Stocks tumbled Thursday{
Stocks tumble, Dow finishes more than 543 points lower
Stock tumbled Thursday, accelerating losses into the final hour of trading.
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The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.
— Samantha Subin
The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.
Money Report
Thursday's losses brought the Dow to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 9. For the week and year, the 30-stock index is down 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are up 2.05% and 8.33% in 2023, respectively, but on track for weekly losses of 3% or more.
SVB Financial cratered 60% after announcing a $1.75 billion stock sale, pushing its market capitalization to a little over $6 billion and dragging down other regional bank names{
Regional bank stocks tumble
Regional bank stocks underperformed on Thursday, led to the downside by shares of Silvergate and SVB Financial.
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was last down about 4.5%, and hit a multi-year low dating back to 2021.
Shares of SVB Financial tumbled nearly 39% after the financial services company announced plans to hold a stock offering totaling $1.75 billion. As of 10:45 a.m., it was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500.
Crypto-focused bank Silvergate, meanwhile, shed more than 31% after announcing plans to shut down operations.
The news weighed on shares of other regional bank. That included PacWest and First Republic Bank, which fell more than 10% each.
— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla
shutting down operationsThe losses pushed the S&P financial sector down 4.1% for its worst day since June 2020{
Financial stocks on pace for worst day since 2020
Financial stocks within the S&P 500 are on track to post their worst day since June 2020.
The sector, which is performing the worst of the broad index's 11, is down 4.22% around 3:25 p.m. ET. The last time the sector performed worse in a day was June 26, 2020, when it dropped 4.33%.
All 11 sectors were trading down as the market entered its final 30 minutes of trading.
— Alex Harring, Christopher Hayes
Major banks shed tens of billions in market cap on Thursday
It is not just regional and tech-focused banks that are under pressure on Thursday.
The four biggest U.S. banks — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — are all underperforming the broader market. Shares of Wells Fargo and Bank of America have dropped more than 6%.
Combined, the declines for the four banks represent a loss of roughly $56 billion in market value for the day.
— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes
"The Fed has changed the narrative that drove stocks higher for most of January and late December," said Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments. "The market rallied on the assumption that the Fed would stop raising rates, would pause in the summer — or sometime in the near future. Powell made it very clear that's just not the case."
No data seems to suggest that the Fed should stop hiking rates, Sarhan said, adding that many investors are selling into the jobs report to reduce their risk, and are finding value in less risky assets like bonds offering an attractive yield.
"The market is looking for a bullish catalyst and it can't find one," he said.
Investors received more news on the state of the labor market ahead of Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. Jobless claims for the week ended March 4 rose more than expected, signaling that the labor market may be starting to slow. In retrospect, ADP's payrolls report and JOLTS data on Wednesday suggested a resilient economy, heightening fears that the Fed needs more hiking to slow it.
Some economists, including those at Citi, expect a positive surprise to the upside come Friday's payrolls data, following January's blowout number. Strong jobs growth could mean bad news for the market, wrote Citi research strategist Alex Saunders in a Wednesday note to clients.
"Given that good news is bad news for markets, we think this would likely cause equities to sell-off further and support the case for an outsize Fed hike," Saunders said.
Thursday's moves come a day after Powell reiterated his warning message to lawmakers that the central bank may raise interest rates higher than previously expected. While the Fed chair emphasized that no decision has been made regarding the March meeting, traders are bracing for a larger-than-expected hike following a batch of strong economic data in recent weeks.
As of Thursday afternoon, traders were pricing in a roughly 61% chance of a 50 basis point increase, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Lea la cobertura del mercado de hoy en español aquí.
Stocks tumble, Dow finishes more than 543 points lower
Stock tumbled Thursday, accelerating losses into the final hour of trading.
The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.
— Samantha Subin
Mizuho maintains buy rating on Rivian shares
Mizuho reiterated its buy rating on Rivian Automotive shares, but lowered its price target to $35 from $37.
