Markets are sinking after this morning’s dud announcement from the G-7 over containing the economic fallout from the coronavirus, plus stocks to watch today in the Money and Markets Wall Street Wake-Up.
The Top Story
Monday marked one of the biggest rallies Wall Street has ever seen. And it came on the heels of the worst week for stocks since the financial crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its strongest one-day gain (+1,293 points) since 2009 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite leaped more than 4% as investors seemed solidified that the Federal Reserve will step in soon to avert an economic slowdown.
What it means: It might make investors feel a little better about the state of the economy, but whether there will be a second day of gains remains to be seen. But if the G-7’s ambiguity is any indication, that second day may not be today.
G-7 pumps the brakes: Finance officials from the world’s seven biggest economies could have made a strong statement about a coordinated central bank attack on the coronavirus. Instead, what they offered after an emergency phone call on Tuesday was … well … not much. The G-7 said they are committed “to use all policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable growth.” The problem was, there were no specifics on how they would do that — which is what Wall Street was looking for.
Where things stand now: The G-7’s lack of any specifics didn’t help markets before the Opening Bell as markets teetered between positive and negative territory. As of 8 a.m. Eastern time, Dow futures were down 0.2%. Nasdaq futures moved 0.1% higher while S&P 500 futures were down 0.3%.
Stocks to Watch Today
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) — The department store chain saw its shares move up 4.7% after beating revenue and earnings. The company also raised its dividend by 5%.
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) — The retailer had a mixed fourth quarter as earnings were up, revenue was down and sales growth was flat. As a result, Target shares were down 1.4% early.
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — After posting an 11.3% jump Monday, shares of the electric automaker were up another 5.7% in premarket trading. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Tesla to “outperform” from “perform” to lead the jump.
In the News
One of the largest annual tech industry event will be without one of the biggest tech players.
Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) said Monday it will not take part in the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas.
The SXSW festival is an annual event that includes technology, film, music and media sector events.
Officials with Facebook said they were skipping this year’s event due to coronavirus fears.
Xerox Moves to Buy All of HPs Shares in Takeover Bid
Xerox Holdings Corp. (NYSE: XRX) has submitted a $55 billion public takeover of HP Inc. (Nasdaq: HPQ).
The bid includes Xerox buying all of HP’s shares outstanding, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Under the terms of the deal, HP shareholders would receive $24 per share in chase and stock. HP said its board is reviewing the proposal and advised shareholders not to make any decisions related to their shares yet.
Apple May Pay Up to $500 Million to Settle Suit Over Slowing iPhones
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) will pay the owners of certain iPhones $25 as part of a larger class-action suit accusing the company of slowing down older iPhones.
The total proposed settlement is between $310 million and $500 million. It has to be approved by a U.S. District Court judge before taking effect.
Apple is accused of using software updates to slow down older iPhone models. The slowdown of the phone would compel owners to purchase newer iPhones.
Other Morning Reads
How to Use an Inverse ETF to Make Money in a Down Market (Money and Markets)
Novartis Unit to Pay $195 Million in Generic-Drug Price-Fixing Case (The Wall Street Journal)
‘Shark Tank’ Judge Barbara Corcoran Gets Back $400K Lost to Scammer (Money and Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO)
Hewlett Packard Enterprises Co. (NYSE: HPE)
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS)
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT)
Vectrus Inc. (NYSE: VEC)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with the Wall Street Wake-Up, here on Money and Markets.
