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(Updated – April 18, 2024 11:33 AM EDT)

Investing.com — Main U.S. indexes traded higher Thursday, attempting to rebound after recent losses ahead of the earnings from streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

Here are some of the biggest U.S. stock movers today:​

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell 3%, dropping to a 15-month low, after analysts downgraded the electric vehicle giant’s stock rating to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’, highlighting a “considerable risk.”

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) stock fell 2% after the world’s largest private equity firm said its first-quarter distributable earnings rose just 1% year-on-year supported by growth in fee-related earnings that was partly offset by a decline in income from asset divestments.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) stock rose 2% after the aluminum producer’s earnings topped estimates, and it flagged steady production in 2024.carrier forecast.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) stock fell 1.3% despite reports that the memory chip maker was set to receive over $6 billion in government grants to help pay for domestic chip factory projects.

DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) stock rose 3.2% after the homebuilder posted a rise in quarterly profit, as tight housing supply in the United States lifted home sales.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) stock fell 6.6% despite the casino operator beating profit expectations, as underperformance at its Macau operations remained a point of concern.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) stock plummeted nearly 5% after the credit reporting agency posted weaker-than-expected guidance after strong economic data boosted chances of interest rates staying higher-for-longer, potentially delaying a recovery in the mortgage market.

Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) stock rose 5% after the carrier forecast current-quarter profit above estimates, driven by expectations of a strong summer season as travel demand soars.

CSX Corp. (NASDAQ:CSX) gained 2% after the railroad company published solid first quarter figures, with a slight beat on the bottom line.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) gained 4% after it reported a profit in the first quarter. Earnings were seen as strong and protection in case its deal with Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) is blocked.

Additional reporting by Louis Juricic 

Investing.com– U.S. stocks edged higher Thursday, rebounding after another negative session as investors digested more quarterly earnings, including from streaming giant Netflix. 

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 climbed 9 points, or 0.2%, while NASDAQ Composite traded largely flat.

Wall Street indexes fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, hit by steep losses in chipmaking stocks following weaker-than-expected earnings from Dutch semiconductor technology giant ASML (AS:ASML).

Broader markets were pressured by a spike in Treasury yields, following signs of sticky U.S. inflation and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve. 

Netflix earnings due after the close

There are more earnings to focus on Thursday, with TSMC (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, impressing with its jump in first-quarter profit earlier Thursday, benefiting from strong demand for all things AI.

Video streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is set to report first-quarter earnings after the close Thursday, while asset manager Blackstone (NYSE:BX), the world’s largest private equity firm, said its first-quarter distributable earnings rose 1% year-on-year supported by growth in fee-related earnings that was partly offset by a decline in income from asset divestments.

Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) stock rose 3% after the carrier forecast current-quarter profit above estimates as soaring travel demand drove expectations of a strong summer season. 

Aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE:AA) stock rose 2% after its earnings topped estimates, and it flagged steady production in 2024.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell slightly despite reports that the memory chip maker was set to receive over $6 billion in government grants, while credit reporting agency Equifax (NYSE:EFX) plummeted nearly 10% after posting weaker-than-expected guidance. 

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) fell over 5% despite beating profit expectations, as underperformance at its Macau operations remained a point of concern. 

Jobless claims data in spotlight

Initial jobless claims data were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 212,000 for the week ended April 13, pointing to continued labor market strength, while the existing home sales report for March is also due.

Investors will be looking for further clues about the strength of the U.S. economy amid growth concerns that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts until the second half of the year.

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said on Wednesday she expects price pressures to ease further this year, allowing the Fed to reduce borrowing costs, but only when it is “pretty confident” inflation is heading sustainably to its 2% goal.

Her colleague, Mary Daly, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, said at the start of the week that there is “no urgency” to cut U.S. interest rates, with the economy and labor market strong, and inflation still above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Crude weakens once more

Crude prices edged higher Thursday, rebounding after recent losses after the Biden administration reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s crude exports after President Nicolas Maduro failed to meet initial promises to hold national elections.

