank of China left its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged on Wednesday, with Beijing
seeking more clarity on U.S. politics before unlocking more support for the economy. The PBOC kept its one
year LPR at 3.10% after cutting it by 25 basis points in October. The five-year LPR, which determines
mortgage rates, was left at 3.60% after a 25 bps cut in the prior month. - Powell’s Wait-and-See on Trump Policies Is a Switch From 2016
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he wants to wait and see what policies the incoming Trump
administration will implement before the central bank forecasts what it means for the economy. There’s
nothing to model right now, Powell said at his Nov. 7 press conference. We don’t guess, we don’t speculate
and we don’t assume. That’s not how the Fed responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s win in 2016,
transcripts from meetings at the time show. A month before the inauguration, the Fed’s staff began
forecasting a fiscal boost to growth that would be partly offset by higher interest rates, based on an
assumption that promised tax cuts would get passed. And several policymakers, including Powell, also
incorporated fiscal policy changes into their forecasts. - Warsh Seen by Markets as Seasoned Candidate to Lead US Treasury
President-elect Donald Trump has yet to announce his pick for Treasury secretary, but Kevin Warsh, a former
Federal Reserve board member well known to Wall Street, has at least won some backing in the bond
market. That’s how some strategists are reading the tea leaves from a rally in Treasuries Monday, following
news that Warsh is a new candidate to take the Treasury’s helm next year. The reporting may have been a
big factor in the rally that began Monday, Deutsche Bank AG’s Jim Reid told clients in a note. Commerzbank
AG’s Christoph Rieger similarly attributed the recovery to hopes Warsh gets the job. - Traders trim bets on big Canada rate cut after inflation uptick
Inflation in Canada rose by more than forecast and underlying price pressures reaccelerated, hiccups that
may dissuade policymakers from a second straight 50 basis-point cut to interest rates next month.
The consumer price index rose 2% in October on a yearly basis, up from a 1.6% increase a month earlier,
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa. That’s slightly faster than the median estimate of 1.9% in a
Bloomberg survey of economists. On a monthly basis, the index ticked up 0.4%, versus expectations for a
0.3% gain. It increased 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. - Japan exports rise more than expected in October, rebounding from 43-month low
Japan’s exports rose 3.1% year-on-year in October, a reversal from the 1.7% fall in September and also
beating expectations of a 2.2% rise from economists polled by Reuters. Imports to Asia’s second largest
economy rose 0.4%, compared to expectations of a 0.3% fall from the Reuters poll. - Russia says Ukraine attacked it using U.S. long-range missiles, signals it’s ready for nuclear response
Moscow signaled to the West that it’s ready for a nuclear confrontation. Ukrainian news outlets reported
early Tuesday that missiles had been used to attack a Russian military facility in the Bryansk border region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the attack. Mobile bomb shelters are going into mass production in
Russia, a government ministry said. - Doubts mount over Britain’s ambitious growth plans, with warnings of further tax rises possible
Doubts are mounting over the Labour government’s flagship growth and investment agenda, with one
analyst warning further tax rises could be on the horizon. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves last week
announced a series of reforms, including financial services deregulation and measures to boost pension
investments. These sort of regulatory changes, if they don’t get the economy moving, I think we’re looking at
more tax rises again, James Smith, economist at ING, told CNBC. - Walmart Inc. boosted its outlook for the year on a solid start to the holiday season and strong demand
from US consumers searching for value, sending shares up 3%
Though growth in the number of transactions slowed in the most recent quarter, Walmart shoppers spent
more in each checkout, on average. Most of that growth was driven by consumers from upper-income
households, or those earning $100,000 or more per year. Across the board, shoppers are being selective, but
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said they’re continuing to spend money at a consistent clip.