Analyst Vijay Rakesh said in a Wednesday note that while the company has a good portfolio and stands to benefit from its green convertible note offering, macro challenges remain a tailwind.
"We see RIVN as a pure play and strong early mover in the EV market with a focus on the higher-growth SUV and light truck market and a strong commercial vehicle roadmap beginning with Amazon," Rakesh said.
"We lower our PT to $35 (prior $37) due to macro concerns, higher interest expense and potential share dilution," he added. Mizuho's price target implies over 131% upside from Wednesday's close price. Meanwhile, shares were down 3.7% on Thursday.
— Hakyung Kim
Major banks shed tens of billions in market cap on Thursday
It is not just regional and tech-focused banks that are under pressure on Thursday.
The four biggest U.S. banks — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — are all underperforming the broader market. Shares of Wells Fargo and Bank of America have dropped more than 6%.
Combined, the declines for the four banks represent a loss of roughly $56 billion in market value for the day.
— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes
Financial stocks on pace for worst day since 2020
Financial stocks within the S&P 500 are on track to post their worst day since June 2020.
The sector, which is performing the worst of the broad index's 11, is down 4.22% around 3:25 p.m. ET. The last time the sector performed worse in a day was June 26, 2020, when it dropped 4.33%.
All 11 sectors were trading down as the market entered its final 30 minutes of trading.
— Alex Harring, Christopher Hayes
Bernstein sees a chance for upside surprises from these retailers
As retailers reported earnings in recent weeks, they seemed to have used the same playbook, Bernstein analyst Dean Rosenblum said: "under-promise, over-deliver." With this in mind, some companies are poised for an "upside surprise going forward," he said.
Rosenblum's top picks include Target, Kroger and Costco, but home improvement retailer Floor & Decor is his favorite name. He said it's a "durable retail growth story based on its better mousetrap."
The retailer is known for its focus on hard flooring and its well-designed stores. Rosenblum's $112 price target implies 26% growth from Wednesday's close. Floor & Decor shares were down 2% in trading on Thursday.
—Christina Cheddar Berk
Stocks accelerate losses as final trading hour kicks off
Stocks hit fresh lows as the final hour of trading kicked off Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average last dropped 405 points, or 1.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell about 1.46%. The S&P 500 lost 1.35%.
— Samantha Subin
SVB Financial's stock is cut in half, halted for volatility
Shares of SVB Financial have fallen more than 50% on Thursday, with trading halted for volatility multiple times.
The plunge comes after SVB revealed that it was raising more than $2 billion in new capital to help offset losses from bond sales and cash burn from clients, which include many venture-backed startups.
— Jesse Pound
Meta should rally more than previously anticipated, Oppenheimer predicts
Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms should rise more than Oppenheimer previously expected given the likelihood of an improved advertising landscape.
Analyst Jason Helfstein upped his price target, or the price per share he expects the stock to hit over the next 12 to 18 months, to $235, which implies the stock will rally 27% from where it closed Wednesday. He previously set a price target of $220, which reflected a rally of 18.9%
Driving the optimism is the potential for an improved advertising backdrop as investments in artificial intelligence create better targeted ad, Helfstein said. He said tools such as SKAN 4.0 and Advantage+ can both help in the space.
"We are increasing our target to $235 (was $220) on higher advertising estimates as AI investments are beginning to drive improved targeting and SKAN 4.0 reaches critical mass," he said in a Wednesday note to clients.
That led Helfstein to raise his 2023 and 2024 ad revenues for the company by 2% for both years, which in turn drove up EBITDA by 4% in each year and GAAP per-share earnings by 8% in 2023 and 7% in 2024. While Oppenheimer's 2023 revenue estimate is still slightly below the consensus estimate of Wall Street, its 2024 estimate is now slightly above the consensus.
— Alex Harring
General Electric, BJ's Wholesale among stocks making the biggest moves midday
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves midday:
General Electric — The stock gained 6.3% after the company provided an update ahead of its investor meeting, including reaffirming its 2023 guidance with high-single-digit organic revenue growth, adjusted earnings per share of $1.60-$2 and free cash flow of $3.4 billion to $4.2 billion.
