After Hours Report

The stock market closed with losses across the board. The major indices settled off session lows with declines ranging from 0.6% to 1.7%.

The downside move follows two consecutive winning sessions for the the S&P 500 (-1.1%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.7%) and the gains haven't been fully erased. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are still 1.7% and 1.2% higher, respectively, than Thursday's close.

Mega cap stocks led the downturn today with names like Tesla (TSLA 225.31, -12.70, -5.3%), NVIDIA (NVDA 115.52, -4.00, -3.4%), Meta Platforms (META 582.36, -22.54, -3.7%), and Alphabet (GOOG 162.67, -3.90, -2.3%).

Investors were digesting a batch of headlines related to NVIDIA amid its GTC event, but shares didn't seem fazed by the news. Meanwhile, Alphabet announced a $32 billion cash acquisition of Wiz, Inc., a cloud security platform company.

Geopolitical angst was also cited as a factor driving today's downside move, yet price action in commodities and Treasuries didn't reflect that. Treasuries are seen as a safe-haven during geopolitical unrest, yet the 10-yr yield, which dropped three basis points to 4.28%, and the 2-yr yield, which dropped one basis point to 4.04%, made modest moves.

Oil prices often rise as tensions increase in the Middle East due to concerns about supply disruptions, but WTI crude oil futures dropped 1.2% to $66.78/bbl. 

President Trump's call with Russian President Putin also garnered a muted response from stocks and bonds. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a read out of the call, saying "leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace."

This morning's economic data was mixed with housing starts increasing in February while import and export prices reflected an inflationary shift in the year-over-year readings.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.7% YTD
• S&P 500: -4.5% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: -5.6% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: -9.4% YTD
• Russell 2000: -8.1% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• February Housing Starts 1.501 mln (Briefing.com consensus 1.385 mln); Prior was revised to 1.350 mln from 1.366 mln, February Building Permits 1.456 mln (Briefing.com consensus 1.450 mln); Prior was revised to 1.473 mln from 1.483 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that starts activity was bolstered by the return of better weather, which was reflected in the 18.3% increase in housing starts in the South region (they were down 23.0% in January).
• February Export Prices 0.1%; Prior 1.3%
• February Export Prices ex-ag. 0.1%; Prior 1.5%
• February Import Prices 0.4%; Prior was revised to 0.4% from 0.3%
• February Import Prices ex-oil 0.3%; Prior 0.1%
• February Industrial Production 0.7% (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%); Prior was revised to 0.3% from 0.5%, February Capacity Utilization 78.2% (Briefing.com consensus 77.7%); Prior was revised to 77.7% from 77.8%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that there was a solid increase in manufacturing output that was led by an 8.5% jump in the index for motor vehicles and parts, which likely had some tariff frontrunning involved. Motor vehicle assemblies increased 11.5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.35 million.

Looking ahead to Wednesday, market participants receive the following data:

• 7:00 ET: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior 11.2%)
• 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior +1.45 mln)
• 16:00 ET: January Net Long-Term TIC Flows (prior $72.0 bln)

Also, the March FOMC decision is out at 2:00 ET.

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX +1.0%, FTSE +0.3%, CAC +0.5%
• Asia: Nikkei +1.2%, Hang Seng +2.5%, Shanghai +0.1%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil -0.80 @ 66.78
• Nat Gas +0.06 @ 4.06
• Gold +33.70 @ 3040.30
• Silver -0.43 @ 33.74
• Copper +0.03 @ 5.00

After-Hours Spotlight:

• 5E Advanced Materials (FEAM) files for 20,627,389 shares of common stock offering by selling shareholders... FEAM down 15.4%
• Asana (ASAN) files mixed shelf securities offering... ASAN down 0.7%
• Calavo Growers (CVGW) authorizes a $25 mln share repurchase program... CVGW up 1.7%
• JPMorgan Chase (JPM) increases its quarterly dividend by 12% to $1.40 per share... JPM up 0.1%

For a full rundown of today's market and after hours developments, see Live In Play

