Vistra soars to new record on AI demand optimism
45 minutes ago
Shares of independent utility company Vistra (VST) continue to rise, surging more than 5% on Thursday to become the best performer in the S&P 500 and hit a new closing high.
A Texas-based utility company is riding a wave of enthusiasm for using nuclear power to power energy-intensive artificial intelligence (AI) processes. These AI-driven expectations make Vistra the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2024, overtaking Nvidia (NVDA) with a massive 244% year-to-date gain.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet (GOOGL), said the tech giant is exploring ways to use electricity from nuclear power plants to power its data centers. After that, the red-hot Vistra stock rose recently.
Vistra shares rose 5.7% to close at $132.45 on Thursday, countering a broader decline in U.S. stocks.
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-Michael Blomberg
Oil prices continue to rise as concerns about the Middle East grow
2 hours 12 minutes ago
Oil futures rose more than 5% on Thursday, the highest since late August, as concerns grew that Israel could attack Iranian oil production facilities.
Earlier this week, Israel vowed to retaliate after Iran launched a missile attack on its territory. Any action by Israel against Iran could disrupt oil supplies from the world’s ninth largest oil producer.
“There are indications that Israel may target Iranian oil facilities, and depending on the scale of the attack, oil prices could rise significantly,” Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at ING, said Thursday. I wrote it in my notes.
Analysts at Goldmans said investors would focus on supply disruptions beyond “potential downside risks to Iranian supplies” that could impact oil prices. That could include disrupting oil supplies through the Red Sea and trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil-related stocks are soaring as crude oil prices rise.
The S&P 500 Energy (SPN) sector was up 1.5% Thursday afternoon, one of the few sectors rising in a day of falling stocks. The stock is up nearly 6% this week, on track to be its best week of the year.
– Mrinalini Krishna
Stellantis stock plummets as US sales drop sharply
2 hours 37 minutes ago
Stocks fell on Thursday after Stellantis’ (STLA) U.S. unit reported a significant drop in sales as all but one brand declined. Barclays also downgraded the stock.
The company’s U.S. auto sales in the third quarter fell 20% from the same period last year to 305,294 vehicles. Chrysler sales were down 47%, Dodge sales were down 43%, Alfa Romeo sales were down 29%, and Ram truck sales were down 19%. Even the popular Jeep brand was down 6%. Only Fiat was in positive territory, with sales increasing by 118%, but only 316 units sold.
Matt Thompson, head of U.S. retail sales, said the company implemented an “aggressive incentive program” early in the fourth quarter that reduced inventory by more than 50,000 units, or 11.6%. He said the incentives would continue throughout the year.
Following this report, Barclays lowered its rating on the stock from “overweight” to “equal weight” and lowered its price target from 23.00 euros ($25.38) to 12.50 euros ($13.79). Barclays analysts told the automaker that “we made the wrong decision” for being too slow to acknowledge Barclays’ U.S. inventory problems and the erosion of market share in the European Union and the United States. said.
It also noted that the company warned on Monday that full-year profit would be lower than previously expected. Analysts added that there will be no real evidence of a recovery for Stellantis until at least the first half of 2025.
Stellantis stock fell 4% on Thursday afternoon, its lowest point in nearly two years.
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-Bill McCall
Constellation brand declines due to weak wine and spirits sales
4 hours 28 minutes ago
Constellation Brands (STZ), the maker of Corona and Modelo beers, reported mixed second-quarter results amid declining wine and spirits sales. Its stock price fell 4% in recent trading, putting it among the top decliners in the S&P 500.
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The company reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 diluted earnings per share of $4.32, which exceeded the expectations of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. However, sales rose 2.9% to $2.92 billion, falling short of expectations.
Sales of Modelo Especial, the best-selling beer in the United States, rose 5%, and sales of Pacifico jumped about 23%. However, wine and spirits sales fell by 12%.
“The current macroeconomic backdrop is weighing on demand for beverage alcohol, as well as consumer packaged goods overall,” said CEO Bill Newlands.
The company expects full-year net sales growth to be in the range of 4% to 6%, with beer sales increasing 6% to 8% and wine and spirits sales increasing 4% to 6%. % decrease.
-Bill McCall
EV maker recalls Cybertruck, Tesla’s stock price falls
6 hours 9 minutes ago
Tesla (TSLA) stock fell again Thursday morning after the company recalled more than 27,000 Cybertrucks for a rearview camera issue. Shares fell sharply yesterday after the electric car maker reported weak third-quarter delivery results.
A notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that under certain conditions, the Cybertruck system may not activate immediately upon command. In this case, the rearview camera image may not be displayed for up to two seconds after the driver puts the vehicle in reverse, as required by law. It added that delays in using camera displays “could impact the driver’s rear visibility and increase the risk of a collision.”
The recall includes vehicles manufactured between November 13, 2023 and September 14, 2024 that “operate or have operated with specific software logic for low-voltage hardware.”
Tesla said it will send an over-the-air software remedy to affected Cybertrucks starting on or shortly after Sept. 19, and all trucks in production will receive the fix as well. This is the fifth recall for the Cybertruck since Tesla began deliveries last November.
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Tesla shares were down about 2% in morning trading Thursday. After rising 32% in the third quarter, the stock has fallen 7% so far in October, pushing it into negative territory for the year.
-Bill McCall
Levi’s stock falls, company considers selling Dockers brand
7 hours 5 minutes ago
Levi Strauss (LEVI)’s mixed third-quarter results sent the company’s stock plummeting in early trading Thursday after the jeans maker announced it may sell its Dockers brand.
Levi’s’ adjusted earnings per share were 33 cents, beating the consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha, but falling short of revenue of $1.52 billion. Dockers’ revenue is down 15% year over year, prompting executives to “evaluate strategic alternatives” for the division.
For the full year, Levi’s expects total revenue to increase by 1% compared to fiscal 2023, which is a more modest forecast than the 1% to 3% growth it predicted when it announced its second-quarter results.
Levi’s also said it had “begun formal consideration of strategic alternatives for the Dockers brand,” which could result in the sale of the famous khaki brand, but no specific timeline for consideration was given. .
The company’s stock has fallen 7% in recent trading. The stock price has increased 18% since the beginning of the year.
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-Aaron McDade
Nvidia CEO points out ‘insane’ demand for AI chips
9 hours 5 minutes ago
Nvidia (NVDA) stock tumbled after CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview with CNBC late yesterday that demand for the company’s next-generation Blackwell AI chips is “insane.” rose 2% in premarket trading Thursday.
Stock prices are oscillating within a symmetrical triangle, a chart pattern that indicates a period of consolidation, usually followed by a breakout and a new trend move in the direction of the long-term trend, in the case of NVIDIA. This indicates further bullish momentum in the price.
Source: TradingView.com.
Measurement principles and bar pattern techniques predict NVIDIA’s chart upside price targets of $180 and $210, respectively.
If it breaks below the symmetrical triangle, the stock will likely find support around $97, near the trend line connecting March’s twin highs and the upward 200-day moving average.
Read the full technical analysis article here.
-Timothy Smith
Futures tend to have lower opening prices for major indexes.
9 hours 46 minutes ago
Futures, which track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 0.2%.
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S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%.
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