- Tech Reverses US Stock Losses, BOJ in Focus: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stellar earnings reports from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc triggered an after-hours tech rally that sent US futures higher. Japan’s stocks were rangebound before a monetary policy decision. Futures contracts for the S&P 500 rallied 0.8% in early Asian trading, while those for the Nasdaq 100 rose more than 1%. - Japanese yen weakens to 156 against dollar after Bank of Japan leaves rates unchanged
The Japanese yen slid to 156 against the U.S. dollar on Friday after the Bank of Japan left its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The BOJ kept its benchmark policy rate at 0%-0.1% as expected. Japan’s central bank also said it will continue to conduct bond purchases in line with the March decision. The yen touched fresh lows following the decision. - Oil Heads for Weekly Advance Ahead of Critical US Inflation Data
(Bloomberg) — Oil headed for a weekly gain ahead of US inflation data that may give further clues on the path forward for monetary policy, shaping appetite for risk assets including commodities such as crude. Brent rose above $89 a barrel and is up more than 2% for the week, while West Texas Intermediate was near $84. - Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino is selling $181.5 million worth of stock, SEC filing says
Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino, who announced his resignation earlier this month, is selling 1.14 million of his shares in the company worth $181.5 million, according to a filing with the SEC. Tesla is in the midst of a broad restructuring, cutting more than 10% of its global headcount and dedicating more resources to self-driving technology and robotaxi development. CEO Elon Musk said this week that, “If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company.” - Japan Is Ready to Intervene Even as BOJ Meets, History Shows
(Bloomberg) — History suggests that Japanese authorities are willing to intervene in the currency market even around the time that the central bank’s policy board is meeting. From 2003 to 2004, currency authorities sold yen for dollars on at least one day on nine Bank of Japan policy meetings, Ministry of Finance data show. - Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Say They Attacked Israel and Israeli Ship
(Bloomberg) — Yemen Houthi rebels said they attacked an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Aden, and southern Israel. Yahya Saree, spokesperson of the Houthi armed forces, said in a televised statement they attacked the Israeli ship MSC Darwin in the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones. - Anglo’s Stumbles Have Made It Prey for Mining’s Biggest Predator
(Bloomberg) — When former boss Mark Cutifani left Anglo American Plc in mid-April 2022, things had rarely looked better for the century-old miner. Metals prices soared as the world emerged from lockdowns, the company had recently posted its best-ever annual profit and the popular industry veteran was handing over to a trusted lieutenant. - Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence — WSJ
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank’s authority. - Lutnick Lands Wall Street Giants for His Futures Fight With CME
(Bloomberg) — Howard Lutnick is lining up some of Wall Street’s biggest power players for a fresh challenge to the behemoth of futures trading and interest-rate derivatives, CME Group Inc. The chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald got backing from Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. - Viking Raises $3.5 Billion After Opening Hedge Fund to New Cash
(Bloomberg) — Viking Global Investors gathered more than $3.5 billion for its flagship hedge fund after opening it to new cash for the first time in a decade, helping to boost the firm’s assets to $48.8 billion. Andreas Halvorsen’s stock-picking vehicle started fundraising in January 2023 to replace client withdrawals and to capitalize on market volatility. - Microsoft-Backed Rubrik Leads Debut Trio Setting Steady IPO Pace
(Bloomberg) — Rubrik Inc. rose 16% in its trading debut after the cloud and data security startup backed by Microsoft Corp. topped its fundraising goal with a $752 million initial public offering, signalling with two other listings sustained demand for first-time share sales. Orders for Rubrik’s IPO were more than 20 times the 23.5 million shares on offer, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details weren’t public. - Vista-Backed Solera Said to Seek More Than $1 Billion in IPO
(Bloomberg) — Vista Equity Partners-backed automotive data and software services provider Solera is weighing an initial public offering that may raise over $1 billion, according to people familiar with the situation. Westlake, Texas-based Solera has picked banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to work on the offering, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. - AstraZeneca shares rose 5.9% after the drugmaker reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter. Analysts praised the strong product sales growth and “exceptionally strong” start to the year.
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Core EPS $2.06 vs. $1.92 y/y, estimate $1.89. Core operating profit $4.31 billion, estimate $3.9 billion. Core operating margin 34%, estimate 33.7%. Revenue $12.68 billion, estimate $11.82 billion. R&D expenses $2.78 billion, estimate $2.4 billion. SG&A expense $4.50 billion, estimate $4.32 billion. - Unilever shares rose 5.7% after the consumer goods giant delivered a strong sales beat in the first quarter and showed volumes are improving.
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Underlying sales +4.4%, estimate +3.59%. Underlying volume +2.2%, estimate +1.57%. Underlying pricing +2.2%, estimate +1.99%. Revenue EU14.96 billion, estimate EU14.7 billion. Dividend per share EU0.4268. YEAR FORECAST: Still sees underlying sales +3% to +5%, estimate +3.92%. Citi (Cedric Besnard, buy, PT 5,000p): This was a “high quality” beat with improving volumes; Driven by beauty and home care products. “We see today as a re-rating event and think this opens a favourable catalyst path”. Sees scope for marginal earnings per share consensus upgrades. - Newmont shares soared 12.5% Thursday, the largest increase since April 2020, after the gold miner’s revenue beat the average analyst estimate.
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Adjusted EPS 55c, estimate 38c. Sales $4.02 billion, estimate $3.61 billion. Attributable gold production 1.68 million oz, estimate 1.61 million. Average realized gold price per oz sold $2,090, estimate $2,045. Adjusted Ebitda $1.69 billion, estimate $1.41 billion. Gold all-in sustaining cost per ounce $1,439, estimate $1,497. YEAR FORECAST: Still sees attributable gold production 6.93 million oz, estimate 6.74 million. Still sees gold all-in sustaining cost per ounce $1,400. - Southwest Air shares dropped 7% after the airline reported an adjusted loss per share for the first quarter of 36c, wider than the consensus analyst estimate and the prior-year quarter.
