Wall Street is gaining ground before the market on Wall Street, with operators still playing the scenario of an easing of inflation and a rate peak now reached by the Fed. The S&P 500 advanced by 0.3% in pre-session, the Dow Jones by 0.6% and the Nasdaq by 0.3%. On the Nymex, a barrel of WTI crude rose 1.1% to $78.8. An ounce of gold lost 0.3% to $2,040. The dollar index advances 0.3% against a basket of currencies. On the bond markets, the yield on the 2-year T-Bond stabilizes at 4.66%, compared to 4.29% on the 10-year bond and 4.46% on the 30-year bond.
The personal income of American households for the month of October 2023 was up 0.2% compared to the previous month, in line with the consensus, after a gain of 0.4% a month before. Household spending increased by 0.2% compared to the previous month, also in line with market expectations, after an increase of 0.7% in September. The ‘core PCE’ price index closely monitored by the Fed also revealed no surprises, growing by 0.2% from one month to the next, as expected, an increase of 3.5 % over one year.
Unemployment claims increased slightly last week in the United States. The US Department of Labor announced unemployment claims for the week ended November 25 at 218,000, up 7,000 from the previous week. The consensus was positioned at 220,000. The four-week average stands at 220,000, down 500. Finally, the number of unemployed workers receiving compensation for the week ended November 18 stands at 1.927 million, up 86,000 over seven days (1.872 million consensus).
The barrel of oil is rising while OPEC+ has reportedly reached an agreement to further reduce its production. Citing a source within the cartel, ‘Reuters’ claims that producing countries have agreed to reduce their supply by more than an additional million barrels per day. Two sources added that the deal included an extension of Saudi Arabia’s voluntary 1 million bpd production cut alongside additional supply cuts from other members.
The Chicago PMI index and housing sales promises are still awaited today. John Williams of the Fed speaks during the day.
Concerning the publication of results, Salesforce, Synopsys, Snowflake, PVH, Okta or Pure Storage announced yesterday Wednesday. Dell Technologies, Marvell Technology, Johnson Controls, Kroger and Ulta Beauty, release this Thursday.
Values
Salesforce stands out with an increase of more than 9% now before market on Wall Street, while Marc Benioff’s group pleasantly surprised last night with its financial publication and its very solid forecasts. For the third fiscal quarter, the group achieved adjusted earnings per share of $2.11, compared to a consensus of $2.06. Quarterly revenues stood at $8.72 billion, slightly above expectations. For the fourth fiscal quarter this time, Salesforce anticipates adjusted earnings per share ranging from $2.25 to $2.26, compared to a consensus of $2.17. The group’s cost reduction program therefore seems to be bearing fruit, with Salesforce having reduced its workforce to less than 71,000 people at the end of October, or 11% less than a year ago. The San Francisco group expects fourth-quarter revenues ranging from $9.18 billion to $9.23 billion.
Synopsys, the American software group active in the design and verification of integrated circuits, unveiled yesterday evening fourth fiscal quarter accounts that were higher than market expectations. For the quarter ended at the end of October 2023, Synopsys posted revenues of $1.60 billion, compared to a consensus of $1.59 billion. Adjusted earnings per share also beat consensus. For the current quarter, first fiscal quarter 2024, revenues are anticipated between 1.63 and 1.66 billion dollars, a range higher than expectations (1.6 billion consensus), while adjusted EPS should be between 3. 40 and $3.45 – versus $3.05 consensus. Fiscal 2024 revenue is expected to be between $6.57 billion and $6.63 billion.
Snowflake, the cloud data hosting group, gains 8% before market on Wall Street following its publication of the third fiscal quarter 2024. For the period, product revenues increased by 34% to $ 699 million, at compare to a consensus of $675 million. Total quarterly revenue increased 32% to $734 million. Adjusted operating profit was $72 million. Adjusted free cash flow was $111 million. Adjusted earnings per share were 25 cents, compared to the consensus estimate of 16 cents. For the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, the group anticipates product revenues ranging from $716 to $721 million, an increase of 29 to 30%, and a non-GAAP operating margin of around 4%. Thus, the forecasts provided exceed analysts’ expectations, the consensus product revenue being 702 million.
Big Lots posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss. The US discount retailer nevertheless missed the earnings consensus in its third quarter, with revenue falling 15% to $1.03 billion. Quarterly net income was $4.7 million, or 16 cents per share.
Okta exceeded profit expectations for the closed quarter, but the group also warns of a large-scale security breach. Concerning the results, the group envisages an adjusted profit per share ranging from 50 to 51 cents for the fourth fiscal quarter which has just started, against 36 cents of consensus.
Pure Storage, the data storage player, drops before the market on Wall Street, on disappointing guidance for the current quarter and the 2024 financial year. The figures for the third quarter nevertheless exceeded market expectations.
Ford adjusted its annual financial estimates downward, as expected, to reflect an estimated $1.7 billion impact from the recent UAW strike.
Tesla remains under surveillance this Thursday for the first deliveries of its Cybertruck, previously postponed several times.
ImmunoGen jumped 83% before market on Wall Street, adjusting to the acquisition offer made by AbbVie for $10.1 billion. The biopharmaceutical giant will thus acquire the biotechnology firm, which designs cancer treatments.
