Stocks stall as profits drag Dow down

live8 updates

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024 12:16pm PST

  Can you smell it…what is the board cooking?

  Early Tuesday morning, news that Netflix (NFLX) and WWE owner TKO Group (TKO) are partnering to bring Raw to the streaming service grabbed most headlines, sending TKO stock up more than 16%.

  However, in another release released this morning, TKO has revamped their board of directors, adding one of the biggest stars of this era to their board.

  Effective today, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will join TKO's Board of Directors, and Johnson will also secure ownership of the trademarked name “The Rock.”

  “As a global leader in sports and entertainment, I am extremely motivated to continue to grow TKO, WWE and UFC globally,” Johnson said in a release. “They are working hard on their own to make their dreams come true and reach their audience. I was there, I'm still there, and this is for them. ”

  In an SEC filing, TKO also revealed that The Rock will be granted $30 million worth of company stock as part of the licensing agreement with Johnson.

  TKO also announced that Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell will be joining its board of directors.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 10:45 a.m. PST

  Not all stocks are expensive when stocks are at market highs.

  The major stock market indexes are at market highs, with many Wall Street strategists pointing out that the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC), with a forward P/E of more than 21 times, represents a historically high valuation for the stock market. .

  But new analysis released Tuesday by a team at UBS shows that not everything is too expensive at the moment.

  Strategist Patrick Palfrey highlighted that 77% of S&P 500 companies are trading at a discount to January 2022 levels (the previous market high). Of these companies, 55% have lower price-to-earnings ratios than they did at the previous market top.

  Now, while some may see this as an opportunity to buy stocks that won't return to 2021 levels, there is an important caveat to this. Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) accounted for 75% of the S&P 500's gains this year, according to a Bespoke Investment Group analysis last Friday.

  Both stocks have higher valuations than they did in January 2021 and are trading near all-time highs.

  As of January 19th, NVIDIA $NVDA and Microsoft $MSFT has accounted for about 75% of the S&P 500's gain this year, and the index's top 20 stocks have accounted for 110% of the index's gain. The remaining 480 stocks were a drag. pic.twitter.com/b8EvAIWfhj

  — Bespoke (@bespokeinvest) January 22, 2024

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024 9:53am PST

  Staples and Communications Services lead market action

  Gains in other sectors were the main market mover on Tuesday after gains in tech stocks sent the market to a record high.

  Consumer Staples (XLP) and Communication Services (XLC) led the S&P 500 (^GSPC) in afternoon trading as investors digested quarterly results from Procter & Gamble (PG) and Verizon (VZ). It was the biggest gainer, rising more than 0.5%. , among others.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) generally fell about 0.5% after the blue-chip index topped 38,000 for the first time on Monday. Both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) fell just below the flatline.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 9:33 a.m. PST

  DR Houghton puts pressure on homebuilder stocks amid worries over rising interest rates and incentives

  Homebuilding stocks have been one of the brightest spots in the market's rally, but Tuesday's news shows the sector remains sensitive to interest rates and the impact on the housing market.

  DR Horton (DHI) stock fell 9% at midday Tuesday after the homebuilder reported lower-than-expected quarterly orders and first-quarter earnings per share that fell short of analysts' expectations. . Investor reaction also caused the SPDR S&P Home Builders ETF (XHB) to fall by as much as 3%.

  Both XHB and DR Horton closed at record highs on Monday.

  Specifically, DR Horton said on a conference call with analysts that if mortgage rate declines stall, a concession strategy consisting of mortgage rate purchases that hurt margins but make homes more affordable for buyers. He said he would be cautious about making changes.

  “This use of rate buying is not the first time for us in the past 12 months,” CEO Paul Romanowski said Tuesday. “We have been taking advantage of that incentive for more than 24 months, so we believe that in the future we will be able to remain competitive, not only in the new home market, but especially in the resale market, and be able to lower our monthly rates.” I believe it.''It is advantageous to pay the same amount for housing. Therefore, even if interest rates fall, we have no plans to stop using them in the short term.”

  This comment differs from comments provided by KB Home (KBH) earlier this month, which indicated a reduction in incentives in the first quarter of this year.

