(Boursier.com) — Wall Street remains hesitant this Friday, the S&P 500 returning 0.04% to 4,566 pts and the Nasdaq 0.33% to 14,178 pts, compared to an increase of 0.18% in the Dow Jones to 36,015 pts – at the highest since January 2022 and within 3% of all-time highs. Operators are now showing a little more caution, after a particularly positive month of November, driven by hopes of a peak in rates and an easing of inflation. Fed President Jerome Powell is speaking today in Atlanta, which could decide the second part of the session.
Michael Barr, Austan Goolsbee and Lisa Cook from the Fed also speak today, before the blackout period preceding the monetary meeting on December 12 and 13. Note that the CME Group’s FedWatch tool gives a probability of more than 97% of a monetary status quo from the Fed on December 13. Rates would thus be maintained within a range of 5.25 to 5.50%.
On the Nymex, a barrel of WTI crude is moving little at $76.1. An ounce of gold gained 0.5% to $2,048. The dollar index gains 0.1% against a basket of currencies. The yield on two-year Treasury bonds stands at 4.65%, compared to 4.31% on the 10-year bond and 4.49% on the 30-year bond.
The Markit final US manufacturing PMI for November 2023 came in at 49.4, in line with the FactSet consensus and preliminary reading for the same month. This indicator therefore remains below 50, signaling a slight contraction in national manufacturing activity.
The US ISM manufacturing index for November missed the consensus, coming in at 46.7. Analysts on average expected a level of 47.7, according to economist estimates compiled by FactSet. The new orders indicator still recovered to 48.3 compared to 45.5 in October. The price index linked to the manufacturing indicator stood at 49.9, much higher than expected.
Construction spending in the United States for the month of October 2023 showed an increase of 0.6% compared to the previous month, according to today’s report, while the consensus was at +0.4%. A month earlier, this spending had increased by 0.2% (revised reading).
Jerome Powell will therefore have his say at 5 p.m. and could bring the markets back to the reality of a lastingly restrictive monetary policy from the Fed.
Elsewhere in the world today, Japan’s October unemployment rate came in slightly below expectations at 2.5%, while the Markit/JMMA Japan Final November Manufacturing PMI came in at 2.5% territory. contraction to 48.3. The Markit/Caixin Chinese manufacturing PMI for the same month came in at 50.7, above expectations… Swiss GDP beat consensus in the third quarter… The final European manufacturing PMIs for November were contrasting. The Spanish index exceeded expectations but remains in sharp contraction at 46.3, while the Italian indicator missed the consensus at 44.4. The French indicator, at 42.9, appears depressed but above the consensus. The German indicator narrowly exceeded market expectations at 42.6. finally, the final manufacturing PMI index for the entire euro zone beats the consensus at 44.2, compared to 43.8 in flash reading and 43.8 also for the FactSet consensus… The CIPS British manufacturing PMI index November final, at 46.7, comes out in line with expectations.
Values
Marvell Technology (-6%), the American designer of ‘chips’, expects continued growth in its data center activities. Operators prefer to note that some customers are suffering from current economic conditions, which could weigh on other activities. For the fourth fiscal quarter, the period started, revenues are anticipated at 1.42 billion dollars, plus or minus 5%, against 1.46 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings per share are expected at 46 cents, plus or minus 5 cents, compared to the market consensus of 49 cents. For the quarter ended October 2023, revenues nevertheless exceeded expectations, at $1.42 billion, while adjusted EPS represented 41 cents, compared to 40 cents consensus.
Dell Technologies gives up 5% on Wall Street. For the closed quarter, the American IT group posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.88 compared to a consensus of $1.47. A year earlier, earnings per share stood at $2.30. Revenues totaled $22.25 billion, down 10% year-on-year, compared to $22.9 billion consensus. Thus, Dell largely beat the profit consensus but disappointed in terms of revenue, with the business PC segment remaining at half mast. Dell’s ‘client solutions’ group, comprising corporate and consumer PC sales, posted sales down 11%.
For the quarter ending in January, Dell expects revenues of around $22 billion, compared to a consensus of $23.9 billion. A “low single-digit” sales decline is still expected in the PC unit, compared to the previous quarter. On the server side, sales for the past quarter were however solid, at 4.7 billion against 4.4 billion consensus, up 9% sequentially with customer interest in generative AI. Dell finally expects revenue growth for the new fiscal year starting in February, with a resumption of IT spending, particularly in the United States.
Ulta Beauty soars 11% on the Nasdaq. The beauty products distribution specialist posted revenues of $2.49 billion for the quarter ended October, up 6.4% from last year and around 1% above consensus. . Adjusted earnings per share were $5.07, compared to $5.34 a year earlier and $4.96 consensus. Ulta is also raising its annual financial forecast, adjusting the lower end of its profit and sales estimate ranges, with demand for skin care products and fragrances. Thus, annual adjusted earnings per share are now expected between $25.20 and $25.60, while revenues for the year are expected between $11.1 and $11.15 billion.
Apple (stable) and Paramount (+5%) are discussing the consolidation of their streaming services, according to the Wall Street Journal. The two groups would have discussed the possibility of combining their streaming services in a reduced price offer, the combined Paramount + / Apple TV + offer studied having to cost less than separate subscriptions to the two services. At least that’s what sources familiar with the newspaper’s discussions indicate. The negotiations are still at a preliminary stage and the final form that the combined offer could take is not yet clear.
You’re here (-3%) therefore kicked off deliveries of the long-awaited Cybertruck electric pickup. According to the Tesla France website, the vehicle with a look worthy of Mad Max has a towing capacity of 4,990 kilos – the equivalent of the weight of an African elephant -, an estimated range of 547 kilometers (for the longest version autonomy) and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds “in beast mode”. The Cybertruck will be available in three configurations: rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and “Cyberbeast”. The cheapest version will therefore cost $60,990, much more than the price announced by Musk in 2019. In addition, this version, a rear-wheel drive model with a battery range of 250 miles, will not be available until 2025. Tesla offers delivery next year for the two most expensive models, including the Cyberbeast which will cost $99,990. The all-wheel drive version will have an estimated starting price of $80,000.
The rear-wheel drive version, the cheapest of the three, with a starting price of around $61,000 and available in 2025, is therefore far from the $40,000 estimated in 2019 by Musk. Since then, the rise in material costs has happened. This is Tesla’s first new model in four years, making this launch quite critical.
Walt Disney (-1%) confirmed its intention to restore a dividend of 30 cents per share, undoubtedly pushed by activist investor Nelson Peltz who is maintaining pressure on management – the entertainment group having rejected its request for representation at the board of directors. Disney therefore declared a cash dividend of 30 cents per share payable on January 10 to shareholders of record at the close of December 11, for the second fiscal half of 2023.
UiPath, designer of automation software, soared 24% on Wall Street after beating the market consensus in the third quarter. Quarterly revenues totaled $326 million, growing 24% year-over-year. Adjusted operating profit reached $44 million and cash flow from operations reached $42 million. The group anticipates fourth-quarter revenues ranging from $381 million to $386 million.
Pfizer drops 5% on Wall Street, while the American pharmaceutical giant has decided to abandon the development of an oral treatment for obesity with its danuglipron molecule, due to a high rate of side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Pfizer instead intends to focus on a modified-release, once-daily version of danuglipron. In the twice-daily version study, the drug achieved its primary goal of weight reduction in obese adults without type 2 diabetes, with an average weight loss observed across all doses, between 6.9 and 11 .7% in patients receiving treatment at 32 weeks.