After Hours Report
The rally that followed yesterday's FOMC news did not persist today. There was an attempt at follow through, but that attempt ultimately petered out along with the mega-cap stocks as investors remained pre-occupied with questions -- and no clear answers -- about the economic outlook.
There was some good economic news today, however. Existing home sales showed some surprising strength in February as buyers responded to an increase in inventory. It was a good sign along with no real change in weekly initial jobless claims, which continue to run at levels consistent with a solid labor market.
Those reports corroborated Fed Chair Powell's view from yesterday that the "hard data," as opposed to soft survey data, is still pretty solid in terms of what it is conveying about economic activity. That point notwithstanding, the specter of reciprocal tariffs being announced on April 2, and a bewildering forecast from the Fed that calls for lower growth and higher inflation in 2025 than previously expected, seemingly curtailed the market's interest in following through on yesterday's advance.
Today, overall, didn't feature much conviction on either side of the tape. There were four S&P 500 sectors that finished higher, none more than 0.4%, and seven S&P 500 sectors that finished lower, none more than 0.6%. The biggest gainers were the energy and utilities sectors, and the biggest loser was the materials sector.
The information technology sector, which is the market's most heavily-weighted sector, ended the day down 0.5%. It was a relative laggard throughout the session due in large part to weakness in Accenture (ACN 300.76-23.71, -7.3%) following its earnings report, weakness in Apple (AAPL 214.10, -1.14, -0.5%) as reports suggested the company has shaken up its AI leadership ranks, and weakness in the semiconductor stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down 0.7%. It would have been worse if not for the outperformance of NVIDIA (NVDA 118.53, +1.01, +0.9%).
The Treasury market for its part also saw some vacillation. Earlier, the 10-yr note yield dropped to 4.17% from yesterday's settlement level of 4.26%, but it crept back up to 4.25% before settling at 4.23%. Treasuries, like the other capital markets, digested a slate of central bank news on the other side of the FOMC decision that included the following:
- The People's Bank of China left its 1-yr and 5-yr loan prime rates unchanged
- The Swiss National Bank cut its policy rate by 25 bps to 0.25%
- Sweden's Riksbank left it policy rate unchanged at 2.25%
- Brazil raised its policy rate by 100 bps to 14.25%
- The Bank of England left its policy rate unchanged at 4.50%
- ECB President Lagarde suggested the 25% tariff on imports imposed by the U.S. could subtract approximately 0.3 percentage points from euro area growth in the first year.
Reviewing today's economic data:
- Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 15 increased by 2,000 to 223,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending March 8 increased by 33,000 to 1.892 million.
- The key takeaway from the report is that this period covers the week in which the survey for the employment report is conducted, so the low level of initial jobless claims will lead economists to project another relatively solid increase in nonfarm payrolls.
- The Q4 Current Account balance showed a narrowing in the deficit to $303.9 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$334.0 billion) from an upwardly revised $310.3 billion (from -$310.9 billion).
- The March Philadelphia Fed Index dipped to 12.5 (Briefing.com consensus 10.0) from 18.1 in February. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 0.0, so this report indicates that business activity in the Philadelphia fed region expanded in March, but at a slower pace than the prior month.
- Existing home sales increased 4.2% month-over-month in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million (Briefing.com consensus 3.95 million) from an upwardly revised 4.09 million (from 4.08 million) in January. Sales were down 1.2% from the same period a year ago.
- The key takeaway from the report is that existing home sales actually increased, as the consensus estimate called for a 3.2% month-over-month decline. The surprising strength suggests some unleashing of pent-up demand with more inventory on the market and prospective buyers adjusting to the higher level of mortgage rates.
- February Leading Indicators declined 0.3% (Briefing.com consensus -0.2%) following an upwardly revised 0.2% decline (from -0.3%) in January.
There is no U.S. economic data of note on Friday.
