Stock Market News for Feb 19, 2020
Benchmarks ended mixed on Tuesday, as investors weighed the impact of the novel Coronavirus on global manufacturing supply chains and economy. Apple Inc.’s warning of the disease likely affecting its second-quarter results also took a toll on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and broader S&P 500 ended lower on Tuesday. The former lost 0.6% to close at 29,232.19 while the latter shed 0.3% to reach 3,370.29. The Nasdaq Composite, however, hit 9,732.74 after gaining a marginal 0.02%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 7.8% to close at 14.83 on Feb 18. Finally, decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.68-to-1 ratio.
Apple Won’t Meet Its Quarterly Revenue Forecast
Apple AAPL said on Monday that it doesn’t expect to meet its second-quarter financial guidance it had issued earlier. The reason behind this development is the Coronavirus pandemic that is affecting the iPhone maker’s supply chains in the Asian country.
Apple said that revenues in the current quarter won’t attain its target range of $63 billion-$67 billion (per The Wall Street Journal) because of the fast-spreading disease. Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed the company’s unusually broad range for revenues, saying the company “anticipates some level of issue there,” which points toward the uncertainty around the virus outbreak.
Recently Released Earnings Disappoint
Shares of Walmart Inc. WMT rose 1.5% on Feb 18 after the company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results. Although the retail giant’s earnings and revenues lagged estimates, it had little impact on the company’s share price performance.
Walmart’s adjusted earnings came in at $1.38 per share, failing to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.43. The company’s total revenues grew 2.1% to reach about $141.7 billion, also lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $142.4 billion. (Read more)
A major reason behind Walmart’s lackluster performance in Q4 2019 was the lower demand for toys, video games and apparels during the holiday season. The political unrest in Chile also affected the company’s profits, due to disruption in the retail giant’s stores in the region. Walmart’s outlook for the upcoming year is short of expectations as well, as the retailer expects a slowdown in e-commerce growth.
Shares of Medtronic plc MDT declined 4% after the company reported third-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Tuesday. The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.44 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.3%. However, the revenues in the reported quarter hit $7.71 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a marginal 1.2%. (Read more)
Both Walmart and Medtronic carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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