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • Allegiant Travel (ALGT) reduces Q1 EPS guidance, reports passenger traffic results for February, experiencing leisure demand softness, reduce full-year capacity forecast to +13% from +17%
  • BigBear.ai (BBAI) discloses prelim earnings estimates; files to delay 10-K
  • Corning (GLW) upgrades its longer-term outlook; aiming to reach over $4.0 bln in annualized sales and operating margins of 20% by 2026; raises Q1 guidance
  • Elbit Systems (ESLT) reports fourth quarter results
  • Fidelity Nat'l Info (FIS) at conference says it is aiming for Q1 guidance to be at the higher end of its prior range; says has strong visibility into Q1
  • Getty Images (GETY) beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY25 revs in-line; Entered into merger agreement with Shutterstock on January 7
  • Harrow (HROW) Provides Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2024 Unaudited Preliminary Financial Results and 2025 Revenue Guidance
  • HUYA (HUYA) reports Q4 (Dec) results, revs in-line; announces dividend plan; extends buyback
  • IHS Holding Limited (IHS) reports Q4 results
  • KE Holdings (BEKE) misses by RMB0.66, beats on revs
  • Kodak (KODK) Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results
  • Lithium Argentina (LAR) reports FY24 results; provides outlook for 2025
  • McEwen Mining (MUX) Reports 2024 Q4 & Year-End Results and Outlook for 2025
  • Millrose Properties (MRP) provides guidance for Q2, announces inaugural dividend
  • NextEra Energy (NEE) provides outlook in slide presentation; expects 6-8% annual EPS growth through 2027
  • Sable Offshore Corp. (SOC) Reports 2024 Financial and Operational Results
  • Steel Dynamics (STLD) guides Q1 EPS below consensus
  • Tencent Music (TME) beats by RMB0.25, beats on revs
  • XPENG (XPEV) reports fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 unaudited financial results
• General News
  • President Trump says Chinese President Xi will come to visit him in the near future, according to Bloomberg
  • Israel launches large scale attack on Gaza, according to the New York Times
  • Russian President Putin will demand suspension of all weapons deliveries to Ukraine in exchange for ceasefire during today's call with President Trump, according to Bloomberg
  • Commerce department bureaus will ban DeepSeek on government devices, according to Reuters
  • President Trump's advisors are considering simplified structure for reciprocal tariffs on April 2, according to the Wall Street Journal
  • President Trump authorizes production of energy using clean coal
  • President Trump nominated Bryan Bedford to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
  • President Trump nominates Michelle Bowman for Federal Reserve’s new Vice Chair of Supervision
  • White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issues read out of President Trump's call with Russian President Putin; says "leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace"
  • Germany passes landmark spending package, according to Bloomberg
  • Abbott Labs (ABT): HHS, FDA announce operation stork speed to expand options for safe, reliable, and nutritious infant formula for American families
  • Abbott Labs (ABT): HHS Secretary RFK Jr. will meet with companies that make infant formula, according to Bloomberg
  • APA Corporation (APA) and Partners Lagniappe Alaska and Oil search announce significant oil discovery in Alaska’s North Slope at Sockeye-2 exploration well; partners proceeding with further evaluation and testing
  • Alphabet (GOOG): Google’s $32B Wiz deal strengthens cybersecurity, bound to face regulatory test; acquisition poised to boost Google’s multi-cloud strategy and enterprise relationships -- JP Morgan
  • Amazon (AMZN) putting pressure on Nvidia (NVDA) with AI chip discounts, according to The Information
  • ANI Pharma (ANIP) announces buyout of royalty obligation for ILUVIEN and YUTIQ
  • Apple (AAPL) lost appeal in German antitrust case, according to Reuters
  • AstraZeneca's (AZN) Alexion unit received FDA orphan designation for prevention of delayed graft function after renal transplantation
  • Atlassian (TEAM) Government Cloud receives Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization at the Moderate level
  • Avita Medical (RCEL) enters into new exclusive manufacturing and distribution agreements with Stedical Scientific
  • Bakkt (BKKT): Bank of America (BAC) and Webull Pay both not renewing commercial agreement with Bakkt
  • Boeing (BA): FAA is is adopting a new airworthiness directive or certain The Boeing Company model 737-800 series airplanes
  • Boeing (BA): NTSB "issues the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the Jan. 24 United Airlines (UAL) flight 613, a Boeing 787-8, that experienced altitude excursions during cruise flight while transitioning over Cote d’Ivoire airspace"
  • Boeing (BA): NTSB "issues the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the Feb. 25 runway incursion incident involving a Flexjet Bombardier Challenger 350 and a Southwest Airlines B-737 at Chicago Midway Int’l Airport"
  • Box (BOX) and DataBank announce a strategic partnership that combines their best-in-class offerings to transform the way organizations manage their content
  • BridgeBio Pharma (BBIO) appoints Thomas Trimarchi as President and CFO
  • Canadian Solar's (CSIQ) subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, closed on $183 mln in project financing and tax equity for its Fort Duncan Storage project
  • Civeo (CVEO) responds to Engine Capital’s shareholder letter, commits to evaluating value-enhancing opportunities
  • Compass Pathways (CMPS) announces publication of results from COMP004 Study on COMP360 Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression
  • Corpay (CPAY) appoints Alissa Vickery to serve as interim CFO, effective immediately
  • Costco (COST) wants China suppliers to lower prices in response to tariffs, according to Financial Times