Overseas:
- Europe: DAX -1.2%, FTSE -0.1%, CAC -1.0%
- Asia: Nikkei +0.2%, Hang Seng -2.2%, Shanghai -0.5%
Commodities:
- Crude Oil +1.06 @ 68.02
- Nat Gas -0.26 @ 3.98
- Gold +3.10 @ 3044.20
- Silver -0.25 @ 32.96
- Copper unchanged @ 5.10
After-Hours Spotlight:
- FedEx (FDX) misses by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY25 EPS below consensus, revs in-line... FDX down 4.9%
- Micron (MU) beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus... MU up 4.2%
- NIKE (NKE) beats by $0.24, beats on revs, gross margin decreased 330 bps to 41.5... NKE up 2.1%
- Nucor (NUE) sees Q1 adjusted EPS well below consensus; decrease stems largely from lower average selling prices and lower margins... NUE down 4.1%
- Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results... QUBT down 11.5%
- U.S. Steel (X) issues downside Q1 EPS guidance; Tubular segment continues to face pressure from lagged impacts of a weak pricing environment... X down 2.1%
Fair Value for Thursday, March 20:
- S&P 500: 5,717
- Nasdaq 100: 19,893
- DJIA: 42,312
For a full rundown of today's market and after hours developments, see Live In Play
- Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
- 111, Inc. (YI) announces fourth quarter results; achieved first-ever annual positive operating cash flow
- Abeona Therapeutics (ABEO) Reports Full Year 2024 Financial Results, Provides Pz-cel Regulatory Update and Commercial Launch Plans
- Academy Sports + Outdoors (ASO) beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs in-line
- Accenture (ACN) beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY25 EPS in-line
- ARS Pharmaceuticals (SPRY) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates
- Caleres (CAL) beats by $0.07, misses on revs; guides Q1 revs below two analyst estimate; guides FY26 revs below consensus
- CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) provides recast historical financial information for 2025 business segments
- Commercial Metals (CMC) misses by $0.03, reports revs in-line
- Darden Restaurants (DRI) reports EPS in-line, misses on revs, consolidated comps of +0.7%; guides FY25 EPS in-line, revs in-line
- Designer Brands (DBI) beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS below consensus
- FactSet (FDS) beats by $0.11, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY25 EPS guidance, guides FY25 revs in-line
- Five Below (FIVE) beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs in-line
- Gambling.com Group Ltd. (GAMB) beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides FY25 revs in-line
- H World Group (HTHT) reports fourth quarter financial results with guidance
- IREN Limited (IREN) details restatement of previously issued financial statements
- Jabil (JBL) beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY25 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
- JOYY (YY) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Unaudited Financial Results
- Lands’ End (LE) announces fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024 results
- LENZ Therapeutics (LENZ) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results and Recent Corporate Highlights
- Nextdoor (KIND) guides Q1 revs in line in slide presentation
- Palomar Holdings (PLMR) releases Investor Day presentation with 2025 adj income guidance of $180-192 mln
- Pinduoduo (PDD) beats by RMB0.30, misses on revs
- Prudential Plc (PUK) reports FY24 results
- Shoe Carnival (SCVL) beats by $0.11, misses on revs; guides FY26 revs below consensus
- Sodexo (SDXAY) reports H1 FY25 results and provides FY25 guidance
- Solventum Corporation (SOLV) to present value creation formula and long-range plan at 2025 Investor Day; reaffirms FY25 EPS guidance
- Titan Machinery (TITN) beats by $2.51, beats on revs; guides FY26 EPS below estimate
- TWFG, Inc. (TWFG) announced fourth quarter results with outlook
- Worthington Steel (WS) misses by $0.13, misses on revs; headwinds from Q2 continued into Q3
- X Financial (XYF) reports fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 unaudited financial results
- ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding Limited (ZK) reports Q4 (Dec) results, misses on revs
- General News
- President Trump sent letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying there is a 2 month deadline for nuclear deal. If Iran ignores the letter, chances of military action will increase, according to Axios
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing growing calls from House Democrats to step down following his support for the government funding bill, according to Axios
- President Trump says "The Fed would be much better off cutting rates as U.S. tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy"
- President Trump believes India will lower tariffs, according to Economic Times
- President Trump will sign executive order today that would eliminate Department of Education. The order will face legal challenges, according to USA Today
- ECB President Christine Lagarde says ECB analysis suggests that a US tariff of 25% on imports from Europe would lower euro area growth by about 0.3 percentage points in the first year
