According to the report, the total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 last month compared to 240,000 estimated by Dow Jones. This represents a steep decline compared to March, when 315,000 jobs were added, dwarfing the expected gain of 205,000.

The expectations were that the unemployment rate would remain steady at 3.8%, but April brought an uptick to 3.9%. Additionally, the wage gains also didn’t fare as estimated, rising 0.2% from March and 3.9% compared to the same period in 2023.

The cooldown of the job market is something that the Federal Reserve will likely look at as a sign that their interest rate policies are producing the desired results. With a slower labor market, the Fed will come closer to its goal of taming inflation and bringing it to 2%.

“Demand is still strong — the demand side of the labor market, in particular,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week. “But it’s cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

The post U.S. Job Gains Reach Lowest Level in 6 Months, Unemployment Rate on the Rise appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Meta shared its quarterly earnings earlier this week, with the results beating the expectations of analysts. The company saw its earnings per share coming at $4.71 versus $4.32 per share expected, while the revenue of $36.46 billion also beat estimations of $36.16 billion.

However, the company issued a weak forecast for the next quarter, predicting sales to come in the range of $36.5 billion to $39 billion, while the analysts expected $38.3 billion. Additionally, the company now expects to have a capital expenditure of between $35 billion and $40 billion compared to previous expectations of $30 billion to $37 billion due to focus on AI.

“We expect capital expenditures will continue to increase next year as we invest aggressively to support our ambitious AI research and product development efforts,” Meta shared in a statement.

Meta’s shares closed at $493.50 on Wednesday but plunged all the way down to $421.18 in after-hours trading and wiped out close to $200 billion of market value. Before the plunge, the company’s stock was 42.51% up year to date.

The post Meta Stock Slides 14% After Announcement of Plans for “Aggressive” AI Expenditures appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Contracts listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.3% higher, with futures on the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising marginally higher. The 10-year Treasury Yield rose to 4.45%, with 4.5% being viewed as a potential tipping point by some investors as it appears to be on track to return to last year’s highs.

Wednesday’s CPI report is expected to provide a deeper indication of whether the central bank will indeed consider implementing three rate cuts this year as previously mentioned by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investor anxiety was stoked last Thursday when Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari claimed that the Fed may even forego interest rate cuts entirely this year depending on the trajectory of price pressures.

The post Futures Stall as Markets Await Fresh Inflation Data appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Core prices rose by 0.3% from January to February, thereby falling in line with expectations and decreasing from the 0.5% rise in January compared to the previous month. While Fed Governor Chris Waller stated that a few more months of positive data will be needed to convince the Fed to cut its rates, some economists are confident that the central bank will introduce rate cuts if data continues down this path.

“By the time the Fed meets in June, the data should be convincing enough for them to commence its rate normalization process. But where we sit today, markets need to have the same patience the Fed is exhibiting.” LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach reflected.

The post PCE Report Could Convince Federal Reserve to Cut Rates in June appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped about 0.7%, drifting further from the 40,000 mark, while the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which started the day lower, ended about 0.2% higher, closing at a fresh all-time high.

FedEx emerged as a major winner during the session, jumping 7% after operating margins improved and profits beat expectations. Nike stocks declined by 7% after the athletic apparel brand reported poorer sales than expected. Next week is expected to be quiet on the economic data front, with GameStop to report its earnings on Tuesday.

The post Dow Slips as Nasdaq Hits Record High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“This is the essential quandary of manufacturing: factories need continuous production for efficiency, but consumer demand is seasonal,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained. With the company being hurt by a vicious price war with rivals that began a year ago, the company warned that its sales may decline this year as it looks to focus on the development of its next-generation EV, named “Redwood”.

The decision to raise the price of the Model Y follows Tesla’s previous decision to increase the price of the Model Y rear-wheel drive and long-range vehicles by $1,000, to $$43,990 and $48,990 respectively.

The post Tesla to Increase Model Y Price in Europe appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Equities on the benchmark S&P 500 slipped by 0.3%, as did those listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Stocks listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also down 0.3%. This comes after tech stocks declined on Friday.