By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $83.05 a barrel, while the Brent contract traded 0.2% higher at $87.46 per barrel.

The news that the U.S. government has decided to reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela has provided an element of support, along with the elevated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 

However, bets on tighter markets were offset by data showing record-high U.S. production and a substantial build in inventories. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Investing.com — Wall Street looks set to open a touch higher Thursday ahead of Netflix’s first-quarter earnings, the first of the mega tech stocks to report. Chipmaker TSMC impressed with its numbers, while crude slipped lower even after the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s exports. 

1. Netflix subscriber growth in focus

The U.S. earnings season kicks into top gear later Thursday, with the first of the country’s mega tech stocks that have pushed the stock market to record highs this year due to report – step forward Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

The streaming giant saw its strongest growth since the pandemic in the second half of 2023, with about 22 million people signing up for the service after the company curbed the sharing of passwords globally.

However, this blockbuster growth will be difficult to maintain, and LSEG data suggests that the market is expecting an addition of 5 million subscribers in the first quarter ended March.

This is nearly three times the 1.8 million additions it saw in the same period last year, but would mark a slowdown from the impressive growth seen in the last two quarters of 2023.

Elsewhere, Netflix has reported 23 million monthly subscribers for its ad-supported tier, and analysts are looking for the adoption of this plan to grow this year.

There will also be a focus on content spending, with the company saying during an investor call last quarter it expects to invest as much as $17 billion this year.

2. Futures edge higher ahead of jobless claims, Netflix earnings

U.S. stock futures edged higher Thursday, attempting to rebound after recent weakness ahead of the release of labor market data and more corporate earnings.

By 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT), the Dow futures contract was 45 points, or 0.1%, higher, S&P 500 futures climbed 15 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 85 points, or 0.5%.

The main indices closed lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite falling for their fourth consecutive session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped for its seventh session in eight.

The main economic data release will be the weekly initial jobless claims data, while the existing home sales report for March is also out.

The earnings season will also be in focus, with numbers due from the likes of Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) before the opening bell, before the day’s main corporate highlight from Netflix after the close.

Additionally, credit bureau Equifax (NYSE:EFX) stock traded over 9% lower premarket on disappointing second-quarter guidance, while casino resort Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) dropped 3%.

3. TSMC rides the AI wave in the first quarter

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, impressed with its first-quarter results earlier Thursday, posting a 9% rise in net profit that beat market expectations, benefiting from increased demand in the rapidly-growing artificial intelligence industry.

This surge towards AI has helped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing weather the tapering off of pandemic-led electronics demand, with first-quarter revenue rising 16.5% on an annual basis.

That said, the strong year-on-year rise was also in part driven by a lower base for comparison, given that TSMC was still struggling with weak chip demand in 2023.

TSMC’s earnings are largely seen as a bellwether for global chip demand, given the firm’s pivotal role in the chipmaking industry, and the importance of its customers, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

The sector had taken a hit on Wednesday after ASML (AS:ASML), the largest supplier of equipment to computer chip makers like TSMC, reported weaker than expected first-quarter new bookings, though sales to China held up despite U.S.-led restrictions.

4. Tesla can bounce back stronger – Morgan Stanley

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has had a rough ride of late, announcing earlier this week it would be cutting more than 10% of its global workforce, which totaled around 140,000 employees at the end of 2023.

This follows the electric vehicle manufacturer reporting an 8.5% year-over-year decline in first-quarter deliveries, the first drop since 2020, as it struggles with severe competition in the vital Chinese market.

On Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk also confirmed in an internal email that the company sent out some severance packages that were too low to a number of laid-off workers this week.

Tesla’s stock has fallen more than 10% over the course of the last week, and is now down over 37% so far this year.

However, Morgan Stanley remains a fan, saying the company will emerge stronger from the “EV recession,” and warns investors against ignoring the company’s AI-related developments. 

