Tesla is on the rise again, Google parent Alphabet Inc. falls off plus stocks to watch today in the Money and Markets Wall Street Wake-Up.
The Morning Open
U.S. markets positioned themselves for another day of gains Tuesday.
As of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 350 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 moved up 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%.
The Opening Bell
Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) posted strong earnings Monday evening but missed analysts’ expectations on revenue.
The company said its earnings per share was $15.35 — beating expectations of $12.50. However, its revenue was $37.57 billion — nearly $1 billion short of Wall Street projections.
It was the first earnings report issued by the company under the direction of new CEO Sundar Pichai, who took over the job from Larry Page in December 2019.
For the first time, the company also reported revenue from its YouTube video platform and Google Cloud service. YouTube ad revenue was $15.1 billion — up 38% from 2018 — while Google Cloud brought in $8.9 billion, up 53% from last year.
Despite the strong earnings, shares of Alphabet were down 3.7% in premarket trading Tuesday.
Stocks to Watch Today
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — Following its 19% jump in share price Monday, the electric automaker is up again Tuesday morning. Shares of Tesla moved up another 12% to cross the $800-a-share threshold.
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) — Shares of the Japanese-based technology company were up 1.6% Tuesday morning after the company raised its fiscal year outlook by $366 million. The company expects stronger smartphone sensor sales in 2020.
BP Plc. (NYSE: BP) — The British oil and gas company reported stronger-than-expected Q4 profits and raised its dividend by more than 2%. Shares of BP were up 4.5% in premarket trading.
In the News
Federal regulators are looking at possibly allowing the Federal Home Loan Banks the ability to loan money to nonbank mortgage institutions and real estate investment trusts.
The Federal Home Loan Banks is a $1.1 trillion group of government-chartered cooperatives, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Hopes are that loaning the money to those groups will allow for further growth as big commercial banks have cut back on mortgage lending to only high creditworthy customers.
Critics of the proposal wonder whether nonbanks should get taxpayer-subsidized funding considering they aren’t held to the same rigorous regulation that commercial banks are.
Chinese Officials Tell Airlines to Continue International Flights
Domestic airlines in China are being asked to continue flying international routes, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Those carriers are trimming routes as demand for flights plummets due to the coronavirus outbreak.
OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. reported an additional 25,000 flights to and from China will be canceled this week, as reported by Reuters.
Macau Casinos to Close for 2 Weeks
The largest gambling center in the world will effectively close for 15 days.
Casinos in Macau — the Chinese territory that sits across from Hong Kong — will close Feb. 5 for 15 days in response to continued coronavirus worries.
According to Bloomberg, the shutdown could cause first quarter gaming revenue to drop by 50% from a year ago.
Other Morning Reads
4 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now (Money and Markets)
China Readies More Measures to Stabilize Economy (Reuters)
Tesla Bull Sets Monstrous $7K Price Target by 2024 (Money and Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD)
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MSK)
Seagate Technology PLC (Nasdaq: STX)
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP)
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)
Chart of the Day
Recently, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) reported a massive earnings and revenue beat for the quarter.
And one thing the company is noted for is reinvesting profits to net long-term growth. Over more than 20 years, net income for Amazon has been relatively flat. However, its revenue has skyrocketed to more than $280 billion in 2019.
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with the Wall Street Wake-Up, here on Money and Markets.
