Stock Indexes Wrap: Cruise Stocks, REITs Lead S&P 500 Higher; Construction, Oil Stocks Lag
2 hr 36 min ago
The Dow
Cisco (CSCO) gained 1.7% after it launched a $1 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence startups.
Other tech stocks gained, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN), both up 0.6%.
Intel (INTC) slipped 0.9% after unveiling its next-generation AI data center chips.
The S&P 500
Cruise operators led the index. Carnival Corp (CCL) rose 5.8%, followed by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL), up 4% and 2.8%, respectively.
Real estate investment trusts were also among the index’s best performers on Tuesday. Extra Space Storage (EXR) advanced 2.2% and Realty Income Corporation (O) gained 2.1%.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.3% to close at another record high.
Bath & Body Works (BBWI) plummeted 13.3% after its current-quarter guidance fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) fell 4.5% as copper and silver prices continued to fall from recent highs.
Yesterday’s weak construction and manufacturing data continued to weigh on industrial suppliers. Mohawk Industries (MHK) fell 4.5%, while Builders FirstSource (BLDR) and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) each slid 3.7%.
Falling oil prices weighed on energy stocks. Halliburton (HAL) fell 2.5% and ExxonMobil (XOM) shed 1.5%.
The Nasdaq 100
Food and beverage stocks gained ground. PepsiCo (PEP) added 1.6% and Kraft Heinz (KHC) rose 1.5%.
Semiconductor stocks were mostly lower. Marvell Technology (MRVL) lost 2.7% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slipped 2.2%.
CrowdStrike (CRWD) fell 1% ahead of its quarterly results after the bell.
Tesla (TSLA) shed 0.9% amid reports Elon Musk had diverted Nvidia chips ordered for the electric vehicle maker to his social media platform X and his artificial intelligence start-up xAI.
GameStop, AMC Rally Fades Amid Reports E*Trade Is Considering Banning Keith Gill
3 hr 24 min ago
Monday’s rally in GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) faded Tuesday following a report that Keith Gill, one of the key figures behind the meme stock rallies, may be barred from online trading platform E*Trade.
Recent stock swings fueled by Gill’s social media posts raised concerns at Morgan Stanley’s (MS) E*Trade that Gill could be capable of manipulating stock prices for his own benefit, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening.
Sunday night, a Reddit account belonging to Gill posted a screenshot of a portfolio indicating he owned 5 million GameStop shares worth over $115 million at the time of the screenshot. GameStop shares rocketed higher on Monday morning, nearly doubling in value before narrowing to a 21% gain by the time markets closed.
Shares turned lower Tuesday, and were down 3.5%, though despite Tuesday’s losses, GameStop shares have surged nearly 60% since Gill reappeared online last month after an extended absence of nearly three years.
Other meme stocks like AMC and Tupperware Brands (TUP) also rose Monday, while BlackBerry (BB) climbed before ending Monday flat. All three stocks were lower Tuesday afternoon, with AMC shares down 0.9%, BlackBerry 2.9% lower, and Tupperware dropping 4.4%.
–Aaron McDade
Carnival Stock Gains on Plan To Consolidate Australia Operations
4 hr 21 min ago
Shares of Carnival Corp (CCL) surged on Tuesday after the cruise operator said it would sunset its P&O Cruises Australia brand and fold its Australian operations into Carnival Cruise Line.
The change will go into effect in March 2025, and result in the transfer of two P&O-branded vessels to the company’s flagship Carnival brand. One ship, the Pacific Explorer, will be retired in February 2025.
“Despite increasing Carnival Cruise Line’s capacity by almost 25% since 2019 including transferring three ships from Costa Cruises, guest demand remains incredibly strong so we’re leveraging our scale in an even more meaningful way by absorbing an entire brand into the world’s most popular cruise line,” CEO Josh Weinstein said in a statement.
Cruise operators have benefited from strong travel demand that has mostly persisted after an initial post-pandemic surge. But their share prices haven’t kept pace. Carnival stock is still worth less than half what it was before March 2020, even after rallying in the first half of last year.
Shares were up more than 5% Tuesday afternoon, making Carnival one of the S&P 500’s best-performing stocks. Competitors Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) were also among the index’s top stocks. Still, Carnival shares have lost 9% of their value so far this year.
Google, Microsoft Reportedly Make Job Cuts in Latest Hit To Tech Industry
5 hr 9 min ago
The trend of tech layoffs is continuing into June as hundreds of jobs have reportedly been cut at Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google in recent days.
Tech had the most job cuts of any sector in the first quarter, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, with Google and Microsoft conducting layoffs along with other giants like Amazon (AMZN), as companies focused on artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives and pulled back on other investments.
