On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended in the red as a surge in Treasury yields put pressure on equities. The sentiment was also affected by hotter than expected consumer inflation data. Companies such as Delta Air Lines (DAL, Financial) and Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) kicked off the third quarter earnings season. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.63% to close at 13,574.22 points. The benchmark S&P 500 declined 0.62% to settle at 4,349.61 points, while the blue-chip Dow slipped 0.51% to finish at 33,631.14 points.
Tesla (TSLA, Financial) announced plans to increase compensation for employees at its German manufacturing facility, addressing concerns about wage levels falling below industry standards. The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer disclosed that it will officially convey the details of this pay raise to its workforce in November.
Over 7M people in the U.S. have received the COVID-19 shots redesigned for the recently-emerged XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the updated messenger-RNA-based COVID shots developed by Pfizer (PFE)/ BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) in September for people aged six months and older.
JD.com (JD, Financial) shares fell more than 8% on Thursday as pessimism from Wall Street overshadowed a pledge from Chinese President Xi Jinping to help spur the country's embattled tech sector. Investment firm Jefferies cut its price target on JD.com to $80 from $97, noting that revenue growth is likely to remain flat in the coming quarter.
Qualcomm (QCOM) is cutting jobs in the state of California as it looks to slash costs amid continued struggles in the smartphone industry. The San Diego, California-based company is cutting jobs in San Diego and Santa Clara, with a total of 1,258 positions being eliminated.
LendingClub (LC) is cutting its workforce by 14%, or 172 employees, "to navigate the persistent and ongoing macroeconomic headwinds and the resulting pressure in our marketplace, primarily driven by higher interest rates," CEO Scott Sanborn said on Thursday.
Kraft Heinz (KHC) is down 4% in Thursday morning trading, with the stock price reaching its lowest level since November 2020 earlier in the session. The culprit appears to be inflation causing a rise in food prices.
Walt Disney (DIS) and Comcast (CMCSA) have tapped investment banks to put a value on Hulu -- the streaming site they co-own -- ahead of a sales process likely to put the platform under sole ownership.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) ekes out a slim gain in Thursday's trading, a day after dropping 3.5% in reaction to its $59.5B all-stock acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources that will result in a ~14% dilution effect for Exxon shareholders.
Goldman Sachs (GS) could've faced a smaller loss from its deal to offload specialty lender GreenSky, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Indeed, a consortium led by fintech company Pagaya Technologies (PGY) had offered roughly $700M to buy the consumer lender.
Shares of InMode (INMD) were down 13% in pre-market trading Thursday after the device maker lowered its 2023 financial guidance, citing seasonal slowdown and higher interest rates for prospective equipment buyers.
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) is in talks with Bank of America Corp. to secure a loan to tide over a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
Three big Wall Street banks are set to report Q3 earnings on Friday, giving investors a window into how the sector is dealing with elevated interest rates and continued muted capital markets activity. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) post on Friday.
With the S&P 500 fighting to stay positive for its fifth straight trading session, Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF), Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) are among the stocks touching new 52-week highs early in Thursday's trading.
SMART Global press release (SGH): Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.35 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $316.66M (-12.6% Y/Y) misses by $58.37M.
Genius Group (GNS) said its CEO Roger Hamilton will give the firm up to $4M as an interest free loan. The loan will be converted into equity in the group as ordinary shares and upon the same terms at the next qualified financing round.
China's President Xi Jinping has called for hastening efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies, Reuters reported citing state media.
With the S&P 500 on pace to close in negative territory for the first time in five sessions, Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Estee Lauder (EL) find themselves among the stocks touching new 52-week lows during Thursday's trading.