“Tesla has significant attributes to be valued as an AI beneficiary,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note dated April 17, keeping an ‘overweight’ rating on stock. 

But before Tesla can get credit as an AI company, the EV maker has to focus efforts on stabilizing its core EV business to stem the negative earnings revisions seen so far, the bank added.

“We believe investors should not ignore the continued developments of Tesla’s other plays,” Morgan Stanley said, many of which are auto-related including the recurring revenue opportunity from the Tesla fleet. 

5. Crude stabilized after reimposition of Venezuela sanctions

Crude prices weakened Thursday adding to the previous session’s sharp loss, even after the Biden administration reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s crude exports after President Nicolas Maduro failed to meet initial promises to hold national elections.

By 04:30 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% lower at $82.33 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.4% to $86.96 per barrel.

The news that the U.S. government has decided to reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela has provided an element of support, along with the elevated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 

Venezuela’s oil exports grew 12% to about 700,000 barrels per day in 2023 after the U.S. eased some sanctions on the country’s oil industry. 

However, bets on tighter markets were offset by data showing record-high U.S. production and a substantial build in inventories. 

Oil inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels to 460 million barrels in the week ending April 12, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, nearly double expectations.

Investing.com– Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM), or TSMC, clocked a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on Wednesday as the world’s largest contract chipmaker benefited from increased demand in the rapidly-growing artificial intelligence industry.

TSMC’s net income rose to T$225.49 billion for the three months to March 31, higher than Reuters estimates of T$218.1 billion ($6.7 billion). The figure was also well above last year’s net income of T$206.99 billion. 

Diluted Q1 earnings per share were T$8.70 or $1.38 per American Depository Receipt, up from $1.31 last year.

But net income fell 5.5% on a quarterly basis, signaling that demand may have cooled slightly from highs in 2023.

TSMC was also undertaking increased costs to fund increased chip development. Capital expenditures rose to $5.77 billion in Q1 2024 from $5.24 billion in the prior quarter.

First-quarter revenue rose 16.5% to T$592.64 billion. The strong year-on-year rise was also, in part, driven by a lower base for comparison, given that TSMC was still struggling with weak chip demand in 2023.

TSMC also benefited from weakness in the Taiwan dollar through the first quarter, which boosted its dollar earnings.

The positive earnings come on the back of growing demand for chips from the AI industry. TSMC’s earnings are largely seen as a bellwether for global chip demand, given the firm’s pivotal role in the chipmaking industry.

The firm is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and has several technology stalwarts, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), as its customers.

Nvidia, in particular, has been a key source of demand for TSMC, given that the firm makes the most advanced AI chips currently available in the market.

To this end, TSMC’s valuation has largely tracked an astronomical rise in Nvidia over the past year.

Reacting to the report, analysts at Morgan Stanley said second-quarter guidance was slightly better than consensus. However, they noted that TSMC “didn’t revise up its full-year revenue guidance.”

“Management cited the slow recovery of non-AI demand, including smartphone, PC, automotive, and general servers,” wrote the bank. Even so, Morgan Stanley believes the stock will further re-rate based on the AI growth potential amid limited EPS upside in 2024.

Premarket, TSMC’s shares are down 1.9%.

After weeks of a relentless upward march, the S&P 500 experienced a pullback in recent days as sticky inflation data dealt a major blow to early interest rate cut hopes. Commenting on the recent developments, analysts at Evercore ISI said the ongoing market correction has further room to run.

S&P 500 pulls back from highs on sticky inflation

The latest sell-off in US stocks began last week when disappointing earnings from major banks and higher-than-expected inflation data for March weighed on risk sentiment among investors.

The main culprit was the latest consumer price index (CPI) report, which rose 0.4% in March, pushing the annual inflation rate to 3.5%, up by 0.3 percentage points from February, as reported by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These figures were higher than the 0.3% monthly increase and the 3.4% annual rate economists surveyed by Dow Jones had anticipated.

