Netflix stock jumps as the streaming giant returns to subscriber growth. Tesla earnings are also expected to have rebounded after a tricky second quarter. Nestle and - most likely - Procter & Gamble underline the pricing power of the big consumer companies. Housing starts are set to fall again as mortgage rates rise. Russia prepares to evacuate the city of Kherson, which it annexed earlier this month, and oil steadies after slumping in response to Joe Biden's decision to release yet more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, 19th October.
Musk closes Twitter deal, fires top management
Elon Musk closed his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and – according to various reports – immediately fired CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal.
Musk’s other first immediate act was to reverse the previous management’s policies of lifetime bans, paving the way for ex-President Donald Trump to return to the social media platform that he dominated until the start of last year.
It still isn’t clear how Musk has cobbled together the money for the deal, which was completed only a day ahead of a court-imposed deadline. Crypto exchange Binance confirmed that it had joined a consortium of equity buyers led by the Tesla CEO.
Amazon shocks with earnings miss, weak guidance
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rounded off a wretched week for Big Tech, falling as much as 20% in after-hours trading on Thursday after falling short of expectations for the third quarter earnings and guiding well below consensus for the current one.
CEO Andy Jassy told a conference call that the group expects revenue of between $140 billion and $148 billion for the fourth quarter, some $11 billion below consensus. Analysts were also spooked by the slowdown in growth at the AWS Cloud-hosting business, which corroborated the weakness detailed by rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earlier in the week.
Amazon opened marginally off its lows in premarket, but is still set to open at its lowest level in two and a half years.
The story was slightly more upbeat at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which is set to open slightly higher after recording decent iPhone sales in the third quarter. Reports of fresh trouble in the Chinese iPhone assembly plants Apple uses haven't changed that.
Stocks set for lower opening as Amazon weighs; consumer data dump eyed
Amazon’s weak update is casting a pall over U.S. stock markets, which are set to open lower later.
By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.1%, on track for a 2.3% drop on the week after serial disappointments from the megacaps over the course of the week. S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, while Dow Jones futures, bolstered by old-economy value stocks, outperformed with a more gentle decline of 0.1%, or 16 points.
The morning is set to be dominated by monster quarters reported by oil and gas giants Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX), while Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), Aon (NYSE:AON) and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) are also set to report.
The data calendar highlight, meanwhile, will be the release of personal income and spending data for September, along with the price index for personal consumption expenditures, which remains the most reliable guide to actual inflation trends in the economy. There's also the Michigan consumer sentiment index due at 10:00 ET and pending home sales data for September.
Eurozone inflation forces quick ECB rethink; national GDP reports mixed
Shocking inflation data in the Eurozone prompted an abrupt end to the rally in bonds and stocks that had started when the European Central Bank slightly softened its language about further interest rate increases.
Prices rose an eye-watering 4% on the month in October in Italy and by 1% or more in both France and Germany with the impact of energy price rises in all their various forms once again being underestimated by analysts ahead of time.
Various Eurozone countries also issued third-quarter GDP data, with France and Spain falling short of expectations but Germany posting a better-than-expected 0.3% gain from the previous quarter.
Exxon, Chevron post massive quarter on surging oil prices
Crude oil prices edged lower overnight but are set to end the week near their highs.
Earlier, Exxon Mobil reported profit some 15% ahead of consensus forecasts, while Chevron’s $11.2 billion profit also exceeded expectations.
By 06:45 ET, U.S. crude futures were down 0.9% at $88.31, while Brent futures were down 0.6% at $94.50.
Baker Hughes’ rig count and the CFTC’s positioning data round the week off later.
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Source: investing.com
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