Stocks End Lower Ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s Eagerly Awaited Speech on Friday

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday

30 minutes ago

Decliners

• Shares of Moderna (MRNA) lost 6.5%, marking Thursday’s weakest performance in the S&P 500. The share price drop coincided with the approval of Moderna’s vaccine to protect against new strains of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends an updated shot for all people over the age of 6 months, and Moderna expects the new version to be available within a few days. However, at the beginning of August, the company lowered its full-year sales forecast, citing soft vaccine demand in Europe.
• Intel (INTC) shares sank 6.1% following reports questioning the semiconductor giant’s progress on the construction of two new chip fabrication plants in Germany. The company received a government subsidy of around $11 billion for the construction of the facilities, with the objective of having them online and producing chips by 2027. However, that schedule now appears uncertain. Some investors have expressed concerns that, as Intel targets significant cost reductions, the company may choose not to move forward with the plans in Germany.

• Tesla (TSLA) Vice President Sreela Venkataratnam announced that she would be the latest in a string of executives to step down from the company, and shares of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer declined 5.7%. In an 11-year stint at Tesla, Venkataratnam was involved in constructing factories, accelerating vehicle production, and expanding the energy business.

Advancers

• Shares of investment manager Franklin Resources (BEN) added 4.6%, the best performance of any stock in the S&P 500. Thursday’s gains reversed a portion of the heavy losses posted in the previous session after the firm said the co-chief investment officer (CIO) of its Western Asset Management unit was taking a leave of absence. The executive’s exit came amid internal and regulatory investigations into certain past trade allocations at the division.
• Nordson (NDSN), which provides coating and adhesive systems to various industries, reported better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal third quarter, and its shares advanced 3.3%. Momentum in the company’s Industrial Precision Solutions segment, as well as sales growth in Asia-Pacific and Europe, helped drive the strong performance.
• Shares of State Street (STT) ticked 2.2% higher as the financial services firm announced a partnership with the Swiss digital asset platform Taurus. The deal will help State Street provide reliable digital asset capabilities to its clients by leveraging Taurus’ custody, tokenization, and node-management solutions.

–Michael Bromberg

What to Expect from Powell on Friday

49 minutes ago

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech Friday morning that investors are eagerly anticipating for clues on the timetable for interest rate cuts.

While Powell and other Fed officials have said that a rate cut at the next Fed policy meeting in September is possible, the central bank chief is unlikely to provide details on the timing or depth of policy easing.

Powell will likely reiterate that the Fed will be watching data up until the September meeting, with a particular emphasis on labor data as inflation continues to moderate.

Read the full preview here.

–Colin Laidley

Advance Auto Parts Plunges to 2024 Low

3 hr 15 min ago

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) shares plunged after the company announced quarterly earnings that came in well short of expectations and cut its outlook for the full year. The earnings news upstaged the sale of its wholesale distribution business.

The retailer reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of 75 cents, down from $1.32 a year earlier and missing analysts’ expectations of 92 cents. Net sales were roughly flat at $2.68 billion, slightly above expectations. 

Advance Auto Parts cut its full year revenue guidance to between $11.15 billion and $11.25 billion, while its diluted EPS is projected at between $2 and $2.50. The company cited a “challenging demand environment” and noted that the current quarter was off to a weak start.

Shares in the company were down 16% in recent trading. The stock fell as much as 22% in early trading and was trading at its lowest level since last October.

Advance Auto also announced the sale of Worldpac, its wholesale distribution unit, for $1.5 billion. The unit was bought by funds managed by The Carlyle Group (CG), the company said Wednesday. 

–Andrew Kessel

BJ’s Wholesale Tumbles on Weak Outlook

5 hr 19 min ago

BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) shares sank after the retailer gave soft guidance as it looks to invest more money into the business. The outlook overshadowed better-than-expected quarterly results.

BJ’s CFO Laura Felice said full-year adjusted earnings per share could be at the low end of its forecast of $3.75 to $4 because of long-term investments. Analysts were looking for $3.88, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

BJ’s posted second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.09, with revenue increasing 4.5% from a year ago to $5.21 billion. Net sales were up 4.4% to $5.09 billion, and membership fees jumped 8.9% to $113.1 million. All were above analysts’ estimates.

BJ’s Wholesale shares were down 6% at a three-month low in recent trading.

–Bill McColl

Urban Outfitters Stock Slides as Retailer Cites Slowing Sales

6 hr 40 min ago

Shares of Urban Outfitters (URBN) tumbled to a multi-month low Thursday as investors focused on the retailer’s sales outlook more than its second-quarter results that surpassed estimates.

The company behind retail brands including Anthropologie and Free People along with its namesake stores reported $1.35 billion in total revenue and net income of $117.5 million, both above analysts’ expectations.

Comparable store sales rose 6.7% year-over-year at Anthropologie and 7.1% at Free People. However, those at Urban Outfitters stores fell 9.3% year-over-year, larger than expected.

In Wednesday’s earnings call, Chief Operating Officer Frank Conforti said the retailer saw a “slight deceleration” in sales to end July and in the opening weeks of August.

JPMorgan analysts said that could suggest a slower third quarter. The analysts kept a neutral rating on the stock, and lowered their price target to $42 from $43 in response to the indication of weaker sales trends.

Urban Outfitters shares were down 9% in recent trading.

–Aaron McDade

Snowflake Shares Plunge Following Earnings Report

9 hr 17 min ago

Shares in cloud data-warehouse software company Snowflake (SNOW) dropped more than 10% in premarket trading after a widening net loss and rising costs overshadowed quarterly results that came in ahead of expectations. Moreover, despite the firm raising its annual revenue outlook, it left its gross margin forecast unchanged.

The share price broke out from a falling wedge pattern earlier this month, but that move looks to be tested following the stock’s projected post-earnings fall.

Snowflake shares may find buying interest on the chart at key price levels including $123, $108, and $95.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Indexes

10 hr 8 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up were up 0.4%.