BJ's Wholesale Club — Shares gained 5.1% after the wholesale retailer company reported adjusted earnings of $1 per share, beating StreetAccount's estimate of 88 cents per share. Revenue also topped expectations.
Silvergate Capital — The crypto lender's stock sank 23% after the company announced it will wind down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank. The bank has been struggling for months, including reporting a $1 billion net loss in the fourth quarter.
Peloton Interactive — The stock shed 4% after the U.S. international trade commission banned imports of video-streaming devices made by the fitness equipment maker. A Peloton spokesperson told Reuters the ruling will not disrupt service for users. President Joe Biden has 60 days to review the ban before it takes effect.
— Michelle Fox
JPMorgan analyst is sticking with bullish call on Eli Lilly
JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a note to clients on Thursday that he is sticking with his overweight rating for Eli Lilly despite recent struggles for the pharmaceutical stock.
Schott said that the stock had an attractive risk/reward profile with trial data about an Alzheimer's drug slated for the second quarter and an expanding business for diabetes treatments.
"Overall, we see the LLY story as very much on track and LLY remains one of our favorite names in the group," the note said.
Shares of Eli Lilly were up about 1.6% in afternoon trading, trimming their 2023 loss to roughly 13%.
— Jesse Pound
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest bought $12 million worth of Tesla shares
Ark Invest's Cathie Wood bought shares of Tesla Wednesday during the electric vehicle's sell-off.
Wood's flagship ARK Innovation ETF added 51,960 shares of Tesla, while snapping up 17,369 shares for ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF, according to Ark's daily trading data. These purchases were worth $12.6 million based on Tesla's Tuesday close of $182.
Tesla dropped 3% in the previous session after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating two complaints of steering wheels coming off 2023 Model Y vehicles while vehicle was in motion. Berenberg also downgraded shares to hold from buy.
— Yun Li
Fed should not move back to half-point interest rate hikes, Wharton's Siegel says
Returning to a half-point interest rate hike would be a mistake for the Federal Reserve, according to Jeremy Siegel, pressor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
"I definitely think that that is the wrong decision," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday.
Siegel went on to say that the Federal Reserve's focus on certain areas of the consumer price index and wage growth was a mistake. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Alex Harring
Stocks fall midday
All the major averages pared earlier gains, declining during midday trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56 points, or 0.17%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.15% and 0.1%, respectively.
— Samantha Subin
Bond king Gundlach says 2-year Treasury yield's top is not in yet
DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said the two-year Treasury yield has more room to rise before it hits its peak.
The short-term bond yield briefly topped 5% earlier this week, reaching its highest level since 2007. The rate last traded around 4.98% on Thursday.
The sharp move higher followed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said interest rates are "likely to be higher" than previously anticipated. Gundlach said it's "very likely" that the Fed will raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its next policy meeting.
— Yun Li
Match Group, CVS Health trading at new lows
Many notable companies are hitting milestones on Thursday morning. Here is a look at the 52-week highs and lows for S&P 500 stocks.
New S&P 500 52-week Lows:
- Match Group trading at all-time lows back to its IPO in November 2015
- VF Corp. trading at lows not seen since June 2011
- First Republic Bank trading at lows not seen since May 2020
- M&T Bank trading at lows not seen since September 2021
- PNC Financial Services Group trading at lows not seen since January 2021
- Signature Bank trading at lows not seen since November 2020
- SVB Financial Group trading at lows not seen since May 2020
- Zions Bancorporation trading at lows not seen since January 2021
- CVS Health trading at lows not seen since May 2021
- Gen Digital trading at lows not seen since December 2020
- Boston Properties trading at lows not seen since February 2010
New S&P 500 52-week Highs:
- General Electric trading at levels not seen since May 2018
- Parker-Hannifin trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1964
- Rockwell Automation trading at levels not seen since January 2022
- Arista Networks trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in June 2014
Regional bank stocks tumble
Regional bank stocks underperformed on Thursday, led to the downside by shares of Silvergate and SVB Financial.