  • Crown Castle (CCI) announces appointment of Sunit Patel to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2025
  • Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Bersama Digital Infrastructure Asia announce formation of Digital Realty Bersama, a joint venture to develop and operate data centers across Indonesia
  • eGain Comm. (EGAN) launches AI agent for contact center, revolutionizing service performance
  • Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) announces changes to its Board of Directors that will reduce the Board size to 11 directors by the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders; Signs research agreement to explore novel therapies for chronic kidney disease and life extension in pets
  • Embraer SA (ERJ) approves buyback program of up to 1,066,667 shares
  • eXp World Holdings (EXPI) names Jesse Hill as interim CFO, effective April 1
  • FinVolution Group raises dividend by 17% yr/yr; authorizes new share repurchase program
  • Frontier Airlines (ULCC) is offering low fares, free bags
  • General Motors (GM) and NVIDIA (NVDA) collaborate on AI for next-generation vehicle experience and manufacturing
  • Haleon plc (HLN): Pfizer (PFE) intends to sell, in aggregate, approximately 662 million ordinary shares in HLN
  • Highwoods Prop (HIW) closes $138 million acquisition of Advance Auto Parts (AAP) tower in Raleigh
  • HP Inc. (HPQ) announced new products and services at HP Amplify 2025
  • HP Turbocharges (HPQ) partner growth to drive the future of work
  • Huntington Ingalls (HII) announces that its Mission Technologies division was awarded a $147 mln contract to support shipboard and shore-based combat training services for the U.S. Navy
  • ICF International (ICFI) secures two recompete contracts valued at over $35 million to deliver its residential and commercial demand-side management programs
  • Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) authorized a share repurchase program of up to $100 million of the Company’s common stock
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) awarded $213 mln U.S. Army contract modification
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT): Canada to review F-35 deal, according to the Wall Street Journal
  • MasterBrand (MBC) authorizes share repurchase program for up to $50 mln of common stock
  • Medtronic (MDT): FDA issues embolization device recall and correction: Medtronic removes unused 027 compatible pipeline vantage embolization device with shield technology
  • Meta Platforms (META) is celebrating 1 billion downloads of Llama
  • Microsoft (MSFT) responds to TRC Capital's "mini-tender" offer
  • Microsoft (MSFT) wants to introduce a new artificial intelligence model that simulates mammal brains' reasoning, according to Financial Times
  • Nanobiotix (NBTX) amends global licensing agreement for JNJ01900, extends cash visibility to mid-2026
  • National Vision (EYE) entered into cooperation agreement with Engine Capital; appointed yesterday Jim McGrann and Michael Nicholson to Board of Directors
  • NeoGenomics (NEO) has promoted Warren Stone, the Company’s current Chief Commercial Officer, to President & Chief Operating Officer, effective April 1, 2025
  • NextDecade (NEXT) announces D.C. Circuit Court judgment removing vacatur risk on FERC Order
  • OneSpaWorld (OSW) announces CFO and COO Stephen Lazarus appointed President; Chief Commercial Officer Susan Bonner to step down
  • Oracle (ORCL) considering taking small take in TikTok and providing security assurances, according to Bloomberg
  • Oracle (ORCL) releases Java 24
  • Petrobras (PBR) reports results of exploratory well in Santos Basin
  • Publicis (PUBGY) and Adobe (ADBE) expand global partnership to drive creative expression and personalization at scale with Adobe Firefly Generative AI
  • Prime Medicine (PRME) unveils a preclinical program for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the next program within its liver franchise
  • Santander (SAN) aiming to expand into US with Verizon (VZ) customer deal, according to the Wall Street Journal
  • SEALSQ Corp (LAES) announces that 1.75 billion devices worldwide have been secured by its microprocessors since the Company’s inception
  • SEI Investments' (SEIC) Board approves $500 mln increase to stock repurchaes program
  • Shoe Carnival (SCVL) approves 11.1% increase in quarterly cash dividend to $0.15/share
  • Siemens AG (SIEGY) strengthens competitiveness in the automation and charging solutions business
  • Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC) files $250 mixed securities shelf offering
  • STAAR Surgical (STAA) realigns leadership structure; Patrick Williams steps down as CFO
  • Stoke Therapeutics (STOK) announces CEO transition
  • Taboola (TBLA) secured deal with Microsoft (MSFT) to sell display ads, according to Axios
  • TEN, Ltd. (TEN) announces the construction of nine DP2 Suezmax Shuttle Tankers with 15-year employment contracts for Petrobras Transporte S.A.
  • Tencent (TCEHY) promoting new open source artificial intelligence models, according to Bloomberg
  • Telix Pharmaceuticals (TLX) receives approval of Illuccix for prostate cancer imaging in Brazil
  • Tesla (TSLA): Toronto excluded Tesla from electric car incentives, according to Reuters
  • TriNet Group (TNET) planning to create 750 new jobs at a new corporate center in Dunwoody, Georgia, over the next five years, representing an estimated $15.4 million in investment in DeKalb County
  • Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT): Voting begins for Trump Media Annual Meeting
  • TTEC Holdings (TTEC) announces strategic partnership with Verint
  • TXNM Energy (TXNM): KKR (KKR) mulling acquisition of TXNM, according to Bloomberg
  • Walgreens (WBA) Chair Stefano Pessina will double stake to 30% amid Sycamore takeover, according to Financial Times
  • Walmart (WMT) CEO Walmart U.S. entered into a stock trading plan designed to comply with Rule 10b5-1
  • Wells Fargo (WFC) confirms termination of 2021 OCC loss mitigation consent order

