S&P 500 futures are up 13 points (0.2%), Nasdaq 100 futures are up 83 points (0.4%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 31 points (0.1%).
Early positive momentum is driven by gains in mega cap stocks, but upcoming economic data releases might change the trend. Key reports to watch today include the weekly jobless claims at 8:30 ET, preliminary August S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMIs at 9:45 ET, and the July Existing Home Sales report at 10:00 ET.
Treasury yields have edged up slightly ahead of the data. The 2-year note yield is up six basis points to 3.98%, and the 10-year note yield is up five basis points to 3.83%.
In the stock market:
Today's News
Snowflake's (SNOW, Financial) stock saw a significant drop of about 10% in premarket trading on Thursday. Despite the company's second-quarter results for fiscal 2025 beating estimates, analysts remained cautious. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal-weight rating with a $175 price target, noting that while the fiscal second-quarter results were good, they were not sufficient to shift investor sentiment. The analysts pointed out that although product revenue growth was solid, the magnitude of the outperformance fell short of expectations, leaving investors seeking more concrete signals.
Charles Schwab (SCHW, Financial) also experienced a notable decline, falling 4% in premarket trading. This came after Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) reportedly raised $2.5 billion by pricing the sale of SCHW's shares at $61.65 each. The sale was priced at a 4.5% discount from SCHW's last close, reducing TD's ownership from 12.3% to 10.1%. The pricing report followed TD's announcement of a $2.6 billion provision in its fiscal Q3 results, anticipating a resolution of civil and criminal investigations into its U.S. Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering program.
Advance Auto Parts (AAP, Financial) faced a tumultuous Thursday morning as shares initially gained due to its $1.5 billion sale of Worldpac but later surrendered those gains following a disappointing Q2 earnings report. The report included a miss on profit expectations and lowered FY24 guidance. Shares dropped close to 12%, setting to open at their lowest level this year. CEO Shane O’Kelly emphasized the positive comparable sales growth amid a challenging demand environment and highlighted the sale of Worldpac to Carlyle Group (CG) as a strategic move to focus on turning around the Advance blended box business.
SentinelOne (S, Financial) was in the spotlight as Wells Fargo upgraded the cybersecurity company, believing it can capitalize on CrowdStrike's (CRWD) recent mishap that caused a global tech outage. Shares rose nearly 4% in premarket trading. Analyst Andrew Nowinski noted that SentinelOne is gaining market share at the expense of CrowdStrike, which should translate into stronger revenue growth. The pipeline looks strong, enabling continued share gains, prompting Nowinski to raise his rating to Overweight from Equal-Weight and increase the price target to $29 from $19.
Peloton (PTON, Financial) showed signs of recovery, breaking a nine-quarter streak of declining revenue and narrowing its quarterly loss by 88%, both exceeding Wall Street’s expectations. The company's focus on aligning costs with business size and achieving significant cost savings from its restructuring plan contributed to the improved profitability. Additionally, success with the Bike+ rental program in the UK and growth in connected fitness revenue from its treadmill business further supported the turnaround efforts.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP, Financial) and Canadian National Railway (CNI, Financial) faced operational disruptions as they shut down their rail networks and locked out nearly 10,000 employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). The stoppage resulted from failed contract negotiations, with the union demanding better rest periods and scheduling provisions. Both companies expressed disappointment in the lack of a negotiated outcome, despite their efforts to propose serious offers with improved pay and conditions.
Bavarian Nordic (BVNRY, Financial) shares rebounded after announcing H1 2024 results and setting its outlook at the upper end of the previously issued range, buoyed by a new mpox vaccine order. The Danish company saw a 13% rise in shares in Copenhagen, contrasting with its rivals Chimerix (CMRX) and Emergent Biosolutions (EBS), which experienced declines or flat trading. Bavarian Nordic received a contract to supply 440K doses of its MVA-BN smallpox/mpox vaccine to an undisclosed European country, reflecting the ongoing demand amid the mpox outbreak.
Alphabet (GOOG, Financial), Walmart (WMT, Financial), and Philip Morris International (PM, Financial) emerged as the least shorted S&P 500 stocks in July. Alphabet witnessed a decline in short share volume, with its Class C shares seeing a 4.97% drop from June. Walmart saw a slight increase in short shares volume, while Philip Morris experienced a minor change in short interest. These companies' positions as the least shorted stocks indicate a relatively stable outlook from investors.
GuruFocus Stock Analysis
- Recent ASML Sell-Off Is an Excellent Opportunity to Benefit From AI Tailwinds by Akim Guerreiro
- Nvidia: Long-Term Entry Point, but Potential Short-Term Downside by Oliver Rodzianko
- CME Group Benefits From Market Volatility by Daniel Urbina
- Ford: An Unjustified Falling Knife With Turnaround Potential by Akim Guerreiro