In these seasonal moments when people want to celebrate, they are spending into that, Rainey said. The
retailer said it now expects net sales to rise 4.8% to 5.1% for the year, versus the previous guidance of a
3.75% to 4.75% increase. Walmart is among the first big retailers to report earnings ahead of the all
important holiday period, which is shorter this year due to Thanksgiving falling later in November. The
retailer moved up Thanksgiving deals by a few weeks, in hopes of luring consumers feeling pinched by high
inflation and distracted by a turbulent election season. Executives said that the company is entering the
holidays season with momentum. So far, sales of AirPods, televisions and tires are selling well, Rainey said.
Walmart’s price changes were roughly flat for the quarter. Grocery prices were slightly higher than they were
last year, though other consumer products were cheaper. Rainey said clothing sales have been softer partly
because of warm weather. - Lowe’s Cos. extended its streak of declining sales during the third quarter as it continued to feel the
ripple effects of a weak housing market
Lowe’s said its comparable sales, a key metric for the retail industry, fell 1.1% for the period through Nov. 1.
That compared with a 2.7% drop that Wall Street analysts were expecting. High interest rates have weighed
on home improvement spending as US consumers continue to postpone buying houses and put off expensive
projects that may require financing. Lowe’s shares fell 4.6%. Still, the company raised its sales forecast for the
year, buoyed during the quarter by high-single-digit positive comps in the professional business, serving
contractors and others working on larger projects, strong online sales and spending on smaller-ticket outdoor
projects, Chief Executive Officer Marvin Ellison said. The company is seeing sustained strength in the
professional and online business, the CEO added. Increases in the professional category are driven by
investments to better serve its core small-to-medium sized Pro shopper. The company said it now expects
comparable sales to drop as much as 3.5%, versus the previous guidance of a 3.5% to 4% decline. That’s
slightly better than what analysts were expecting. - Shares of Keysight Technologies climbed 9.6% in afterhours trading, after the test-equipment maker
guided for higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal first quarter
FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS: Adjusted EPS $1.65 vs. $1.99 y/y, estimate $1.57. Revenue $1.29 billion, -1.8%
y/y, estimate $1.26 billion. The company expects first-quarter adjusted earnings for the three months ending
in January of $1.65 to $1.71, and revenue of $1.26 billion to $1.29 billion. Wall Street forecasted quarterly
adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share and revenue of $1.24 billion. The company’s outlook comes as it
reported a swing to a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter to reflect a $315 million tax expense related to a new
Singapore tax incentive. Still, its adjusted earnings and revenue came in ahead of expectations. - Xpeng reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the third quarter, driven by solid sales of popular new
models, and issued upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter
For the three months ending September, Xpeng’s non-GAAP net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed
to 1.5 billion yuan, outperforming analysts’ projection of a 1.6 billion yuan deficit. Revenue surged 18.4%
year-over-year to 10.1 billion yuan, exceeding the anticipated 9.9 billion yuan. The company posted a gross
margin of 15.3%, its highest quarterly figure since its US listing in 2020. Brian Gu, Xpeng’s vice-chairman and
co-president, attributed the improvement to technology-driven cost reductions and significant quarter-over
quarter volume growth, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of margin gains. US-listed shares in Xpeng rose
more than 4% in premarket trading Tuesday. - Super Micro shares soar over 30% after naming new auditor
Shares of Super Micro Computer Inc rose sharply in evening deals on Monday after it named BDO USA as its
auditor and said it had submitted a plan to the Nasdaq seeking more time to comply with listing rules. Super
Micro shares soared more than 32% to $28.54 by 05:55 ET (10:55 GMT). The server maker said it believed it
will be able to complete its annual and quarterly reports, although it did not specify when it would do so.
BDO is a highly respected accounting firm with global capabilities. This is an important next step to bring our
financial statements current, an effort we are pursuing with both diligence and urgency, Super Micro
President and CEO Charles Liang said in a statement. Super Micro’s shares had fallen sharply in October after
Ernst & Young resigned as the company’s auditor, citing concerns over internal controls and board
independence. The firm was also reportedly under federal investigation over a short seller report, and had
delayed filing its 2024 financial reports.
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