US OPEN: Targets rallies after earnings, JD.com slumps as Walmart sells stake

14:31 21 August 2024
  • Wall Street indices open higher
  • US2000 attempts to climb back above 2,165 pts resistance
  • FOMC minutes scheduled for 7:00 pm BST
  • Target surges after fiscal-Q2 2025 earnings release
  • JD.com drops as Walmart divests its stake

Wall Street indices launched today's trading higher, recovering part of yesterday's declines. S&P 500 and Dow Jones opened 0.2% higher, Nasdaq traded 0.1% higher at session launch, while small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 0.8%.

FOMC minutes from July meeting scheduled for 7:00 pm BST is a key macro release of the day. It is expected that the document will include some dovish hints, following a rather dovish FOMC meeting in July. Nevertheless, the release may not have much impact on the markets as it is unlikely to include any surprise. Also, investors are now waiting for Jackson Hole speech from  Fed Chair Powell on Friday, which Powell may use to hint that rate cuts will begin next month.

Source: xStation5

Russell 2000 is the best performing Wall Street index today. Taking a look at Russell 2000 futures chart (US2000) at D1 interval, we can see that the index is attempting to break back above 2,165 pts, following yesterday's over 1% decline.  While Russell 2000 outperforms other major US indices today, it is overall the worst performing major Wall Street index and trades around 12% below its all-time highs. S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones trade 1-5% below their record highs. A break back above the 2,165 pts resistance zone would signal that the recovery move launched at the beginning of August is still in play. In such a scenario, the next potential resistance level to watch on the index will be the 2,290-2,300 pts area that halted advance in late-July.

Company News

Target (TGT.US) launched today's trading over 10% higher, following release of fiscal-Q2 2025 (calendar May - July 2024). Target reported a 2.6% YoY increase in fiscal-Q2 sales to $25.02 billion (exp. $24.88 billion) as well as improvement in gross margin from 27% to 28.9% (exp. 28%). Comparable sales increased 2%, while markets expected 1.1% increase. EBITDA increased 26% YoY to $2.40 billion (exp. $2.06 billion), while adjusted EPS climbed from $1.80 a year ago to $2.57 now (exp. $2.18). Target expects fiscal-Q3 comparable sales to grow 0-2% and adjusted EPS to reach $2.10-2.40 (exp. $2.24). Full-year forecast was upgraded from $8.60-9.60 range to $9.00-9.70 range.

US-listed shares of JD.com (JD.US), Chinese e-commerce company, launched today's trading with a bearish price gap. It was reported that Walmart (WMT.US), the largest US retailer, divested its 9.3% stake in JD.com, ending a partnership which began in 2016. Walmart sold 144.5 million shares of JD for $24.95 per share, for a total of around $3.6 billion. The sale price marks an around 11% discount to JD's closing price yesterday.

BigBear.ai Holdings (BBAI.US) surges today after the company announced it has received an award as a subcontractor to Concept Solutions, which is 1 of 14 companies awarded FAA contracts to provide IT solutions. 

Ford Motor (F.US) said that costs tied to cancelling a fully electric SUV may amount to up to $1.90 billion.

Target (TGT.US) launched today's trading with a big bullish price gap, following release of better-than-expected earnings report for fiscal-Q2 2025. Stock broke above the downward trendline and 200-session moving average (purple line) at session launch, and is trading at the highest level in 4 months. Source: xStation5

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