Layoffs reportedly have hit Google’s Cloud division, which saw sizable growth in the tech giant’s most recent earnings report. At least 100 positions have been cut across several different Cloud teams over the last week, according to reports from Business Insider and CNBC.
Microsoft is also cutting jobs this week, with an estimated 1,000 jobs affected across its cloud-based Azure teams, as well as those working on the company’s HoloLens 2 mixed reality headsets, according to recent reports from Business Insider, CNBC, and The Verge.
Microsoft shares were little changed Tuesday afternoon, while Alphabet stock dipped 0.5%.
–Aaron McDade
Intel Stock in Focus After Company Reveals Next-Gen AI Data Center Chips
6 hr 9 min ago
Intel (INTC) revealed its latest processors on Tuesday, as the chipmaker aims to grab market share from rivals in the booming artificial intelligence (AI) data center market.
Intel unveiled the Xeon 6 data center chips at the Computex trade fair in Taipei alongside other leading chipmakers. The next-generation chips come in two types: a more powerful processor to handle the workload of larger AI infrastructure requirements, and an efficiency model, which the company has positioned as a replacement for earlier-generation chips.
Intel said the efficiency Xeon chip will be available for delivery on Tuesday, but noted that the higher-powered processor won’t be shipped until the third quarter of this year. It also intends to launch additional iterations of the chips in 2025.
Zooming out to the weekly chart, Intel shares broke down below the lower trendline of an ascending channel and the 50-day moving average in early April, with declines accelerating into early May. More recently, the price has consolidated within a pennant, a chart pattern that indicates a continuation of the current longer-term downtrend.
If the stock moves lower from these levels, investors should monitor how the price responds to its late February low at $24.73. A failure from buyers to defend this level could see the downtrend revisit key multi-year support around $19.50, which currently sits 36% below Monday’s $30.29 closing price.
Intel shares gained ground in pre-market trading but were down 0.7% in early afternoon trading on Tuesday.
–Tim Smith
WTI Oil Sinks to Multi-Month Low Amid Concerns Over Voluntary OPEC+ Cuts
7 hr 5 min ago
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a proxy for U.S. oil prices, extended its declines Tuesday after hitting a near-four-month low on Monday as investors fretted over a complex Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) decision on Sunday that left the door open for voluntary cuts to be gradually unwound.
While the Saudi-led cartel opted to extend most of its production cuts, which currently amount to a combined 3.66 million barrels barrels per day, until the end of 2025, it also agreed to voluntary cuts from eight members to be gradually unwound from October.
According to analysts, the agreement to phase out reductions puts downward pressure on oil prices as it gives OPEC+ members considerable leeway to ramp up output depending on market conditions despite sluggish global demand stemming from high interest rates and inflation.
The WTI price has remained mostly rangebound since December 2022, with neither the bulls nor bears able to gain the ascendency. More recently, the commodity has broken down from a broadening formation situated just below the 200-day moving average.
Looking ahead, investors should keep an eye on the range between $71.50 and $67.50 amid further declines, an area where the price finds a zone of support from a series of price actions over the past 17 months. If the WTI price enters this chart region, monitor for signs of a reversal, such as a hammer candlestick or bullish engulfing pattern, which could signal a shift in investor sentiment.
–Tim Smith
Bath & Body Works Slides Despite Earnings Beat as Guidance Disappoints
8 hr 25 min ago
Shares of retailer Bath & Body Works (BBWI) slid in early trading Tuesday despite a first-quarter earnings report that surpassed analyst expectations and the company’s own guidance.
Net sales slipped less than 1% year-over-year to $1.38 billion, just above analyst expectations of $1.37 billion, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Profit rose 7% to $87 million, or 38 cents per share, better than the $72.4 million and 32 cents per share analysts had expected. In guidance released in its previous quarterly report, Bath & Body Works had projected a first-quarter sales decline of 2% to 4.5%, with EPS expected between 28 cents to 33 cents.
The retailer also lifted the floor of its guidance ranges for the full fiscal year, projecting net sales to range from a 2.5% decline to flat from the 2023 mark of $7.43 billion, while EPS is expected between $3.05 to $3.35, down from last year’s $3.84 figure.
For the second quarter, Bath & Body Works projects sales to range from a 2% drop to flat compared to last year’s $1.56 billion, while analysts project $1.54 billion. The retailer guided EPS from 31 cents to 36 cents, with the top of that range matching the number analysts anticipate.
Shares in Bath & Body Works fell 7.3%, putting their gains for the year at 7%.
–Aaron McDade
Stock Futures Fall
10 hours ago
Dow futures were down 0.4% in premarket trading Tuesday.
S&P futures were down 0.4%.
Nasdaq futures were down 0.2%.