  Mortgage rates fell to 6.6% last week, the lowest level in seven months, down from 6.66% a year ago and 7% in September.

  But long-term interest rates, which are linked to mortgage rates, have been rising recently, making investors less optimistic about the Federal Reserve's rate cuts starting in March.

  And despite the downturn in DR Houghton printing, new construction has been a major driver of housing stock as resale market supply fell to its worst level in decades last year. In response, home builders across the country are rolling out juicer incentives to drum up buyer interest and cushion sticker shock from soaring interest rates and home prices.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 8:45 a.m. PST

  Crude oil futures shake as Libyan production restarts, cold wave impacts US production

  Oil futures were volatile on Tuesday after Libya resumed production at the country's largest oil field as subzero temperatures across North Dakota continued to impact production.

  West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell as much as 1%, but has since recovered and was trading near $75 a barrel by midday. Brent futures (BZ=F) also fell, paring losses to above $80 a barrel after rising about 2% in the previous session.

  Libya's oil production has returned to 1.2 million barrels a day after a three-week hiatus due to protests.

  Meanwhile, a cold wave recently occurred across the United States, causing crude oil production of approximately 200,000 barrels per day to be halted in North Dakota.

  “Still, unless we see an escalation in Red Sea tensions that actually constrains oil sales, upside potential for oil prices appears limited,” Dennis Kistler, senior vice president at BOK Financial, said on Tuesday. said.

  Please see here for the detail.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 8:00 a.m. PST

  Netflix to host WWE Raw with live sports entertainment

  Netflix (NFLX) and WWE (TKO), a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, announced a new partnership early Tuesday morning that will bring WWE's flagship show Raw to the streaming service starting in January 2025.

  The 10-year deal marks Netflix's first major venture into the world of live sports entertainment, while also marking Raw's exit from linear television for the first time since its inception 31 years ago. The show, which currently airs on NBCUniversal's USA Network, draws 17.5 million unique viewers annually, the companies said.

  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but multiple reports put the deal's value at more than $5 billion.

  Shares of TKO, which is also UFC's parent company, soared more than 20% in early market trading. Netflix stock rose about 2% in premarket trading before trading flat.

  Wells Fargo analyst Steve Cahall described the move as a “logical next step” in a reaction note to clients.

  “This further enhances NFLX's ability to continue to seek growth beyond paid shares as new content = more ads and more subscribers,” he said. “We believe that increasing ad scale is a top priority for NFLX, as reach and frequency are needed to secure a top table spot with U.S. ad buyers.”

  Still, analysts pointed out that WWE is not quite the same as a major sports right, considering the financial disparity between the two organizations is about $500 million annually. “The inevitable question is, 'When will NFLX get into live sports?' We think that's still years away,” he said.

  TKO news coming in was also announced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joins the Board of Directors. Meanwhile, Netflix is ​​scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the bell on Tuesday.

  Please see here for the detail.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:33 a.m. PST

  Stock prices are rising following the financial results

  Earnings drove market activity Tuesday morning, as multiple company earnings disappointed Wall Street analysts and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lower.

  3M Company (3M) fell nearly 10% on Tuesday after the company's 2024 profit outlook fell short of Wall Street expectations.

  General Electric (GE)'s stock price fell about 2% in morning trading after the company's profit forecast for the current quarter fell short of analysts' expectations, after beating earnings estimates last quarter.

  Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) stock drops 2% as the company notes it is “in the process” of reaching a settlement with 43 state attorneys general to resolve claims related to J&J's marketing of talc products It fell more than that. The Wall Street Journal reported that J&J will pay $700 million to resolve the investigation.

  Verizon (VZ) had a different earnings story, with its stock up nearly 5% in morning trading. His net addition of postpaid phones by wireless carriers was 449,000, well above Wall Street's expectations of his 232,000 increase.

• 

  Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 6:32am PST

  Stock prices open mixed

  U.S. stocks hit a pause on record gains as focus shifted to the day's earnings streams for insight into the health of U.S. companies and the economy.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.1% after the blue-chip index topped 38,000 for the first time on Monday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.1% to remain near its record close, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) also soared.

  3M and Johnson & Johnson, major constituents of the Dow, saw their stock prices fall following the release of their quarterly results, weighing on the major averages.