Due on Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index is expected to shed more light on the trajectory of the Federal Reserve’s fiscal policy. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed during his testimony before Congress that the central bank is looking for confident signs that inflation is cooling before introducing the prospect of interest rate cuts.

The post U.S. Stocks Cool Amid Investor Anxiety Over CPI appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Company CEO Brian Cornell has expressed confidence that the department store chain will embark on a positive growth trajectory “from a comparable sales standpoint, from a traffic standpoint, and from a [market] share standpoint.” He explained that Target will focus on opening new stores, introducing private-label brands, revamping existing stores, and unveiling a new membership program providing perks including faster delivery times.

Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan explained in a note to clients that the firm is optimistic about Target’s growth prospects. “We think F4Q results and guidance were better-than-feared. Guidance anticipates a sequential improvement through F2024. This is largely consistent with our expectations that discretionary spending intentions are improving, including amongst lower income households,” the note read.

The post Target Shares Jump as Earnings Exceed Expectation appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Contracts listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%, as were those on the benchmark S&P 500, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were down by as much as 0.4%. Stocks have stagnated in the latter stages of February after reaching record levels, with the S&P 500 exceeding 5,000 for the first time in its history.

While the market received a major boost from the artificial intelligence boom, this was cut short as economic data suggested that inflation is remaining more stubborn than expected even amid signs of cooling. This has thus influenced market bets on when the Federal Reserve will introduce its first interest rate cut following its aggressive rate-hiking agenda.

The post U.S. Futures Decline Ahead of Inflation Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The streaming giant’s disappointing financial performance has been largely attributed to the absence of blockbuster releases over the past few months. This is still a spillover from the Hollywood strikes that took place last year which led to widescale production halts as well as delays in post-production works.

Although customers’ gravitation towards streaming has benefitted Warner Bros, Discovery’s streaming business, the company’s cable business has suffered as a result, with customers increasingly abandoning their linear TV packages. By the end of the quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery had 97.7 million global streaming customers, up from 95.1 million at the end of the previous quarter.

The post Warner Bros. Discovery Misses Earnings Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to the report, the total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 last month compared to 240,000 estimated by Dow Jones. This represents a steep decline compared to March, when 315,000 jobs were added, dwarfing the expected gain of 205,000.

The expectations were that the unemployment rate would remain steady at 3.8%, but April brought an uptick to 3.9%. Additionally, the wage gains also didn’t fare as estimated, rising 0.2% from March and 3.9% compared to the same period in 2023.

The cooldown of the job market is something that the Federal Reserve will likely look at as a sign that their interest rate policies are producing the desired results. With a slower labor market, the Fed will come closer to its goal of taming inflation and bringing it to 2%.

“Demand is still strong — the demand side of the labor market, in particular,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week. “But it’s cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

The post U.S. Job Gains Reach Lowest Level in 6 Months, Unemployment Rate on the Rise appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Meta shared its quarterly earnings earlier this week, with the results beating the expectations of analysts. The company saw its earnings per share coming at $4.71 versus $4.32 per share expected, while the revenue of $36.46 billion also beat estimations of $36.16 billion.

However, the company issued a weak forecast for the next quarter, predicting sales to come in the range of $36.5 billion to $39 billion, while the analysts expected $38.3 billion. Additionally, the company now expects to have a capital expenditure of between $35 billion and $40 billion compared to previous expectations of $30 billion to $37 billion due to focus on AI.

“We expect capital expenditures will continue to increase next year as we invest aggressively to support our ambitious AI research and product development efforts,” Meta shared in a statement.

Meta’s shares closed at $493.50 on Wednesday but plunged all the way down to $421.18 in after-hours trading and wiped out close to $200 billion of market value. Before the plunge, the company’s stock was 42.51% up year to date.

The post Meta Stock Slides 14% After Announcement of Plans for “Aggressive” AI Expenditures appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Contracts listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.3% higher, with futures on the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising marginally higher. The 10-year Treasury Yield rose to 4.45%, with 4.5% being viewed as a potential tipping point by some investors as it appears to be on track to return to last year’s highs.

