Stock market today: Dow slides, Nasdaq closes at record to cap winning week

Alexandra Canal and Karen Friar
Updated
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US stocks closed mixed on Friday with the the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) logging a fresh record high as the prospect of a reversal from interest rate hikes buoyed investors' spirits.

The Nasdaq, which opened the day in the red, flipped into positive territory by mid-afternoon to close up about 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which is eyeing the key 40,000 mark, fell about 0.7% while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.1%.

The gauges secured solid weekly gains, having racked up all-time closing highs after the Federal Reserve soothed worries it might scale back its forecast for rate cuts this year. Optimism that borrowing costs have peaked is also riding high on signs other big central banks are ready to pivot.

Read more: What the Fed rate decision means for your money

Among corporates, FedEx (FDX) shares jumped about 7% after operating margins at the parcel giant's largest unit improved amid a profit beat. But Nike (NKE) shares slid about 7% as the market absorbed disappointing sales guidance in its mixed results.

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  • Alexandra Canal

    Nasdaq notches new record

    US stocks closed mixed on Friday with the the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) logging a fresh record high.

    The Nasdaq, which opened the day in the red, flipped into positive territory by mid-afternoon to close up about 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.7% while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.1%.

  • Alexandra Canal

    What to expect next week

    It's been a busy week for markets after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and maintained its previous projection of three rate cuts in 2024.

    It will be a much more quiet period next week, but there are still some key earnings and economic events to look out for. Here's the breakdown:

  • Alexandra Canal

    Lululemon, Nike, Tilray: Stocks trending in afternoon trading

    Here are some of the stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in mid-afternoon trading on Friday:

    Lululemon (LULU): Shares of the athletic brand tumbled 15% after the company's first quarter guidance disappointed investors. The company said it expects Q1 earnings to come in between $2.35 and $2.40 a share, below estimates of $2.55. The retailer's first quarter revenue forecast of $2.18 billion to $2.2 billion also fell short of expectations. Wall Street had been hoping for $2.26 billion.

    Nike (NKE): Shares fell about 6% on Friday after the company warned of lower sales in its first half of fiscal 2025, which begins in June. The company said it expects sales to shrink by low-single-digit percentages as it works to replace older styles with trendier sneakers amid increased competition.

    Tilray (TLRY): Tilray shares surged more than 15% on Friday after Germany's parliament approved the partial legalization of cannabis for personal use. The news comes after Vice President Kamala Harris urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to "get to it" in its review on classifying marijuana as a less-dangerous drug. Other pot stocks including Cronos Group (CRON) and Canopy Growth (CGC) also moved higher on the news, rising 8% and a whopping 58%, respectively.

    FedEx (FDX): Shares moved about 7% higher on Friday after the company reported a profit beat in its third quarter results. CEO Raj Subramaniam touted improved profitability in a "difficult demand environment." FedEx's board also approved a $5 billion share repurchase program.

  • Dani Romero

    Citi sticks with Zillow post-NAR ruling: 'We don't envision a major disruption'

    Citi analyst Ron Josey is sticking with on his bullish call on Zillow (Z) stock.

    In a recent client note, Josey reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $68 in the wake of last week's groundbreaking $418 million settlement from the National Association of Realtors that settled lawsuits regarding its commission rules.

    News of this settlement sent shares of Zillow and other real estate players lower last Friday, with investors seeing this ruling as a negative for real estate agent fees and, in turn, marketing spend and lead gen on platforms like Zillow. Zillow stock was down about 1% on Friday, trading just below $51 per share.

    But Josey doesn't see this development fundamentally changing the story for Zillow.

    "Our view here is that the settlement doesn't cancel or get rid of the commissions for buy-side agents. In fact, you can still move forward with that. And a sell-side agent can still do that, just maybe not within the MLS," Josey told Yahoo Finance Live.

    As part of its settlement last week, the NAR announced a new set of rules that prohibits agents' compensation from being included on portals like the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), where the majority of homes sold in the US are listed. But those changes won't impact Zillow's online home listings platform, according to Josey.

    "We don't envision a major disruption at least immediately to the overall business," Josey said.

    "Now, to be clear, [it is] still early … the new settlement goes into effect I think in mid-summer of this year. And so we'll have to see what happens."

    Other analysts, however, aren't so sanguine about the impacts of this settlement.

    "Zillow has historically gotten buy-side leads and the kind of thought right now [is that buying agents'] commissions are going to be under pressure, potentially going to zero, which is bad for Zillow," JMP Securities analyst Nicholas Jones told Yahoo Finance in a phone interview.

    According to Jones, Zillow has a market-based pricing approach — based on how much the agent spends, the platform funnels leads to whoever spends the most. And about 70% of the lead volume tends to be buy-side engagement.

    In theory, "if [buyers' agents'] revenue goes down, well, they spend less advertising dollars, right? That's kind of the debate," Jones said.

