Equity Indexes Wrap: Tech Charges Higher Ahead of Nvidia Conference

The Dow

Disney (DIS) rose 1.7% after getting the support of proxy advisor Glass Lewis in its battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Shares of Cisco (CSCO) rose 0.7% as it completed its $28 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk.

Apple (AAPL) advanced 0.7% amid reports it was in talks with Google parent Alphabet to license its Gemini AI models to be built into future operating system upgrades.

Boeing (BA) slipped 1.4% as it continued to face scrutiny over its manufacturing practices and adherence to safety standards.

Goldman Sachs (GS) dipped 0.7% after last Friday completing the sale of its home improvement loan business GreenSky to a group of investors including KKR and Sixth Street. It also lost a top executive, Stephanie Cohen, who announced her departure from the firm to become chief strategy officer at Cloudflare (NET). 

The S&P 500

Tesla (TSLA) jumped 6.3% after the company said it would raise the price of its Model Y by $1,000 in the U.S. starting April 1, raising hopes that price cuts that have weighed on margins are in the rearview mirror. 

Alphabet (GOOGL) rose 4.6% on the aforementioned discussions about licensing its generative AI tech to Apple.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was the S&P 500’s worst-performing stock, dropping 6.4% on its first day in the index. Ugg maker Decker Outdoors (DECK), which also joined the index Monday, slipped 0.2%.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) fell 2.6%, slumping for a second straight day after Reckitt Benckiser on Friday was ordered to pay $60 million to an Illinois woman who charged its baby formula was responsible for the death of her child. Abbott is facing similar lawsuits. 

Uber (UBER) ticked down 0.5% after it agreed to pay Australian taxi drivers about $178 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. 

The Nasdaq 100

PepsiCo (PEP) gained 4% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and named it a top pick in the drinks category, citing an impending inflection point in sales growth. 

Nvidia (NVDA) added 0.7% on the first day of its annual GPU Technology Conference where investors and analysts are hoping for updates on AI initiatives and partnerships. Some chip stocks followed Nvidia higher, including Applied Materials (AMAT), up 1.1%, and Micron (MU) up 0.6%. 

But that wasn’t the story for all. Analog Devices (ADI) led the index’s laggards, falling 2%. It was followed by Texas Instruments (TXN), down 1.9%, and Onsemi (ON) down 1.4%. 

Options Traders See Nvidia Stock Making Big Moves on GTC Conference

Nvidia’s (NVDA) big day is here, and options traders are paying attention.

“One-month implied volatility in Nvidia right now is almost the same level that it was heading into earnings,” said Joe Mazzola, Director of Trader Education at Charles Schwab, in a phone interview on Monday.

“It's pretty incredible to think that people are willing to pay that much for options, that this event this week could be such a market-moving event—or at least a single-stock moving event—that people are willing to pay the same level of implied volatility for options as they were going into earnings."

-Christiana Sciaudone

Struggling EV Maker Fisker Set to Pause Production for Six Weeks, Secures $150M

Struggling electric vehicle maker Fisker (FSR) said Monday it was pausing its production for six weeks and had secured $150 million in financing from an existing unnamed investor.

Fisker said the production halt, which begins Monday, is intended to “align inventory levels and progress strategic and financing initiatives.” The company also said that it is continuing negotiations with “a large automaker” for a potential agreement that could include “an investment in Fisker, joint development of one or more electric vehicle platforms, and North American manufacturing.”

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Fisker was considering filing for bankruptcy.

Fisker shares were down 14% at 15 cents Monday afternoon. The stock has lost 90% of its value since the start of the year.

-Bill McColl

Oil Prices Rise to 2024 Highs; Gasoline May Be Next

Oil prices climbed to their highest point all year on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate rising nearly 2% to more than $82.50.

The International Energy Agency last week surprised global markets by predicting worldwide oil supplies could fall short of demand by 300,000 barrels per day this year. Previously, the IEA predicted a surplus of 800,000 barrels per day.

The IEA said global demand in the first quarter would rise by 1.7 million barrels per day, more than previously expected. Meanwhile, production likely will fall by 870,000 barrels per day, reflecting curbs in production that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations, together known as OPEC+, extended earlier this month.

Rebel attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping lanes, diverting tankers to longer routes. That means more oil inventory remains stuck at sea. At the same time, the IEA estimated onshore global stocks had sunk to their lowest level in eight years.

The changing supply and demand picture caused the U.S. Energy Information Administration to raise its projection for average U.S. gasoline prices this year to about $3.50 per gallon, up almost 20 cents from its forecast a month ago.

-Lyle Niedens

Tesla Stock Jumps After EV Maker Raises Model Y Prices 

Tesla (TSLA) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 Monday after the electric vehicle (EV) maker announced that it was raising the price of its most popular model, the Model Y.