Wednesday’s CPI report is expected to provide a deeper indication of whether the central bank will indeed consider implementing three rate cuts this year as previously mentioned by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Investor anxiety was stoked last Thursday when Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari claimed that the Fed may even forego interest rate cuts entirely this year depending on the trajectory of price pressures.

The post Futures Stall as Markets Await Fresh Inflation Data appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Core prices rose by 0.3% from January to February, thereby falling in line with expectations and decreasing from the 0.5% rise in January compared to the previous month. While Fed Governor Chris Waller stated that a few more months of positive data will be needed to convince the Fed to cut its rates, some economists are confident that the central bank will introduce rate cuts if data continues down this path.

“By the time the Fed meets in June, the data should be convincing enough for them to commence its rate normalization process. But where we sit today, markets need to have the same patience the Fed is exhibiting.” LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach reflected.

The post PCE Report Could Convince Federal Reserve to Cut Rates in June appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped about 0.7%, drifting further from the 40,000 mark, while the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which started the day lower, ended about 0.2% higher, closing at a fresh all-time high.

FedEx emerged as a major winner during the session, jumping 7% after operating margins improved and profits beat expectations. Nike stocks declined by 7% after the athletic apparel brand reported poorer sales than expected. Next week is expected to be quiet on the economic data front, with GameStop to report its earnings on Tuesday.

The post Dow Slips as Nasdaq Hits Record High appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“This is the essential quandary of manufacturing: factories need continuous production for efficiency, but consumer demand is seasonal,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained. With the company being hurt by a vicious price war with rivals that began a year ago, the company warned that its sales may decline this year as it looks to focus on the development of its next-generation EV, named “Redwood”.

The decision to raise the price of the Model Y follows Tesla’s previous decision to increase the price of the Model Y rear-wheel drive and long-range vehicles by $1,000, to $$43,990 and $48,990 respectively.

The post Tesla to Increase Model Y Price in Europe appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Equities on the benchmark S&P 500 slipped by 0.3%, as did those listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Stocks listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also down 0.3%. This comes after tech stocks declined on Friday.

Due on Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index is expected to shed more light on the trajectory of the Federal Reserve’s fiscal policy. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed during his testimony before Congress that the central bank is looking for confident signs that inflation is cooling before introducing the prospect of interest rate cuts.

The post U.S. Stocks Cool Amid Investor Anxiety Over CPI appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Company CEO Brian Cornell has expressed confidence that the department store chain will embark on a positive growth trajectory “from a comparable sales standpoint, from a traffic standpoint, and from a [market] share standpoint.” He explained that Target will focus on opening new stores, introducing private-label brands, revamping existing stores, and unveiling a new membership program providing perks including faster delivery times.

Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan explained in a note to clients that the firm is optimistic about Target’s growth prospects. “We think F4Q results and guidance were better-than-feared. Guidance anticipates a sequential improvement through F2024. This is largely consistent with our expectations that discretionary spending intentions are improving, including amongst lower income households,” the note read.

The post Target Shares Jump as Earnings Exceed Expectation appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Contracts listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%, as were those on the benchmark S&P 500, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were down by as much as 0.4%. Stocks have stagnated in the latter stages of February after reaching record levels, with the S&P 500 exceeding 5,000 for the first time in its history.

While the market received a major boost from the artificial intelligence boom, this was cut short as economic data suggested that inflation is remaining more stubborn than expected even amid signs of cooling. This has thus influenced market bets on when the Federal Reserve will introduce its first interest rate cut following its aggressive rate-hiking agenda.

The post U.S. Futures Decline Ahead of Inflation Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The streaming giant’s disappointing financial performance has been largely attributed to the absence of blockbuster releases over the past few months. This is still a spillover from the Hollywood strikes that took place last year which led to widescale production halts as well as delays in post-production works.

Although customers’ gravitation towards streaming has benefitted Warner Bros, Discovery’s streaming business, the company’s cable business has suffered as a result, with customers increasingly abandoning their linear TV packages. By the end of the quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery had 97.7 million global streaming customers, up from 95.1 million at the end of the previous quarter.

The post Warner Bros. Discovery Misses Earnings Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.