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was last down about 4.5%, and hit a multi-year low dating back to 2021.
Shares of SVB Financial tumbled nearly 39% after the financial services company announced plans to hold a stock offering totaling $1.75 billion. As of 10:45 a.m., it was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500.
Crypto-focused bank Silvergate, meanwhile, shed more than 31% after announcing plans to shut down operations.
The news weighed on shares of other regional bank. That included PacWest and First Republic Bank, which fell more than 10% each.
— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla
General Motors offers voluntary buyouts
Shares of General Motors were last down about 1% as the automaker said it will offer voluntary buyouts to a "majority" of its U.S. white-collar employees.
The buyouts are part of an attempt to cut structural costs over the next two years by $2 billion and comes after last week's announcement that it will cut 500 salaried positions worldwide.
— Samantha Subin, Mike Wayland
Barclays upgrades Hilton to overweight
Hilton Worldwide is now a better buying opportunity for investors than Hyatt Hotels, according to Barclays.
Analyst Brandt Montour upgraded shares of Hilton to overweight from equal weight, saying the hotel chain can weather macro challenges better than its peers. The analyst said Hyatt, which he downgraded to equal weight from overweight, is more exposed to China and has little upside from here.
"After strong share price performance for H over the last 12 months, we think share valuation now limits upside and are moving to the sidelines. We shift our preference to HLT for its underappreciated net unit growth prospects amidst a slowing macro backdrop," Montour wrote in a Thursday note.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Sarah Min
Bank of America raises price target for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Bank of America analyst Brad Lin raised his price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's U.S.-listed shares to $115 from $105. The new target implies upside of 26.6% from Wednesday's close.
"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is a key beneficiary and among our 20 global AI stock picks owing to the rising and widening applications of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, led by ChatGPT," Lin wrote.
"We think the generative AI should act as one of the greatest drivers, thanks to the substantial computational requirements for running and training the AI models."
— Sarah Min
Stocks open higher
Stocks opened higher on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 130 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.17% and 0.05%, respectively.
— Samantha Subin
Initial, continuing jobless claims hit highest level for 2023
Initial jobs claims hit 211,000 for the week ended March 4, the highest level of the year and since Dec. 24.
Continuing claims also hit a yearly high, coming in at 1.718M for the week of Feb. 25. That also marked the highest level dating back to Dec.17.
— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla
Analysts look ahead to FedEx earnings
When FedEx reports fiscal third-quarter earnings next Thursday, analysts will be watching to see what impact the company's cost-cutting has had.
In December, the package-delivery company said it would cut another $1 billion beyond what it forecast in September after weak demand ate into its quarterly profit.
"Heading into F3Q23 results next week we think consensus' $2.73 [EPS] estimate is achievable in the context of normal seasonality plus the beginning of the company's $1b in net cost reduction for F23," Citi analyst Christian Wetherbee wrote in a note Thursday.
However, Bank of America is forecasting earnings per share of $2.49.
"We see F3Q as its floor, and expect a consolidated operating margin of 4%, its lowest level outside of Covid since F1Q10, as volume pressures weigh on results," analyst Ken Hoexter said in a note to clients.
Goldman Sachs, which has an EPS estimate of $2.60 for the quarter, lowered its fiscal-year estimate to $13.85 from $13.95 on Wednesday.
Shares of FedEx are up nearly 21% year to date.
— Michelle Fox
Jobless claims total 211,000, higher than expected
Jobless claims unexpectedly popped higher last week despite what otherwise has been a tight labor market.
Initial filings for unemployment benefits for the week ended March 4 totaled 211,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous period and ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 195,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was the highest total of 2023.
The four-week moving average, which accounts for volatility in the weekly numbers, edged higher to 197,000, an increase of 4,000.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, also showed a sharp acceleration, up 69,000 to nearly 1.72 million, the highest since January 2022.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest premarket moves
Check out the companies making headlines before the opening bell:
Etsy — Shares fell more than 6% in premarket after Jefferies double-downgraded the online marketplace to underperform from buy.
