US OPEN: Bullish opening of Thursday's session on Wall Street

• Wall Street in bullish mood at the start of Tuesday's session 
• Accenture gains 5%, after the company released strong results for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year
• Analysts revise outlook for Meta Platforms, Palantir and Starbucks shares

U.S. markets open Thursday's cash session in good spirits. Five minutes after the Wall Street open, the Nasdaq is gaining 1.4%, while the S&P500 is adding 0.8%. Investor attention today is focused on macro data (GDP reports and durable goods orders), as well as speeches by central bankers. More than 18% gains are seen on Micron (MU.US) shares. You can read more about the reasons for such large rallies in our earlier post. 

Current volatility observed on Wall Street. Source: xStation 

US100

The Nasdaq-100 index, represented by the US100 contract is trading 1.4% higher today compared to yesterday's close. It is worth noting that it is continuing to rise after breaking out of the control zone near 19,740 points and the further barrier of 20,000 points. It is the maintenance of these zones in the medium term that could be an important element in defining a sustained return of the US100 to the uptrend and a possible breakout to new historical highs. 

Source: xStation 5

Corporate news

Accenture (ACN.US) shares are gaining 5% early in today's Wall Street session, after the company released its fourth quarter results and gave a forecast that analysts said was a relief in the face of lingering uncertainties surrounding the company. Analysts were especially pleased with the high new bookings figures.

Selected items from Accenture's Q4 2024 report: 

• Revenue $16.41 billion (estimate $16.39 billion)
• Earnings per share $2.79 (estimate $2.79)
• New bookings in consulting $8.6 billion (estimated $8.82 billion)
• Revenue forecast for Q1 2025: $16.85 billion to $17.45 billion (estimated $16.96 billion)
• Company declares dividend of $1.48/share, up 15%
• Approval of additional share buyback worth $4 billion

Shares of CarMax (KMX.US) are down 6.1% after the used car dealer reported a 14.4% year-on-year decline in revenue for its auto finance unit, citing an increase in loan loss provisions. The rest of the result items, however, performed relatively well.

SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

• Net sales and operating income $7.01 billion, -0.9% y-o-y, estimated $6.82 billion 
• Used vehicle sales $5.68 billion, +1.5% y/y, estimated $5.44 billion
• Wholesale vehicle sales $1.15 billion, -13% y/y, estimated $1.2 billion
• Other sales $182.0 million, estimated $168.8 million
• Revenue from extended protection plan $121.4 million, +19% y/y, estimate $108.4 million
• External financing income $1.4 million, compared to a loss of $1.50 million y/y, estimated loss of $1.84 million
• Gross profit from used vehicles $478.8 million, +5.9% y/y, estimated $465.1 million
• Gross profit from wholesale vehicles $137.9 million, +1% y/y, estimated $140.1 million

ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION

- Palantir Technologies (PLTR.US): Wedbush raises target price to $45 from $38 considering possible impact of company's AIP (artificial intelligence platform) on results.

- Starbucks (SBUX.US): Bernstein raises target price to $115 from $92, stating that the appointment of Brian Niccol as new CEO will be good for the company. 

- Meta Platforms (META.US): Baird raises target price to $605 from $530, stating that progress on Reality Labs and AI is satisfactory.