Stocks have rallied this morning as the yield on benchmark U.S. bonds climbed after closing below 2.4% on Monday, pointing to some easing in the growth worries that have gripped the market over the last two sessions.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., housing starts fell 8.7% month-over-month to a 1.16M rate in February, which was below the consensus forecast. Building permits dropped 1.6% to a 1.296M rate, which was also worse than expected. The Case Shiller 20-city home price index for January dipped 0.22% to 212.41. The FHFA home price index rose 0.6% to 271.95 in January. Richmond Fed manufacturing index fell 6 points to 10 in March, as projected. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index declined in March to a worse than expected reading of 124.1.
TOP NEWS: Apple (AAPL) is modestly on the rise after the company introduced a subscription video service, a subscription news service, a subscription gaming service, and a physical Apple Card at a Services event held yesterday. Analyst reaction to the event has been generally lukewarm, though Apple shares are up about 1% near noon after having closed about 1% lower yesterday.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) have jumped 27% after the home goods retailer saw a group of activist investors announce the nomination of sixteen independent candidates for its board. The group, made up of Legion Partners Holdings, Macellum Advisor, and Ancora Advisors, said they believe the company has the potential to earn more than $5 in EPS annually over the next few years "with the right board and management team in place."
Carnival (CCL) is down 8% after the cruise line operator reported better than expected results for the first quarter, but cut its full year 2019 adjusted earnings per share outlook, citing a drag from currency and the price of fuel.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Viacom (VIAB), which rose 10% after the New York Post reported that the company and CBS (CBS) are preparing to restart merger talks and determine who will become CEO of the entity after Viacom settled a contract dispute with AT&T (T). CBS shares were 5% higher after the report. Also higher was Biogen (BIIB), which gained 4% after Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Raymond said he continues to recommend the shares after a deeper dive of BIIB067, its experimental treatment of SOD1-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Among the notable losers was Criteo (CRTO), which slid 14% after at least three Wall Street analysts downgraded the stock, citing uncertainty over potential measures by Google (GOOGL) to restrict advertising targeting across its marketing platform, including its Chrome browser. Also lower was Neogen (NEOG), which fell 8.5% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 166.67, or 0.65%, to 25,683.50, the Nasdaq was up 58.96, or 0.77%, to 7,696.50 , and the S&P 500 was up 20.20, or 0.72%, to 2,818.56.
Bed Bath & Beyond
+3.8 (+27.40%)
Apple
+2.73 (+1.45%)
Carnival
-4.755 (-8.39%)
Via Renewables
+2.32 (+7.10%)
VIAB
+
Use VIAC, VIACA
+2.13 (+4.68%)
AT&T
+0.6 (+1.95%)
Biogen
+9.3 (+4.22%)
Criteo
-2.89 (-13.14%)
Alphabet
-0.4 (-0.03%)
Alphabet
-1.1 (-0.09%)
Neogen
-5.94 (-9.80%)
Carnival plc
-4.46 (-8.01%)