    Meanwhile, real estate firm Compass said on Friday it reached a $57.5 million settlement to make changes to its commission practices, the first deal to be announced since the NAR's agreement last week. And as the Wall Street Journal noted Friday, several other brokerages have also settled suits related to commission fees within the last year.

  • Ines Ferré

    Cocoa soars to fresh all-time highs

    Cocoa (CC=F) futures rallied further on Friday to hit fresh records amid an ongoing supply shortage. Contracts for May delivery spiked more than 4% to rise above $8,900 per ton.

    Futures are up roughly 10% over the last five days, rounding out a fifth consecutive week of gains.

    The rally has been driven by poor harvests in West Africa where extreme weather conditions have impacted cocoa trees. The region is the largest exporter of the commodity.

    "Funds have piled into his trade and caught commercial traders short," Dennis Sweeney, CEO of Infinity Brokerage, told Yahoo Finance on Friday.

    "This has been mostly a fundamental rally, but the short squeeze has escalated the situation," he added.

    Cocoa futures are up about 108% since the start of the year.

  • Alexandra Canal

    Stocks eye weekly gains

    US stocks continued to eye weekly gains on the heels of record closing highs.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), which opened the day in the red, briefly flipped into positive territory before trading flat in mid-afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 0.5% while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded flat.

    Utilities led the day's sector action, followed by Communications Services and Technology, which was able to buck Apple's (AAPL) recent stock struggles following its antitrust lawsuit.

    Consumer Discretionary served as one of the afternoon's biggest laggards, dragged down by Nike (NKE) and Lululemon (LULU).

    (Source: Yahoo Finance)
    (Source: Yahoo Finance)
  • Alexandra Canal

    Reddit takes a breather on day 2 of trading

    Reddit (RDDT) entered its first full day of trading on Friday following its strong IPO debut the day prior.

    Shares fell about 4% after soaring 48% in its market debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management took a small position in the company on its debut day, purchasing nearly 10,000 shares across its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF).

    Reddit has been attempting to position itself as a potential AI play for investors with the company looking to utilize its stockpiles of user conversations as training material for AI tools.

  • Brian Sozzi

    2024, the year of the stock buyback

    The rising market tide has sucked in CFOs at publicly traded companies.

    New research out of Goldman Sachs estimates stock buybacks will increase by 13% in 2024 to $925 billion (see chart below). Goldman strategists say “accelerating” earnings growth this year will fuel the demand by companies to buy back their stock.

    The lone point of caution from Goldman on the buyback front: politics.

    “Valuations remain high and uncertainty tends to rise in election years,” Goldman says.

    The year of the stock buyback.
    The year of the stock buyback. (Goldman Sachs)
  • Alexandra Canal

    Stocks open mostly flat

    US stocks opened mostly flat on Friday as the major indexes look for an upbeat end to a record-setting week.

    Both the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) opened flat to start the day. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) opened marginally lower, down about 0.1%.

  • Something to watch on FedEx

    FedEx (FDX) shares are rocking by 12% this morning after earnings last night.

    It was another quarter where FedEx management proved they were serious about slashing billions of dollars in costs from the business. The Street loves it when old companies like this reduce bloat and complexity from their operating models. And FedEx is doing just that.

    To that end, keep an eye on the negotiations between FedEx and the US Postal Service.

    FedEx allocates about 100 aircraft to carry Postal Service business, costing it about $3 billion annually, according to data from FreightWaves. The business has been a drag on the company's earnings, the industry publication says.

    So with its renewed focus on cost-cutting, FedEx may be inclined to walk away from the Postal Service deal or strike a better bargain. Both would likely be viewed favorably by investors.

    Here's what FedEx chief customer officer Brie Carere said on the earnings call:

    "Our current contract with the United States Postal Service expires on September 29. We have made significant progress in negotiations for a new contract that aligns with our ongoing network transformation plans while providing the USPS with the operational reliability and outstanding service we have delivered for them for more than two decades. A new multiyear agreement would provide a more efficient network with service to fewer markets. It would allow us to better adjust our overall network to demand."

  • Brian Sozzi

    Lululemon gets pummeled

    Full disclosure: I own a lot of Lululemon (LULU) clothes.

    They fit great. They last forever. And honestly, I look and feel my best in them — as is currently the case while I type this one.

    But do I really need one more pricey Lululemon shirt right now? Not exactly, and this is something others may be wrestling with in combing the company's earnings call transcript from Thursday night.

    "As you've heard from others in our industry, there has been a shift in the US consumer behavior of late, and we're navigating what has been a slower start to the year in this market," Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said on the call.

    Considering the core Lululemon shopper is higher income and likely exposed to rising stock prices, McDonald's comments were odd — and a potential signal of short-term Lululemon demand fatigue.

    Shares are getting pummeled by 13% this morning as first quarter EPS guidance was $0.14 below consensus using the top-end of management's range.

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