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Luke Kawa

Megacap tech roars back, sending US stocks higher

The S&P 500 ended its longest losing streak since April with a jump of 1.3%. The Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 fared even better, up 1.7%.

Nine of 11 S&P 500 sector ETFs advanced, with marginal losses from consumer staples and materials as the lone holdouts. Consumer discretionary, tech, real estate, and industrials all rose more than 1%.

The Magnificent 7 cohort advanced 2.4%, with Tesla leading the way after yesterday’s big losses. Nvidia also put in another big gain to open the year as the VanEck Semiconductor ETF booked its largest one-day rally since September. Super Micro Computer was the best-performing S&P 500 constituent, up double digits.

Many automakers also moved higher after reporting strong EV sales, including General Motors, Ford, and Rivian, which had its biggest one-day gain since its IPO.

The US dollar, whose strength was a pain point for stocks in the first session of the year, fell against every G10 currency except the Canadian dollar on the day.

US Steel tumbled after President Biden blocked Japan’s Nippon Steel from acquiring the company.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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