“While it is disappointing to incur a first quarter loss, we exited the quarter with healthy profits and margins in the month of March,” CEO Bob Jordan said. Bloomberg Intelligence: “Southwest guidance indicates that domestic US economy seats may have excess capacity, hurting fares,” writes analyst George Ferguson. Says that with fewer Boeing deliveries to the airline, fares should improve. - Microsoft Corp.’s shares rose 4.3% in afterhours trading as its quarterly sales and profit climbed more than projected, lifted by corporate demand for the software maker’s cloud and artificial intelligence offerings.
Revenue in the third quarter, which ended March 31, rose 17% to $61.9 billion, while profit was $2.94 a share, the company said. Analysts on average estimated per-share earnings of $2.83 on sales of $60.9 billion. Azure revenue gained 31% in the quarter, above an average prediction of 29% and picking up slightly from the 30% growth in the previous period. About 7% of that increase was attributable to AI, compared with 6% in the prior quarter. The company forecast Azure growth in the current period, ending June 30, of 30% to 31%, above the 29% expectation of analysts. For the fiscal year that begins July 1, Microsoft projected growth of more than 10% in sales and operating income. - Alphabet Inc. shares rallied 11.6% in afterhours trading after it reported first-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations, buoyed by growth in its cloud computing unit.
The Google parent generated sales, excluding partner payouts, of $67.6 billion for the three months that ended on March 31, surpassing the $66.1 billion expected on average by analysts. Net income was $1.89 per share, compared with estimate of $1.53 per share. The company also said it would pay a dividend of 20 cents a share, its first ever, and repurchase an additional $70 billion in stock. Like other Big Tech companies, Alphabet has been plowing money into developing artificial intelligence, a strategy that has helped drive demand for its cloud services, which saw revenue rise 28% in the first quarter. - Intel Corp. fell 7.7% in afterhours trading after giving a lackluster forecast for the current period, indicating that it’s still struggling to return to the top tier of the chip industry.
Sales in the second quarter will be about $13 billion, the company said. That compares with an average analyst estimate of $13.6 billion. Profit will be 10 cents a share, minus certain items, versus a projection of 24 cents. The outlook signals that a push by Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger to revitalize Intel is going to take more time and money. While acknowledging that business has been slower than expected, Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner said he expected an improvement later this year. Intel also wasn’t able to meet all the demand for processors used in new AI-enabled PCs because its packaging facilities weren’t able to produce enough components. - Chipotle shares rose 6.3% after the burrito chain reported first-quarter comparable sales and adjusted earnings per share that beat estimates.
The company lifted its full-year outlook as limited-time offers such as chicken al pastor helped boost demand, continuing a streak of positive results as other chains struggle to boost diner traffic. FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Comparable sales +7% vs. +10.9% y/y, estimate +5.13%. Adjusted EPS $13.37 vs. $10.50 y/y, estimate $11.66. Revenue $2.70 billion, +14% y/y, estimate $2.67 billion. Operating margin 16.3% vs. 15.5% y/y, estimate 15.3%. New restaurants 47, +15% y/y, estimate 57.61. YEAR FORECAST: Still sees new restaurants 285 to 315, estimate 306.87. - Bristol Myers shares dropped 8.5% after the drugmaker reported sales for the first-quarter that beat estimates but Barclays calls “low quality.” The company also said it is cutting about 6% of its workforce over the next year in order to reduce costs.
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Revenue $11.87 billion, +4.7% y/y, estimate $11.45 billion. Adjusted loss per share $4.40 vs. EPS $2.05 y/y, estimate loss/shr $4.44. Adjusted gross margin 75.5% vs. 77.8% y/y, estimate 74.3%. Adj. R&D expense $2.35 billion, +6.3% y/y, estimate $2.28 billion. Adjusted SG&A Expense $1.99 billion, +13% y/y, estimate $1.84 billion. COMMENTARY: Bristol Myers to cut workforce by 2,200 over next year. Bristol now forecasts year adjusted earnings per share of 40 cents to 70 cents, reflects deals; had seen $7.10 to $7.40. Forecast includes acquired IPRD impact of $6.30, dilution impact from RayzeBio of 13c/share and dilution impact of 30c from Karuna deal. - Caterpillar shares dropped 7% after the maker of heavy machinery said it expects 2Q sales to be lower compared to the year-ago quarter.
First quarter revenue fell short of expectations, with sales in the construction and resource industries declining. FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Adjusted EPS $5.60 vs. $4.91 y/y, estimate $5.13. EPS $5.75 vs. $3.74 y/y. Revenue $15.80 billion, -0.4% y/y, estimate $16.12 billion. SECOND QUARTER FORECAST: Expects 2Q sales to be lower than the year-ago quarter. Expects dealer inventories of machines to decline in 2Q. Sees 2Q adjusted operating profit margin similar to last year. 2024 COMMENTARY: Anticipates full-year 2024 sales and revenues to be broadly similar to 2023 levels. Expects 2024 full-year adjusted operating profit margin to be in the top half of the target range relative to the expected corresponding level of sales and revenue. - Ukraine can keep on fighting Russia — but the ‘victory’ it wants might be out of reach
Ukraine has secured a $61 billion aid package from the U.S. after months of political wrangling. With future aid looking uncertain, uncomfortable questions are being asked over what “victory” Ukraine could realistically achieve against Russia. Analysts say conversations need to be had over a “shared” vision of a “victory” or cease-fire.
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