Silvergate Capital — Shares of the crypto lender tumbled 50% after the company announced it will wind down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank.
MongoDB — Shares of the database platform provider slid over 10% in premarket. The decline came after MongoDB offered weak guidance on revenue that disappointed investors.
SVB Financial — The financial services company's stock dropped 30% after the firm announced that it intends to offer $1.25 billion of its common stock and $500 million of depositary shares.
— Yun Li
Tesla shares slump on investigation news
Tesla shares fell another 3% during premarket trading Thursday, amid news that Federal vehicle safety regulators are launching a special crash investigation to evaluate what caused a fatal collision involving a Tesla Model S and a firetruck last month.
The premarket move follows a 3% slump on Wednesday after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating two incidents involving steering wheels coming off 2023 Model Y vehicles. Berenberg also downgraded shares to hold from a buy rating.
— Samantha Subin, Lora Kolodny
BJ's Wholesale Club posts better-than-expected earnings
Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club rose more than 4% in thin premarket trading after the company posted quarterly results that beat analyst expectations.
BJ's earned $1 per share, topping a StreetAccount forecast of 88 cents per share. Revenue also beat estimates, coming in at $4.93 billion.
"2022 was a record year, having surpassed $1 billion in Adjusted EBITDA for the first time in the Company's history," CEO Bob Eddy said in a statement. "Our membership base is stronger than ever with our tenured renewal rate reaching an all-time high of 90%."
— Fred Imbert
Etsy falls after Jefferies double downgrade
Jefferies analyst John Colantuoni double downgraded Etsy to underperform from buy, saying the company is having to spend more on marketing as the buyer churn rate goes up.
"With more limited take rate upside and deteriorating buyer trends, we see downside to consensus from slowing top line and moderating margin expansion," Colantuoni said to clients on Thursday.
Etsy shares fell more than 6% in the premarket.
— Sarah Min
European equity markets open lower
The pan-European Stoxx index was down 0.2% in early trade with most sectors and major bourses trading in negative territory.
Mining stocks made the biggest losses with a drop of 1.1%, while food and beverages led modest gains, up 0.2%.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Credit Suisse to delay its 2022 annual report after a 'late call' from the SEC
Credit Suisse on Thursday announced that it will delay the publication of its 2022 annual report after a late call from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday night.
The report was scheduled for publication on Thursday morning, but the embattled Swiss lender said it had received a call related to SEC comments about the "technical assessment of previously disclosed revisions to the consolidated cash flow statements in the years ended December 31, 2020, and 2019, as well as related controls."
"Management believes it is prudent to briefly delay the publication of its accounts in order to understand more thoroughly the comments received. We confirm the 2022 financial results as previously released on February 9, 2023, are not impacted by the above," Credit Suisse said.
Credit Suisse shares closed Wednesday's trade at around 2.68 Swiss francs per share, down 3.22% since the start of the year, and are expected to fall further at market open on Thursday.
— Elliot Smith
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are heading for a lower open on Thursday as investors gauge the regional and global economic outlook.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 24 points lower at 7,909, Germany's DAX 27 points lower at 15,623, France's CAC down 14 points at 7,316 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 2 points at 27,902, according to data from IG.
Earnings come from Aviva, Domino's Pizza, Hugo Boss and Deutsche Post.
— Holly Ellyatt
China's consumer inflation eases in February
China's consumer price index for February came in at 1% year on year, coming off from an annual increase of 2.1% in January.
The figure is lower than Reuters' forecast of a 1.9% increase. Prices of food, alcohol and tobacco increased by 2.1% year on year.
China's producer price index for February declined 1.4% compared to a year ago, deepening a contraction of 0.8% in January.
— Lee Ying Shan
Nikkei 225 on pace for best week since Jan. 27
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained almost 1% in early hours of Thursday's trade — on pace for the fifth straight day of gains for the first time since Jan 12th.
