The stock market is trading mixed after the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, increased by 0.2% in July and rose 2.5% year-over-year, matching consensus estimates.
The S&P 500 is up 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 Index dropped 0.3%.
Trending stocks:
Intel surged 8% after the company sought bankers’ advice on potential options to strengthen its business, and Dell gained 3.5% following its earnings beat. Nvidia stock added 0.6% following yesterday’s drop, prompted by a not-quite-good-enough financial report.
In the retail sector, Lululemon and Ulta Beauty traded lower following Thursday’s earnings reports, which disappointed investors. Both companies cut their guidance.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired a stake in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter, holding approximately 690,000 shares valued at $266.3 million as of June 30.
Image source: TheStreet
S&P 500 big stock movers today
Five S&P 500 stocks making big midday moves are:
Intel Corp (INTC) +8.0% Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC) +3.2% GE Vernova Inc (GEV) +3.2% Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) +3.1% Valero Energy Corp (VLO) +2.8%
The five S&P 500 stocks with the largest midday drops are:
Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA) -4.6% Dayforce Inc DAY -3.7% Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) -3.0% APA Corp (US) (APA) -2.9% Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI) -2.8%
Stocks also worth noting include:
Nvidia (NVDA) +0.7%Dell Technologies (DELL) +3.5%Tesla (TSLA) +2.7%Apple (AAPL) -0.7%Lululemon (LULU) -0.9%
Dell gains after rosy earnings
Dell stock added 3.5% at last check after the company’s earnings and revenue beat consensus estimates.
For the quarter ended Aug. 2 the company earned an adjusted $1.89 a share, up 9% and topping analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.71. Revenue of $25.03 billion also increased by 9%, coming in higher than the $24.53 billion expected.
Related: Analysts revise Dell stock price target ahead of earnings
The company’s Infrastructure Solutions Group posted record revenue of $11.6 billion, a 38% increase from the year-earlier period. This included $7.7 billion in revenue from servers and networking, an 80% rise, driven by strong demand for both artificial-intelligence and traditional servers.
“Our AI momentum accelerated in Q2, and we’ve seen an increase in the number of enterprise customers buying AI solutions each quarter,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said. Dell is working with Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI to supply AI servers.
Ulta Beauty falls on earnings and revenue miss
Ulta Beauty slipped 4.6% after reporting disappointing earnings. The stock dropped as much as 7% in the premarket, then recovered.
For the quarter ended Aug. 3 the beauty retailer earned $5.30 a share, missing analysts’ forecast of $5.46. Revenue of $2.55 billion fell short of the $2.61 billion analysts expected.
Related: Analysts reset Ulta stock price targets after Warren Buffett buy
The results marked the company’s first earnings-per-share miss since May 2020 and its first revenue miss since December 2020, CNBC reported.
Comparable sales fell by 1.2%, compared with an 8% increase in the year-earlier [.
Ulta now expects full-year earnings per share of $22.60 to $23.50 on revenue of $11 billion to $11.2 billion. The figures are down from prior estimates of earnings of $25.20 to $26 on revenue of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion.
Earlier this month, a filing disclosed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired a stake in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter. The 690,000 shares were valued at $266.3 million as of June 30.
Intel jumps after seeking bankers’ help to fix the business
Intel gained more than 8% midday as executives work with multiple advisers, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, to explore options for reviving its struggling business, Bloomberg reported.
The advisers are considering various strategies, potentially including M&A or the sale of certain business units. They’re expected to present these options to the board during a meeting in September, people familiar with the matter told the news service.
More Tech Stocks:
Analysts reset AMD stock outlooks after AI acquisitionAnalyst resets Nvidia stock price target before earningsTrader who predicted Palantir, SoFi, Rocket Lab rallies updates outlook
For the June quarter the chipmaker reported a net loss of $1.6 billion. Revenue for the period was $12.83 billion, down 1% from a year earlier and below the estimated $12.93 billion. The results sent Intel shares to their lowest since 2013.
“Our revenues have not grown as expected — and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI. Our costs are too high, our margins are too low,” Chief Executive Patrick Gelsinger said.
Intel plans to lay off more than 15% of its workforce by the end of 2025.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
