Markets
Luke Kawa
12/5/24

Broad-based declines send US stock indexes lower

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%, and the Russell 2000 tumbled 1.3% on Thursday.

It was another negative day for the S&P 500’s advance-decline line, with the number of constituents that fell outnumbering those that rose by 128.

Healthcare, industrials, and materials S&P sector ETFs all fell more than 1%; consumer discretionary was atop the sector leaderboard.

The Magnificent 7 — well, Tesla and Microsoft, in particular — helped keep the market from a worse fate. Both semiconductor and software stocks declined, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF off 1.7% and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF down 1.2%.

Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniels, was the best-performing S&P 500 constituent, up double digits after posting better-than-expected profits.

GameStop and other meme stocks like AMC spiked after a somewhat juvenile and cryptic tweet from Keith Gill.

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markets
Luke Kawa

Crocs rises on new marketing campaign for HeyDude brand starring Sydney Sweeney


Sydney Sweeney has great... feet?

Shares of Crocs are rising after the footwear company’s HeyDude brand unveiled a new marketing effort starring actress Sydney Sweeney for its Austin Lift shoe line.

Sweeney’s controversial ad campaign for American Eagle spurred a massive jump in the denim-maker’s shares, caught the attention of the president, and prompted “an uptick in customer awareness, engagement, and comparable sales,” per AEO’s management.

Sweeney was first announced as HeyDude’s global spokesperson in August 2024, and doesn’t seem to have given the brand a major boost so far.

Max Knoblauch
3h

Ford and GM reach 52-week highs as EPA seeks to repeal emissions rules

Shares of Ford and GM are each trading at 52-week highs on Friday, as investors pile into gas-powered US automakers with the looming end of the EV tax credit and the Trump administration’s potential repeal of vehicle emissions standards.

A lobby representing Ford, GM, and nearly all other major automakers has expressed support for the EPA’s proposal to repeal the long-standing endangerment finding that declared greenhouse gases a threat to human life. The finding provides the legal foundation for the EPA to regulate vehicle emissions.

Yesterday, EV giant Tesla urged the Trump administration to keep the standards in place.

Friday afternoon saw Ford shares reach their highest level since July 2024, while GM’s stock hit highs not seen since January 2022.

Citi equity analysts on the key valuation issue facing the market.

Citi’s US market analyst on the key valuation test facing the market

“It kind of comes down to, what inning do you think we are in this AI game?”

Matt Phillips5h
markets
Luke Kawa

GameStop surges as company offers promotions to boost launch of “Pokémon” Mega Evolution set

GameStop is jumping as the company offers promotions to boost interest for today’s North American launch of the Mega Evolution set of the “Pokémon Trading Card Game.”

Options activity is a little more tilted to the bull side than usual. Over the past month, a little less than four calls have changed hands for every put option. As of 10:22 a.m. ET, that ratio is over five to one.

It’s a big day for collectibles fans and gamers alike: beyond the “Pokémon TCG” drop, there are also new collections from “Yu-Gi-Oh!” and “Magic: The Gathering” being released and “EA SPORTS FC 26,” as well.

As we’ve written, “Pokémon” trading cards have been skyrocketing in value, and GameStop’s collectibles business has been accelerating. These are two sides of the same coin.

Mega Gardevoir... here I come!

markets
Matt Phillips

IREN slips after JPM gives the stock its only “sell” rating

Bitcoin miner and AI compute power provider IREN slumped in early trading after JPMorgan analyst Reggie Smith cut his rating on the stock to “underweight” from “neutral,” citing downside risks for the stock after a rally that carried it up 100% over the last month and some 600% over the last six months.

Smith is the lone member of the sell side with an “underweight” (equivalent to a “sell”) rating, per Bloomberg.

“We estimate shares are pricing in a >1 GW colocation deal, which would be a deal of record scale and capex (>$10 billion), which is possible over time, but for now, creates more downside risk in shares than upside potential,” he wrote, as quoted by Bloomberg.

He set a price target of $24, which is both 50% higher than his previous target but also 48% below where the shares closed on Thursday.

Smith is the lone member of the sell side with an “underweight” (equivalent to a “sell”) rating, per Bloomberg.

“We estimate shares are pricing in a >1 GW colocation deal, which would be a deal of record scale and capex (>$10 billion), which is possible over time, but for now, creates more downside risk in shares than upside potential,” he wrote, as quoted by Bloomberg.

He set a price target of $24, which is both 50% higher than his previous target but also 48% below where the shares closed on Thursday.

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