• Upgrades:
  • Block (XYZ) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette
  • CNX Resources (CNX) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens
  • Duolingo (DUOL) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Citizens JMP
  • EQT Corporation (EQT) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens
  • Expand Energy (EXE) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens
  • GDS Holdings (GDS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies
  • Lucid Group (LCID) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley
  • Ralph Lauren (RL) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
  • Sana Biotechnology (SANA) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Citizens JMP
  • Sibanye Stillwater (SBSW) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital
  • WTW (WTW) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
• Downgrades:
  • Incyte (INCY) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair
  • Incyte (INCY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim
  • Paccar (PCAR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
  • PepsiCo (PEP) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays
  • TPI Composites (TPIC) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies
• Others:
  • Alpha Cognition (ACOG) initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright
  • Bio-Techne (TECH) initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI
  • Bloom Energy (BE) initiated with a Neutral at Mizuho
  • Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) initiated with an Outperform at Wolfe Research
  • Canaan (CAN) initiated with a Buy at Compass Point
  • Coinbase (COIN) initiated with an Outperform at Bernstein
  • Genius Sports (GENI) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim
  • Genius Sports (GENI) resumed with a Buy at B. Riley Securities
  • LENZ Therapeutics (LENZ) initiated with a Buy at TD Cowen
  • MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital
  • Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital
  • Repligen (RGEN) initiated with an In Line at Evercore ISI
  • Spyre Therapeutics (SYRE) initiated with an Outperform at Wolfe Research
  • West Pharmaceutical (WST) initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI
  • XP Inc. (XP) initiated with an Outperform at Itau BBA

• Econ Data (Wednesday):
  • 7:00 ET: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior 11.2%)
  • 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior +1.45 mln)
  • 14:00 ET: March FOMC Rate Decision (Briefing.com consensus 4.25-4.50%; prior 4.25-4.50%)
  • 16:00 ET: January Net Long-Term TIC Flows (prior $72.0 bln)
• Earnings:
  • Monday (Mar 17)
    • Pre-Market: SAIC
    • After-Hours: GETY LPRO
  • Tuesday (Mar 18)
    • Pre-Market: HUYA BEKE TME GDS
    • After-Hours: ZTO
  • Wednesday (Mar 19)
    • Pre-Market: GIS KC OLLI SIG SRAD
      
    • After-Hours: FIVE WS
  • Thursday (Mar 20)
    • Pre-Market: ASO ACN CAL CMC DRI DBI FDS JBL PDD SCVL TITN ZK
    • After-Hours: FDX KLC LEN LAZR MU NKE CURV
  • Friday (Mar 21)
    • Pre-Market: NIO
    • After-Hours: CCL
  General Motors: 5,000 members at GM's Arlington, TX assembly plant join UAW strike