Equity futures climbed in pre-market trading following a firmer than anticipated employment report, leading to a higher open for the major averages. However, those early gains failed to hold as stocks have extended their selloff into a fourth day, with the Nasdaq once again the laggard. Yesterday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell did not deliver a hoped for push back against higher rates, instead appearing to give tacit approval to rise in Treasuries so far, which continues to prompt profit taking given still lofty valuations, especially on technology stocks.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., nonfarm payrolls increased 379,000 in February and the unemployment rate slipped to 6.2% from 6.3%. The trade deficit widened 1.9% to $68.2B in January.
WTI crude hit a near two-year high of $65.76 in early trading in New York as additional gains followed the much stronger than expected February employment report. Prices ramped up on Thursday after OPEC+ left production levels unchanged through April and Saudi Arabia extended its voluntary 1.0M barrel per day cut until then as well.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Broadcom (AVGO) are 1% lower near noon after the company reported what Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore called a "solid beat/raise" in its fiscal Q1. With catalysts in networking and wireless and a software strategy that he said is "now gelling," Morgan Stanley analyst Craig Hettenbach advises that he would add to positions in Broadcom as semi stocks pull back.
In other earnings news, shares of Costco (COST) have slipped 3% after what DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker called a "fairly sizable" Q2 earnings miss.
Shares of Virgin Galactic (SPCE) have fallen 16% after it was disclosed a filing with the SEC that Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold 6.2M shares of the company's stock at an average price of $34.32 in a series of transactions this week. Following the transactions, Palihapitiya still has a 15.75M share stake in Virgin Galactic that he holds together with his investment partner Ian Osborne, the filing shows.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) are 16% lower after the company announced plans to sell roughly 47.58M ordinary shares. Cruise line peers Carnival (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) are following Norwegian lower with slides of 11% and 9%, respectively.
In COVID-19 news, Health Canada confirmed it has authorized the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) company.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Sify Technologies (SIFY), which rose 23% after Bloomberg reported that Blackstone (BX) is in exclusive talks to acquire a minority stake in the company. Also higher was Waitr Holdings (WTRH), which gained 6% after announcing an expansion into the cannabis market.
Among the notable losers was Medallia (MDLA), which declined 24% after reporting quarterly results and agreeing to acquire Decibel for $160M in cash. Also lower was Certara (CERT), which fell 16% after reporting preliminary quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 9.54, or 0.03%, to 30,914.60, the Nasdaq was down 192.25, or 1.51%, to 12,531.22, and the S&P 500 was down 14.25, or 0.38%, to 3,754.22.
Broadcom
-7.995 (-1.80%)
Costco
-9.84 (-3.08%)
Virgin Galactic
-4.92 (-16.25%)
Johnson & Johnson
+1.92 (+1.25%)
Norwegian Cruise Line
-4.99 (-15.17%)
Carnival
-3.06 (-11.17%)
Royal Caribbean
-8.925 (-9.76%)
Sify Technologies
+0.61 (+22.43%)
Blackstone
-2.375 (-3.54%)
Symbol changed to ASAP
+0.17 (+5.69%)
Medallia
-9.785 (-25.89%)
Certara
-4.58 (-15.04%)