The company posted on its website that the cost of the mid-size SUV would increase by $1,000 on April 1.

Tesla already boosted Model Y prices by $1,000 on March 1 on its real-wheel and long-range versions, putting them at their current base price of $43,990 and $48,990, respectively. Both qualify for the $7,500 EV federal tax credit.

Tesla has struggled as EV demand slumps and competition increases. Tesla shares were up 5.8% to $173 Monday afternoon but have lost about 30% of their value this year.

-Bill McColl

What Could This Week's Fed and BOJ Meetings Mean For Stocks?

The Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan (BOJ), two of the world’s most influential central banks, will both make monetary policy decisions this week, raising the prospect that stocks could get a policy-induced jolt or two.

Fed watchers will be scrutinizing the Federal Open Market Committee’s quarterly dot plots, which represent policymakers’ expectations for the U.S. economy and Fed policy. Meanwhile, some analysts are raising bets the BOJ will increase interest rates for the first time in 17 years when it concludes its March meeting tomorrow. 

Both events will likely move markets. Though, as Morgan Stanley analysts pointed out in a note Monday, equity markets have been unusually indifferent to rising Treasury yields so far this year. 

Equities rallied through the last three months of 2023 as Treasury yields tumbled and equity multiples increased. “Fast forward to this year,” the analysts wrote, “and the story has been much different. Bond yields have risen considerably since the beginning of the year as market participants have moved away from the long end and the Fed walked back several of the cuts that had been priced in for this year.” 

And yet P/E multiples have remained elevated. “This informs us that, for now, equity investors appear to have moved past the Fed, inflation and rates,” they said, to focus on higher growth expectations.  This week’s Fed and BOJ decisions could put the equity and bond market’s divergence to the test. According to MS analysts: “The correlation of small cap performance versus interest rates remains meaningfully negative (-0.4)," meaning small caps are likely to be hit harder than large caps by a jump in yields. "Conversely, should rates decisively fall back below the 200-day moving average, it could serve as support for equity valuations to remain elevated.”

Logitech Shares Fall After CFO Resigns 

Logitech International (LOGI) shares fell Monday after the Swiss computer accessories maker said its chief financial officer (CFO), Charles Boynton, will be stepping down after just over a year in the role.

The company said Boyton is leaving "to pursue another career opportunity." He will remain with Logitech as CFO through mid-May “to ensure a seamless transition for the end of the 2024 fiscal year," the Swiss company said, adding it would name Boynton’s successor at a later date. Boynton has been in the role only since Feb. 2023.

Logitech shares were 7.7% lower at $87.39 late Monday morning but have gained about 64% over the past year.

-Marc Zerbola Challande

Uber Settles Lawsuit With Australian Taxi Drivers for $178 Million

Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) reportedly will pay AUD$272 million ($178 million) to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by thousands of Australian taxi drivers, who allege they lost income when the ride-sharing company entered the country.

The Australian lawsuit, filed in 2019, was on behalf of more than 8,000 taxi and hire-car owners and drivers who lost income and license values when Uber moved into the Australian market, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited the law firm representing the drivers.

Shares of Uber were down 1.5% at $74.97 Monday morning but have gained more than 20% so far this year.

-Fatima Attarwala

Google Parent Alphabet Rises Following Reports of Gemini AI Licensing Talks With Apple

Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) surged in early trading Monday following reports it and Apple (AAPL) have had discussions about putting Google's Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) products into future iPhone operating systems.

Licensing discussions between the tech giants are ongoing and Apple has also had similar discussions with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Bloomberg reported.

While discussions are ongoing, Bloomberg reported that Apple might not make an announcement about its possible AI partner until its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Wedbush analysts said the development would be a "major win for Google" and that it could give Apple "the foundation and technology blueprint to double down on AI features." Alphabet shares were up 6.3% at $150 Monday morning, while Apple shares were 2.3% higher at $176.56.

-Aaron McDade

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gains:

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Shares of the tech giant surged 5% following reports it was in talks to license its Gemini artificial intelligence model to iPhone maker Apple (AAPL). Apple shares rose more than 1%.
• Tesla Inc. (TSLA): Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose more than 4% after it said the price of its Model Y would go up by $1,000 in the U.S. in April.
• Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares of the chipmaker gained more than 2% as investors awaited a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang to kick off its hotly-anticipated annual AI developer conference. 
  

Losses:

• Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC): Shares of the IT services provider slid about 9% after its quarterly earnings fell slightly short of Wall Street estimates. 
• Logitech International S.A. (LOGI): Shares of the computer technology maker slid more than 7% after it said chief financial officer Charles Boynton was leaving the company. 

Stock Futures Rise as Tech Charges Higher

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% and rising sharply in premarket trading on Monday,

S&P 500 futures gained 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures had advanced 1.3% about an hour before markets opened.