The core CPI, which excludes the more volatile food and energy prices, also saw a rise of 0.4% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year, surpassing forecasts of 0.3% and 3.7%, respectively.

The report showed that inflationary pressures remain sticky, suggesting that the Federal Reserve may not be in a position to cut interest rates any time soon.

As a result, each of the three major indices dropped over 1% last Friday, ending the week with losses. The S&P 500 recorded its largest weekly percentage drop since January, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its most substantial weekly decline since March 2023.

The indices also posted declines on a weekly basis, with the S&P 500 index sliding by 1.56%, while the Dow Jones tumbled 2.37%. The Nasdaq managed to contain its losses, decreasing by only 0.45%, as technology stocks showed resilience.

Market correction to continue says Evercore ISI

Amidst recent market declines, the NASDAQ Transportation Index, which measures all Nasdaq stocks within the transportation sector, saw a sharp drop, breaking below its 200-day moving average (DMA).

This, according to Evercore ISI analysts, represents a broader issue because it fails to confirm the Industrial Average strength, which just recently made a new all-time high.”

“Charles Dow, namesake of the DJIA, would have identified such a divergence as a harbinger of a downshift in the Economy’s torrid pace, or at minimum, as we believe, a sign that the current market correction has further to run,” analysts added.

The latest print by JB Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) has negatively impacted the entire transportation sector, Evercore noted, as identifying a demand catalyst remains challenging and severe overcapacity has led to aggressive pricing competition.

Conversely, United Airlines’ (NASDAQ:UAL) earnings release has provided a lift to the airline industry, bolstered by a strong first quarter and a balanced capital allocation strategy that has alleviated concerns about aircraft delays, regulatory pressures, and rising fuel costs.

To date, 54 companies from the S&P 500, representing 12% of the market’s capitalization, have reported their results for the first quarter.

Sales have grown by 4.4% and earnings by 6.0%, surpassing expectations by 1.1% and 8.5%, respectively. These results set the trajectory for an overall sales growth of 3.4% and earnings growth of 1.0% for the period, Evercore analysts highlighted.

Investing.com– Bitcoin price fell slightly on Thursday, extending recent declines as cryptocurrency markets saw limited relief in the face of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates, which battered risk sentiment.

The focus was also on the halving event, which appeared imminent, and what its effects would be on the long-term supply of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $62,694.3 in the past 24 hours by 07:22 ET (11:22 GMT).

Bitcoin could drop after halving event, JPMorgan says

Focus was now squarely on the halving event, which is set to take place with the generation of block no. 840,000 on the Bitcoin blockchain. Less than 300 blocks were left to reach the block, with the halving set to take place by April 20.

The event will reduce the pace at which new Bitcoin is mined by effectively halving rewards for miners.

The halving furthers the narrative that Bitcoin’s scarcity will help buoy the token’s prices.

But while the token has appreciated sharply over the past 12 years, there appeared to be few direct links between the past three halving events and immediate price gains in Bitcoin.

External factors- such as interest rates and risk appetite- appeared to have played a bigger role in Bitcoin’s price trajectory, especially given its tendency to track U.S. technology stocks.

While a bulk of Bitcoin’s gains this year were driven by the U.S. approval of spot exchange-traded funds, this momentum now appeared to be running low.

The token, along with the broader crypto space- has thrived chiefly in low-interest rate, high-liquidity environments- a scenario that is likely to materialize later, rather than earlier in 2024.

According to JPMorgan, it is more likely that BTC will witness downward pressure following the halving event.

The bank predicts a downturn mainly due to the market’s current overbought conditions, evidenced by their analysis of open interest in bitcoin futures.

Moreover, the current cryptocurrency price exceeds JPMorgan’s volatility-adjusted comparison with gold, which they place at $45,000, as well as the projected production cost of $42,000 post-halving. Historically, the production cost of bitcoin has served as a lower boundary for its prices.

