Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Going Dow-n
Rising Treasury yields weighed on stocks Wednesday, beating out any effect Nvidia‘s rally may have had. While the artificial intelligence stock climbed back from early losses to finish the session 0.8% higher, the three major indexes weren’t able to do the same. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell the most, sliding 411.32 points, or 1.06%, to 38,441.54. The S&P 500 saw its first negative session out of the last three, dipping 0.74% to 5,266.95. The Nasdaq Composite was cushioned somewhat by Nvidia’s slight rise, dropping 0.58% to 16,920.58. Follow live market updates.
2. Doom and gloom
A Salesforce corporate logo hangs over the front door of the Salesforce Tower on January 22, 2024, in New York City.
Gary Hershorn | Getty Images
There are clouds hanging over Salesforce after it reported first-quarter results. Shares of the company plunged more than 15% in premarket trading Thursday after the cloud software company posted weaker-than-expected revenue. Despite increasing 11% to $9.13 billion from $8.25 billion a year ago, revenue for the period ended April 30 fell short of estimates for the first time since 2006. And while Salesforce raised its earnings guidance for the 2025 fiscal year, its revenue guidance stayed in the $37.7 billion to $38 billion range, which is below the $38.08 billion analysts polled by LSEG were looking for. Amy Weaver, the company’s chief financial officer, said she forecasts deal compression and slowing projects in the professional services business through the fiscal year.
3. Bring on the oil
The Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery Wilmington Plant stands on November 28, 2022 in Wilmington, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
There’s a wave of consolidation happening in the oil and gas industry, and ConocoPhillips is following suit. The company agreed to buy Marathon Oil on Wednesday in an all-stock transaction valued at $17 billion. The acquisition is set to extend ConocoPhillips’ reach across shale fields in Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota by adding 2 billion barrels of resources to its inventory. According to analysts at Truist Securities, the deal will make the company one of the largest asset holders in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford play in Texas. It’ll also raise its market cap to above $150 billion, increasing its lead even further as the largest independent producer.
4. One for the books
Abercrombie & Fitch.
Courtesy: Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch just made history. It posted its strongest first quarter ever on Wednesday, exceeding expectations yet again. The company’s sales jumped 22% to $1.02 billion compared with last year’s $836 million. Profits were almost seven times higher, coming in well beyond estimates. Its net income for the period ending May 4 was $113.9 million, or $2.14 per share, compared with $16.6 million, or 32 cents a share, a year ago. Shares of the retailer jumped 24% on Wednesday following the results.
5. Peltz out
Nelson Peltz, founder and chief executive officer of Trian Fund Management, during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Summit in Miami, Florida, US, on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Marco Bello | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Nelson Peltz is out of Disney. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that the activist investor sold all of his Disney stock at about $120 a share, making about $1 billion as a result. Just last month, Peltz’s Trian Partners lost a proxy battle at the company, with shareholders reelecting Disney’s full board. Peltz had been seeking to elect both himself and former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo to the board.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Pia Singh, Jordan Novet, Spencer Kimball, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Sara Salinas and Scott Wapner contributed to this report.
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