- Canadian Prime Minster Mark Carney will call for snap election on April 28, according to Globe & Mail
- Swiss National Bank is lowering the SNB policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 0.25%
- EU aiming to delay implementation of first retaliatory tariffs until mid-April, according to CNBC
- President Trump at Digital Assets Summit calls on Congress to pass legislation for stable coins and cryptocurrency market structure; says will repeal regulations on the industry
- EU aiming to delay 50% tariff on American whiskey until the middle of next month, according to Bloomberg
- Airbus (EADSY): Air India in discussions to purchase jets from Airbus and Boeing (BA), according to Reuters
- Airbus (EADSY) Canada rolls out sustainable aviation fuel, unlocking 100% SAF capacity across all delivery centres worldwide
- Alarm.com (ALRM) promotes Kevin Bradley to CFO
- Apple (AAPL) shakes up AI leadership; Vision Pro Chief takes over Siri amid struggles, according to Bloomberg
- Baidu (BIDU) denied breach allegations, according to Reuters
- Becton Dickinson (BDX) announced the first patient treated in an Investigational Device Exemption clinical trial intended to advance BD's efforts to achieve Premarket Approval from the FDA for the use of GalaFLEX LITE Scaffold in decreasing capsular contracture recurrence during breast revision surgery
- Cannae Holdings, Inc. (CNNE) responds to Carronade Capital and affirms the Board of Directors’ and management’s focus on driving long-term value creation
- Celanese Corporation (CE) Provides Capital Structure Update After Executing Series of Transactions to Extend Debt Maturity Profile
- Charter Comm (CHTR) and Comcast (CMCSA) announce that their respective mobile businesses, Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile, have launched satellite-based services through a collaboration with Skylo, a non-terrestrial network service provider
- Chevron (CVX): The Trump administration mulling extending of Chevron Venezuela license, according to the Wall Street Journal
- Collective Mining (CNL) closes Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's Investment and announces Early Exercise of Warrants for Gross Proceeds of C$63.4 Million
- DoorDash (DASH) partners with Klarna (KLAR) to offer US customers even more convenience with flexible payments
- Edwards Lifesciences (EW): CMS received formal request to provide coverage for the EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement system from EW
- Enerflex (EFXT) President/CEO steps down; reaffirms outlook, announces Normal Course Issuer Bid
- Energizer (ENR) announced successful refinancing and extension of term loan & revolving credit facility
- Gartner (IT): Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth cancelled $580 mln DoD contracts, including Gartner contracts
- General Motors (GM) and Hyundai (HYMTF) in discussions to share electric vans in North America, according to Reuters
- Geo Group (GEO) entered into contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for company-owned 1,800-bed North Lake Facility in Michigan
- Golar LNG (GLNG) has entered into finance lease agreements with a consortium of leading Chinese leasing companies for the refinancing of the existing FLNG Gimi debt facility
- Green Brick Partners (GRBK) CFO resigned
- Home Depot (HD) and Behr Paint Company expand their relationship to exclusively offer KILZ branded primer products in the United States and Puerto Rico
- Honda Motor (HMC) and Acura EV owners to gain access to Tesla (TSLA) Supercharger Network in June with approved adapters
- HUTCHMED (HCM) highlights Savolitinib SAVANNAH Phase II and other data at European Lung Cancer Congress 2025
- Insulet’s (PODD) RADIANT Trial Demonstrates Meaningful Glycemic Improvements with the Omnipod 5 automated insulin delivery system following direct transition from multiple daily injections
- IonQ (IONQ) announced a groundbreaking milestone with Ansys (ANSS) that shows quantum computing outperforming classical computing when designing important life-saving medical devices
- Kinross Gold (KGC) announces that the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted the notice filed by the Company to renew its normal course issuer bid program
- Lee Enterprises (LEE): David Hoffmann wants to purchase controlling stake in LEE, according to NY Times
- Macerich (MAC) has finalized terms with PenFed Credit Union, America's second-largest federal credit union, on a new multi-year sponsorship and member engagement agreement
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics (GLUE) filed for $400 mln mixed securities shelf offering
- MSG Sports (MSGS): Consortium including Bill Chisholm reached deal to purchase Boston Celtics for $6.1 bln, according to Bloomberg
- Northwest Pipe (NWPX) launches full-scale operations at its new precast pipe and manhole production facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, to support growing regional demand
- Northeast Comm. Bancorp (NECB) increases quarterly cash dividend to $0.20/share from $0.15/share
