Tech Stocks Hit the Brakes on Fed-Fueled Rally

1 minute ago

Tech stocks pulled back in early trading Friday, hitting the brakes on the market’s rally in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s supersized rate cut this week.

The S&P 500 was down about 0.5% after hitting record highs Thursday, with the energy and industrials sectors leading broad-based declines and its tech sector down about 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.6%. 

Semiconductor stocks including Onsemi (ON), ASML (ASML), and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), were among the stocks leading losses on the major indexes, pulling the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 2%.

The Magnificent 7 stocks were mixed. AI darling Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Tesla (TSLA) lost ground, while Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL) were slightly higher. Apple (AAPL) advanced as its iPhone 16 hit stores. 

Some analysts have suggested this week’s cut could set the stage for tech stocks to gain over the last few months of the year and into next year, with Wedbush analysts writing yesterday that “the green light is back on for the tech growth trade.”

-Kara Greenberg

FedEx Stock Slumps After Shipper Slashes Full-Year Outlook

49 minutes ago

FedEx (FDX) shares tumbled more than 15% on Friday after the company missed analysts’ estimates with its fiscal first-quarter results and slashed its full-year outlook.

The shipping company posted first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $3.21 on revenue of $21.6 billion, both of which missed analysts’ expectations compiled by Visible Alpha.

CEO Raj Subramaniam called the period a “challenging quarter,” hindered by higher operating expenses and weaker demand for priority shipping services.

FedEx said it now anticipates year-over-year revenue growth in the low single digits, down from a low-to-mid single digit increase. It expects EPS of between $17.90 and $18.90, down from $18.25 to $20.25. The midpoint of the revised range came in below the analyst consensus of $19.80.

-Andrew Kessel

Price Levels To Watch as Nike Shares Jump on CEO Shake-up

1 hr 51 min ago

Nike (NKE) shares jumped nearly 8% in early trading Friday after the world’s largest athletic apparel and equipment company announced Elliott Hill will replace John Donahoe as CEO in a leadership shakeup aimed at reviving sluggish sales.

After gapping to a multi-year low in June on disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter results, Nike shares carved out a triple bottom, a sign of a potential price reversal. 

Amid Friday's rebound, investors should watch four overhead levels on Nike’s chart likely to attract attention.

To start, it’s worth monitoring the $85 area. Although the stock traded above this level on Friday morning, the region remains in play given its proximity to a key multi-month trendline connecting prices around the October 2022 swing low and August 2024 swing high.

A close above this level could see the shares move to $89, a location on the chart where investors may look to lock in profits near two prominent troughs that formed on the chart between September 2023 and April this year.

Further upside may fuel a rally up to the $96 level, where the shares could run into overhead resistance near a horizonal line linking the late September 2022 pre-gap low with multiple peaks and troughs over the past two years.

A bullish longer-term move could lead to a retest of the $104 level, where the stock would likely encounter selling pressure near a trendline joining an array of price points stretching between early September 2022 and February this year.

-Timothy Smith

Stock Futures Little Changed After Rate Cut Rally

2 hr 51 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat in premarket trading on Friday.

S&P 500 futures were off about 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were also down just 0.1%.

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1. CME Group. "FedWatch Tool."

2. FedEx. “FedEx Reports First Quarter Diluted EPS of $3.21 and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $3.60.”

3. Nike. "Nike, Inc. Announces Return of Long-Time Nike Veteran Elliott Hill as President & CEO."

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