Week-to-date, the index is up over 2.7% and is on pace for the best week since Jan 27, when Nikkei gained 3.12%.
— Gina Francolla
EU and U.S. to begin critical minerals trade negotiations: WSJ
The European and U.S. are crafting a trade agreement on critical minerals in a move to reduce their reliance on China, Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Both parties are laying out the foundations of what would be a focus on environmental and labor standards for obtaining nickel and lithium, the sources were quoted saying.
The move would mark a step towards the Critical-Minerals Pact between the U.S., Japan and UK, which aimed to shift energy transition supply chains away from China.
Negotiations on the terms of the deal will be tabled during the White House meeting on Friday.
—Lee Ying Shan
Major cryptos drop 2% following Silvergate shutdown
Major cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether sank in early Asia trade after the central lender to the crypto industry, Silvergate Capital, said it will shutdown its operations.
"In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward," the company said in a statement. Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX was a major Silvergate customer.
Bitcoin was down 2.31% to trade at $21,711.8 while Ether fell 2.15% to $1,532.98 according to CoinDesk data.
— Lee Ying Shan
Historic yield curve inversion may be reflecting high inflation
The yield curve between the 2-year and the 10-year Treasurys became even more sharply inverted on Wednesday, but it may be a sign of inflation rather than a recession warning.
At one point, the spread between the 2-year and 10-year yields was negative by as much as 111 basis points – the widest it has been dating back to 1981.
Though this is normally a harbinger of an impending recession, some strategists are saying that this time, the sharp inversion of the yield curve is reflective of high inflation.
"The [inversion] means we're facing much higher inflation than expected, and the fact the Fed has to go to a much higher terminal rate than was previously hoped for," said Andrzej Skiba, head of U.S. fixed income at RBC Global Asset Management. "At the same time, the U.S. economy is doing fine. The current shape of the yield curve tells you more about sticky inflation."
Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this week spurred the widening of the spread between the 2-year and the 10-year yields.
Read more about the yield curve inversion and what it means here.
-Darla Mercado, Patti Domm
Bullishness grew to 45.2% in latest Investors Intelligence weekly survey
Bullishness among surveyed financial newsletter editors grew to 45.2% in the latest week — near the 13-month high of 48.6% reached in early February —from 38.4% the week before, according to Investors Intelligence.
Bearish opinion about the outlook for stocks declined to 24.7% from 28.8% the prior week, while those believing the market's headed for a correction fell to 30.1% from 32.8%.
The so-called "bull-bear spread," or the difference in the percentage of bulls versus the number of bears, "expanded signifcantly," to 20.5 points from 9.6 points — the 16th week in a row the spread was positive (dating back roughly to the October 2022 stock market lows.)
The latest reading is, again, close to the 13-month high spread of 22.9 points reached in early February. "Spreads around +20% are not yet suggestive of major market tops," Investors Intelligence said.
Investor sentiment surveys are contrarian indicators. When bullishness is rampant it means most investors are already committed to stocks and, because there's little fire power left on the sidelines to come into the market, risk is higher, too. Conversely, when bearishness is rife, it means there's less risk of prices falling further as most investors have already sold.
— Scott Schnipper
Stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading
Check out the companies making headlines after the bell.
Uber — The ride-sharing platform's shares gained 2.5% after Bloomberg reported that the company is weighing a potential spinoff of its freight logistics unit.
Silvergate Capital — Shares slid 36% after the company announced it will wind down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank. The news comes about a week after the bank warned it may not be able to continue operating and follows a series of financial challenges and government investigations in the aftermath of the collapse of FTX, which was a customer of the bank.
MongoDB — Shares of the database platform provider fell 8% after the bell. MongoDB offered weak guidance on revenue, but posted beats on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter.
Check out the full list here.
— Hakyung Kim
U.S. stock futures are flat on Wednesday
U.S. stock futures opened flat on Wednesday night.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 12 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures edged up 0.04% and 0.01%, respectively.
— Hakyung Kim