OPENING CALL
Stock futures took a step back on Friday, easing after a powerful rally sparked by results from Nvidia.
Investors heeded Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's proclamation that AI had "hit the tipping point."
"We think generative AI will prove to be the growth theme of the decade, and Nvidia's earnings report demonstrates the current strength of AI infrastructure spending," UBS Global Wealth Management said.
Meanwhile, in a speech delivered Thursday, the Federal Reserve's Lisa Cook said current monetary policy is restrictive but said she wanted greater confidence inflation is converging to 2% before cutting interest rates.
The Fed's Waller made a similar point; "I still expect it will be appropriate sometime this year to begin easing monetary policy, but the start of policy easing and number of rate cuts will depend on the incoming data."
Overseas Markets
Overseas stocks were mixed. Europe's Stoxx 600 edged higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped. Thei Nikkei was closed for a holiday.
Premarket Movers
Block reported a surprise profit in the fourth quarter. Shares rose roughly 14%.
Intuit reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.63 a share, topping analysts' estimates of $2.30. Revenue rose 11% to $3.39 billion and matched expectations. Shares declined 1.6%.
Intuitive Machines was rising 64% after the company's Odysseus spacecraft became the first privately funded lander to successfully reach the moon.
Live Nation said fourth-quarter revenue rose 36% to $5.84 billion, with revenue from concerts jumping 44%. The company said concert-ticket sales this year were "pacing up 6%" and arena and amphitheater sales up double-digits.
Nvidia was up 2.6% in premarket trading after shares surged 16% on Thursday following the blowout quarterly earnings.
Warner Bros. was rising 2.4% ahead of its fourth-quarter report.
Thursday's Post-Close Movers
Booking Holdings' unadjusted profit fell sharply in the fourth quarter, with the company taking losses related to a Dutch pension fund matter and a draft decision by the Spanish competition authority. Shares dropped 9%.
Carvana said it expects retail units sold to be up in 2024, even as the company warned of macroeconomic and industry uncertainty. The company's loss narrowed in the fourth quarter and sales fell 15%. Shares were up 19%.
Watch For:
Earnings from Warner Bros. Discovery, Icahn Enterprises, and Bloomin' Brands.
Berkshire Hathaway's annual report, plus Warren Buffett's letter to shareholders, is due Saturday morning.
Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:
- The Hedge Funds That Changed the Game
- Oil Market Gets a Russian Lesson: Sell on the Sound of Cannons
- Companies Find Pricing Power in Times of Crisis, Complicating Inflation Fight
MARKET WRAPS
Forex:
The dollar typically falls during periods of risk appetite, such as Thursday's bumper gains in equities following Nvidia's strong results, but these falls are currently limited due to high U.S. bond yields, MUFG said.
The dollar's correlation with bond yields is twice as strong as its correlation with changes in risk appetite, MUFG added.
The 2-year Treasury yield is 50 basis points higher this month, slightly more than Germany's equivalent bond, which "makes it more questionable whether the dollar can weaken on the back of increased risk appetite."
Energy:
Oil prices slipped as the Fed pushed back on expectations for rate cuts any time soon, and concerns around sluggish demand weighed further.
Metals:
Base metals fell, while gold was broadly flat, as economic data and low China demand weighed.
The prices of precious metals-which had been on an upward trend for much of the week-took a hit following the release of U.S. economic data, causing gold and silver to lose their momentum, Sucden Financial said.
Meanwhile, industrial metals have stayed firmly in the doldrums as mainland Chinese demand continued to falter amid an extended downturn in the property sector and limited pick up in manufacturing, BMI said.
Copper
Despite pressure from tighter monetary policies and weaker economic growth, demand for copper has remained strong amid increased focus on electrification and decarbonization, ANZ said.
Growth in demand from China, the U.S. and India, three of the top five consumers, is expected to reach 4.3% in 2024, ANZ added.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Sells $125 Million of Stock
JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon just sold shares of his bank for the first time.
Dimon sold 683,038 JPMorgan shares for $125 million today, an average price of $182.73 each. According to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the stock was sold through trusts that he controls. Also, his spouse Judith Kent sold 138,740 JPMorgan shares for $25.3 million, an average price of $182.73 each. The sales were executed through a so-called Rule 10b5-1(c) plan, which was disclosed at the end of November.
Meta Staff Found Instagram Subscription Tool Enabled Child Exploitation. The Company Pressed Ahead Anyway.
