
Apple Raises the Bar With Strong Forward Guidance
Equity index futures are mixed as the final trading day of the week coincides with the first day of May, marking a record-breaking month of stocks during April as stocks take a breather with S&P futures (/ES) up +0.14% while Nasdaq futures (/NQ, -0.17%) and Russell futures (/RTY, -0.06%) show modest declines.
Apple (AAPL) is up +3.7% after the electronics giant beat on earnings, gave strong guidance, announced a $100B buyback, and raised its dividend. Meanwhile, memory chip companies are among this morning’s biggest losers with Western Digital (WDC, -8.4%), SanDisk (SNDK, -6.1%), and Micron (MU, -2.2%) dip despite strong earnings results from the sector.
Economic data on top for today include S&P Global Manufacturing PMI and the ISM Manufacturing Index. This morning’s earnings include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Estee Lauder (EL), and Moderna (MRNA), while Monday will bring results from Palantir (PLTR), On Semiconductor (ON), and Paramount SkyDance (PSKY).
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil is down -2.35% in early trading near 102.75, continuing yesterday’s -2.83% slide that closed at 105.41.
- Gold (/GC) –Gold is down -0.62% at about 4600, erasing much of yesterday’s +1.72% bounce that brought price to a close of 4,636 after a -7.7% drop during the past nine trading days.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency is up +1.75% at about 78,090, extending yesterday’s +1.05% rally that ended at 76,800 and snapped a five-day losing streak that sent price about -3.25% lower.
- VIX – The VIX is at 16.75, following yesterday’s sharp decline that saw a close of 16.89, which was down 1.92 from Wednesday’s close.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX): The greenback is moving lower on the session, trading around 97.865.
Biggest Premarket Movers (as of 7 AM ET)
ESTEE LAUDER (EL): +10.45%
MODERNA (MRNA): +6.66%
CBOE GLOBAL (CBOE): +4.97%
GODADDY (GDDY): +3.70%
PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE (PSKY): +3.61%
WESTERN DIGITAL (WDC): -7.55%
CLOROX (CLX): -6.45%
SANDISK CORP (SNDK): -4.61%
DEXCOM INC (DXCM): -3.44%
RESMED INC (RMD): -2.72%
Economic Data
8:45 AM ET: S&P Global Manufacturing PMI
9:00 AM ET: ISM Manufacturing PMI, ISM Manufacturing Prices
12:00 PM ET: Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count
Notable Earnings
Premarket: XOM, CVX, CL, D, EL, LYB, CHD, MRNA
Postmarket: N/A
Premarket Monday: TSN, NCLH, RIG
Postmarket Monday: PLTR, VRTX, FANG, ON, CTRA, FN, PINS, PSKY
Upgrades/Downgrades
- Morgan Stanley upgrades Caterpillar (CAT) to Equal Weight from Underweight
- TD Cowen upgrades Roblox (RBLX) to Hold from Sell
- Raymond James downgrades Roblox (RBLX) to Market Perform from Outperform
- Baird downgrades Truist Financial (TFC) to Neutral from Outperform
- Morgan Stanley downgrades Elf Beauty (ELF) to Equal Weight from Overweight
- Jefferies downgrades Avis Budget (CAR) to Hold from Buy
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