(Boursier.com) – Wall Street remains under pressure on Wednesday, the S&P 500 grabbing 0.11% to 3,946 pts, the Dow Jones 0.28% to 33,691 pts, but the Nasdaq yielding 0.27% to 10,985 pts. Investors abandoned the easy “Fed pivot” scenario, after strong US economic data in recent days. On the Nymex, a barrel of WTI crude fell 0.4% to around $74. An ounce of gold gained 0.5% to $1,791. The dollar index lost 0.5% against a basket of currencies.
According to today’s US government report, revised third-quarter nonfarm productivity figures showed a 0.8% pace of growth, compared to a FactSet consensus of +0.5% pace. annual. Unit labor costs increased at a rate of 2.4%, against +3.2% consensus.
The weekly U.S. Domestic Oil Inventories report for the week ended December 2 showed a sharp drop of 5.2 million barrels in non-strategic crude oil inventories, a sharp 5.3 million barrel increase in gasoline stocks and a 6.2 MB increase in distillate product stocks.
Finally, the US consumer credit figures for the month of October will be published at 9 p.m. (consensus +26.5 billion dollars).
Tomorrow Thursday, operators will follow the US weekly jobless claims. On Friday, the Producer Price Index will get attention, as will the Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan.
Note that next week will be marked by monetary meetings of the Fed (Tuesday and Wednesday), the Bank of England (Thursday) and the ECB (Thursday).
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool as of today, the odds of a Fed rate hike of 50 basis points on Dec. 14 is just over 77%, compared with a 23% chance of a larger move. 75 basis points strong. The current range for the fed funds rate is between 3.75 and 4%, the highest since 2008, after a series of four oversized rate hikes of 75 basis points.
Values
You’re here (-4%) is still stumbling on Wall Street, while despite the denial of Elon Musk’s group, operators still fear a significant reduction in Model Y production in Shanghai. Two sources familiar with the matter quoted by Reuters had indicated earlier this week that the group intended to reduce the production of Model Y of the Shanghai factory by more than 20% this month, compared to the previous month. In addition, Barron’s questions the issue of demand for Tesla’s vehicles, citing Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi that the group’s electric vehicles appear to be increasingly “undergoing a demand problem.”
Apple (-1%) would have shifted its schedule for its autonomous car, the Bloomberg agency understands. The Californian group at the apple now intends to offer consumers a model of this vehicle in 2026, for less than $100,000. The Cupertino group would therefore have adjusted its ambitious plans in autonomous driving for its future electric vehicle. It would have postponed the car’s target launch date by about a year to 2026, according to people with knowledge of the matter, quoted by the agency. The car project, dubbed ‘Titan’ within the company, “has been in limbo for several months as Apple executives grapple with the reality that the vision of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals is not achievable with current technology,” the agency said.
MasterCard (-1%) announced last night an increase in its quarterly dividend to 57 cents per share, against 49 cents previously. The new dividend will be payable on February 9 to shareholders registered on January 9, 2023. This is therefore a 16% increase in the dividend. The group also announced a new $9 billion share buyback program, which will take effect once the previous $8 billion program is finalized. There remains $4.1 billion to be redeemed under the previous program.
Southwest Airlines (-7%), the American low-cost airline, announced the restoration of its dividend, after a break of more than two years in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, Southwest’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of 18 cents per share, which will be paid on January 31. The resumption of the dividend reflects, according to the group’s chief executive, Bob Jordan, “the robust return of demand for air travel and the solid operational and financial results of the company since March 2022”.
Campbell’s Soup (+5%) raised its financial forecast today, with the solid demand for soups and sauces, as well as a strengthened supply chain. For the 2023 financial year, the group now anticipates revenue growth ranging from 7 to 9%, against a previous guidance ranging from 4 to 6%. Adjusted earnings per share for the year are now expected between $2.9 and $3, compared to the previous guidance range of $2.85 to $2.95. For its first fiscal quarter of the shifted fiscal year, the group posted revenue growth of 15% to 2.58 billion dollars, compared to a consensus of 2.45 billion. Rising prices supported the accounts. Adjusted earnings per share also rose 15% to $1.02.
Morgan Stanley (steady). CNBC understands Morgan Stanley would cut about 2% of its workforce, in the first group-wide reduction since 2019. The actions would affect about 1,600 positions out of the bank’s 81,567 employees. Almost all activities would be affected, according to CNBC’s sources, who declined to be identified. Financial advisory operations would be among the only spared. Goldman Sachs also reportedly warned of further potential workforce reductions, according to Bloomberg. The agency also reports that Bank of America would have slowed down its hiring.
Toll Brothers (+5%), the American real estate developer, beat the consensus for revenues and profits for the quarter ended. For its fourth fiscal quarter, the group posted adjusted earnings per share of $4.67, compared to a consensus of $3.9 and a level of $3.02 a year earlier. Revenues totaled $3.71 billion in the quarter ended October, beating expectations…by 15%. They were 3.04 billion a year earlier, at the same period. Net profit was $640 million for the quarter, compared to $374 million a year earlier. Nevertheless, the net value of contracts signed was 1.3 billion, down 56% year-on-year, with a unit volume of 1,186 housing units, down 60%. Backlog value was $8.9 billion at the end of the quarter, down 7%.
Microsoft (-1%). Microsoft Chairman Brad Smith will meet with the three FTC Democratic members to discuss takeover dealActivision, says the New York Post. Sources close to the situation told the New York Post that Smith will meet with FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan, as well as Democratic commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, this Wednesday, Dec. 7, ahead of a closed meeting of commissioners. the FTC on Thursday, December 8 to discuss the merger and possibly vote on it. Sources tell the newspaper that Smith will highlight Microsoft’s decision to offer Sony a 10-year license agreement for Activision games on its PlayStation consoles, and that the games will be offered on PS at the same time they become available. on Microsoft’s Xbox.