Also, the Wall Street titan pointed out that venture capital funding for the crypto sector remains low, despite a recent revival in the market. The firm believes that mining companies will experience the most significant impact from the halving.

“As unprofitable bitcoin miners exit the bitcoin network, we anticipate a significant drop in the hashrate and consolidation among bitcoin miners with a highest share for publicly-listed bitcoin miners,” analysts said.

“Post halving event, it is also likely that some bitcoin mining firms may look to diversify into low energy cost regions such as Latin America or Africa to deploy their inefficient mining rigs to gain salvage values from those rigs which would otherwise sit idle,” they added.

Crypto price today: Rate jitters persist 

Broader cryptocurrency prices saw sustained losses as traders further dialed back expectations for a June interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. This came in the wake of strong inflation data and hawkish signals from Fed officials.

Crypto prices took little advantage of a mild pullback in the dollar, as traders locked-in profits at 5-1/2-month highs in the greenback.

No. 2 crypto Ethereum fell 0.8% to $3,048.50, while Solana fell 1.6% and XRP gained 0.9%.

Gains in the crypto space this year have been biased largely towards Bitcoin, after the approval of the spot ETFs. Bitcoin accounts for over 55% of overall value in the crypto market.

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Tesla’s stock price has tumbled to a 15-month low in premarket trading Thursday, April 18. The significant drop comes after investment bank Deutsche Bank downgraded the electric vehicle giant’s stock rating, highlighting a “considerable risk.”

Deutsche Bank downgrades Tesla stock

The bank cut its rating for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) to Hold from Buy in a note, lowering the price target to $123 from $180 per share.

Deutsche Bank believes there is a considerable risk from “going balls to the wall for autonomy,” following recent news and the likelihood of the Model 2 push-out and the company’s change of strategic priority to Robotaxi.

Deutsche Bank had previously warned investors about downside risk to Tesla’s deliveries, pricing, and earnings through 2025.

However, the longer-term Buy rating was predicated on the next-gen vehicle priced at $25k coming late next year, which they felt would allow the company to reaccelerate volume, margins and free cash flow and potentially come to dominate the Western electric vehicle market.

It is believed that pushing out Model 2 will create significant earnings and free cash flow pressure on Tesla’s 2026 estimates, and “make the future of the company tied to Tesla cracking the code on full driverless autonomy, which represents a significant technological, regulatory and operational challenge.”

“We view Tesla’s shift as thesis-changing and worry the stock will need to undergo a potentially painful transition in ownership base, with investors previously focused on Tesla’s EV volume and cost advantage potentially throwing in the towel, and eventually replaced by AI/tech investors with considerably longer time horizons,” argues Deutsche Bank.

The bank feels the delay of Model 2 efforts will create the risk of no new vehicle in Tesla’s consumer lineup for the foreseeable future, which “would put continued downward pressure on its volume and pricing for many more years, requiring downward earnings estimate revisions for 2026+.”

TSLA hits fresh lows as selloff extends

Premarket Thursday, Tesla’s stock is trading at 153.32 per share, down 1.36% from Wednesday’s close. This is its lowest level since April 2023. However, the stock had initially fallen to lows last seen in January.

Ahead of the company’s earnings, Wells Fargo analysts said they expect a Q1 miss from Tesla, with expectations low after weak deliveries.

Meanwhile, UBS reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock in a recent note, highlighting plateauing electric demand and more China competition as factors that could impact TSLA’s near-to-mid-term growth.

Following a survey, UBS noted that in China, Tesla shows negative momentum year-on-year compared to premium and top-end Chinese electric vehicle brands. They also stated that US interest in owning a car that can drive autonomously was flat year-on-year.

“The majority (~55%) still indicated they would want to pay for such a feature as a lump-sum. In our view, we believe the current $12k FSD purchase price would need to come down to see higher levels of adoption,” stated the investment bank.