Disney is increasing, Paypal is declining
Wall Street is dragging its feet
February 8, 2024, 11:43 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The upward trend on Wall Street continues – albeit without momentum. Investors have now come to terms with the prospect that the Fed’s hoped-for interest rate cuts will take some time to come. The focus is now on company balance sheets, with one semiconductor company in particular causing excitement.
Wall Street ended trading on Thursday with a slightly positive trend. However, the moderate premiums were enough for new record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Shortly before the closing bell, the S&P 500 briefly climbed above the 5,000 point mark for the first time. However, the focus was primarily on the reporting season, which caused some strong price movements for individual stocks. The Dow Jones Index gained 0.1 percent to 38,726 points. The S&P 500 also rose by 0.1 percent to 4,998 points. For the Nasdaq Composite it went up 0.2 percent.
Support came from Bond market, where yields increased slightly after the significant declines of the past few days and thus stabilized. An auction of 10-year US government bonds on Wednesday was met with brisk demand – according to market participants, a sign that investors are now just as relaxed about inflation as they are about the fact that it will probably take a little longer before the US Federal Reserve lowers interest rates becomes. Only the weekly initial jobless claims were on the economic agenda. They show that the employment situation remains good.
Arm Holdings at record high
For the Disney stock According to business figures, it rose by 11.5 percent. The entertainment group not only exceeded expectations with its results, but also announced the acquisition of a minority stake in the game developer Epic Games, known for “Fortnite”. The semiconductor company’s shares rose by 47.9 percent Arm Holdings. Thanks to the AI boom, both sales and earnings were above expectations, and Arm gave an optimistic outlook.
However, it was not convincing in all respects Paypal. Although the payment service provider increased sales and promised further growth, the number of active customers fell. Paypal also expects a decline in earnings per share in the current year. The stock slipped 11.2 percent.
Under Armour gained 0.1 percent. The sporting goods manufacturer’s sales fell more significantly than expected, but the company earned more than expected. Under Armor adjusted its sales forecast for the current financial year slightly downwards, but its earnings forecast per share is above the analyst consensus. The tobacco company Philip Morris reported a decline in profits and issued disappointing earnings targets. The shares fell by 2.7 percent.
Oil prices rose significantly. They were further supported by the Middle East conflict. The price for the European reference variety Brent rose to $82 a barrel after Israel rejected a ceasefire proposal from radical Islamist Hamas.