- NOV Inc. (NOV) CFO Jose Bayardo promoted to COO; Rodney Reed, current President of Process Flow Technologies, promoted to CFO
- Nvidia (NVDA) planning to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on US supply chains amid tariffs, according to Financial Times
- Oportun (OPRT) comments on letter from Findell Capital
- Oracle (ORCL) introduces AI Agent Studio; Oracle Base Database Service on Oracle DatabaseAzure is coming soon
- Petrobras (PBR) informs about the payment of remuneration to shareholders
- Raymond James (RJF) reports February operating data
- Revvity (RVTY) announces an agreement with Genomics England to further collaborate on the Generation Study; agreement to support newborn health adds sequencing lab services to the existing extraction services collaboration
- Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM) Announces Orphan Drug Designation Granted to Setmelanotide for Treatment of Hypothalamic Obesity in Japan
- Stagwell (STGW) announces its commitment to increase 2025 ad spend in news by 22% year-over-year
- Tesla (TSLA) aiming to recall 46K CyberTrucks due to issue with exterior panels, according to Reuters
- Thor Industries (THO) announces a strategic organizational restructuring aimed at optimizing its enterprise structure and strengthening its brand portfolio
- Toyota Motor (TM): DOJ Court sentences Hino Motors Ltd., a Toyota, and imposes over $1.6 bln in penalties for emissions fraud scheme
- TXO Energy Partners (TXO) CEO to retire from office; promotes Gary Simpson and Brent Clum promoted to Co-CEOs
- VEON (VEON) to proceed with $35 mln buyback
- Viavi (VIAV) highlights test solutions for AI infrastructure development, manufacturing and deployment at OFC 2025
- Upgrades:
- ACV Auctions (ACVA) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, tgt $20
- Cava Group (CAVA) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $110
- Coty (COTY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi, tgt $8
- Carvana (CVNA) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, tgt $225
- Equifax (EFX) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, tgt $300
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $52
- GDS Holdings (GDS) upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James, tgt $53
- KKR (KKR) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, tgt $141
- Southwest (LUV) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Melius Research, tgt $34
- Southwest (LUV) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS, tgt $36
- Mosaic (MOS) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, tgt $33
- Boston Beer (SAM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi, tgt $280
- Spire (SR) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $85
- Williams-Sonoma (WSM) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS, tgt $165
- Downgrades:
- KE Holdings (BEKE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, tgt $24.50
- BMW (BMWYY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC
- BRP Inc. (DOOO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi, tgt $29
- Open Lending (LPRO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, tgt $3.70
- Malibu Boats (MBUU) downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc
- Polaris (PII) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi, tgt $33
- Rivian Automotive (RIVN) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $13
- Stellantis (STLA) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $13
- Constellation Brands (STZ) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi, tgt $200
- Thor Industries (THO) downgraded to Underweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc, tgt $65
- ZTO Express (ZTO) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $23
- Others:
- Abivax (ABVX) assumed with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $12
- Affirm (AFRM) resumed with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $69
- Amentum (AMTM) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman Sachs, tgt $21
- ArriVent Biopharma (AVBP) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt $37
- Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) assumed with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $100
- Crown Castle (CCI) resumed with a Neutral at BofA, tgt $110
- Celldex (CLDX) initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $46
- HubSpot (HUBS) initiated with a Market Perform at Bernstein, tgt $693
- International Paper (IP) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $59
- InvenTrust Properties (IVT) initiated with a Peer Perform at Wolfe Research
- Microsoft (MSFT) initiated with an Outperform at Scotiabank, tgt $470
- Orchestra BioMed (OBIO) initiated with a Buy at BTIG, tgt $12
- Titan International (TWI) initiated with an Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald, tgt $11
- Zenas BioPharma (ZBIO) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush, tgt $35E
- Econ Data (Friday):
- No Data on Tomorrow's Schedule
- 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
- Pre-Market: GIS KC OLLI SIG SRAD
- 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
- Monday (Mar 17)