Meta Platforms safety staff warned last year that new paid subscription tools on Facebook and Instagram were being misused by adults seeking to profit from exploiting their own children.
Two teams inside Meta raised alarms in internal reports, after finding that hundreds of what the company calls "parent-managed minor accounts" were using the subscription feature to sell exclusive content not available to nonpaying followers. The content, often featuring young girls in bikinis and leotards, was sold to an audience that was overwhelmingly male and often overt about sexual interest in the children in comments on posts or when they communicated with the parents, according to people familiar with the investigations, which determined that the payments feature was launched without basic child-safety protections.
As Trading Frenzies Grip Penny Stocks, Criticism of Nasdaq Grows
Nasdaq touts itself as the stock exchange for many of the world's most iconic and successful companies. It is also the home of Bit Brother.
The China-based company focused on selling tea products until it pivoted to cryptocurrencies in 2021. Its shares have fallen more than 99% since the beginning of 2020, after accounting for the three reverse stock splits it has done.
What Companies Need to Know When Accounting for Leap Day
What a difference a day makes. Or does it?
Some financial chiefs are wondering. Almost every four years-this year is one-there are 29 days in February instead of 28. The longer February presents companies with a series of issues to consider as they account for the extra day and report their financials for the period.
Nikki Haley Tries to Hold Back Trump Onslaught in South Carolina
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.-Nikki Haley unleashed a full-throated attack against Donald Trump on Thursday evening, portraying him as a major drag on the Republican Party's future as she sought to avoid a landslide drubbing in her home state's presidential primary on Saturday.
"Donald Trump can't win a general election," the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador told several hundred supporters here, after saying the GOP needs to select someone with "moral clarity" who knows "the difference between right and wrong."
U.S. Warns Russia Not to Deploy Nuclear-Armed Space Weapon
WASHINGTON-The U.S. has privately warned Russia not to deploy a new nuclear-armed antisatellite weapon, which it said would violate the Outer Space Treaty and jeopardize U.S. national security interests, U.S. officials said.
The rare outreach by top U.S. national security and intelligence officials is part of a diplomatic campaign that the Biden administration is mounting to head off the threat that also involves approaches to China, India, G-7 nations and other close allies that have interests in space and channels to Moscow.
How Trump Turned Conservatives Against Helping Ukraine
FORT WASHINGTON, Md.-Billions in potential American aid to Ukraine is stuck in monthslong limbo on Capitol Hill, and to the Trump-loving partisans attending this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, that's exactly as it should be.
"I don't want any more funding for Ukraine. That's very important to me, " said Sue Errera, a 70-year-old retired jeweler from Seneca, Pa. "We need to take care of ourselves first. I don't agree with Putin, he's definitely a dictator, but I don't think he's causing all the problems."
Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings [4Q Unless Stated Otherwise]:
CI Fincl
Docebo
Hudbay Minerals
RB Global
TransAlta
Economic Calendar (ET):
0830 Q4 Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises
Stocks to Watch:
Chorus Aviation 4Q Net C$36.6M; 4Q Rev C$421.5M
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First Quantum Minerals Prices US$1.60B Notes Offering; Senior Secured Second-Lien Notes to Carry 9.375% Coupon, Mature Due 2029; to Use Proceeds to Redeem All of Outstanding Senior Notes Due 2025, 2026
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Mandalay Resources 4Q EPS 3c; 4Q Rev $50.6M; 4Q Adj EPS 10c
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Melcor REIT Suspends Distribution; Announces Commencement of Strategic Review Process
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Pembina Pipeline 4Q EPS C$1.21; 4Q Rev C$2.47B
Expected Major Events for Friday
00:01/UK: Feb UK Consumer Confidence Survey
07:00/GER: 4Q GDP - Detailed breakdown
09:00/GER: Feb Ifo Business Climate Index
13:30/CAN: 4Q Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises
13:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Friday
ASA Gold & Precious Metals Ltd (ASA) is expected to report for 4Q.
Amerityre Corp (AMTY) is expected to report for 2Q.
Atrion Corp (ATRI) is expected to report for 4Q.
Bloomin' Brands (BLMN) is expected to report $0.68 for 4Q.
CI Financial Corp (CIFAF,CIX.T) is expected to report $0.70 for 4Q.
Calumet Specialty Prods (CLMT) is expected to report $-0.21 for 4Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
02-23-24 0623ET
