US OPEN: Wall Street opens lower on weak data

15:26 30 April 2020
• US Jobless Claims top 3.8 million
• Facebook and Tesla shares soared higher
• Apple,  Amazon and Visa will report today after market close

US indices opened in the red after another set of poor data from the US economy. Today's readings showed largest decline in consumer spending on record, as the coronavirus crisis hit households' demand, as well as another sharp increase in jobless claims last week. The total number of people which applied for unemployment benefits in the US since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis reached 30 million. Gilead Science's reported positive partial data from a trial of its experimental drug remdesivir to treat patients with coronavirus. On the earnings front, Facebook and Tesla shares went higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. McDonald's shares opened lower after the company's quarterly profits fell by 16.7%. Apple and Amazon will post their quarterly results after markets close.
S&P500 (US500) pulled back after weak US Jobless Claims report and is testing former-resistance-turned support at 2904.6 pts. A firm break below current support might lead to a deeper retracement towards 2648.0 pts. Next resistance to look for is located at 3036.1 pts. Source:xStation5

Visa (V.US) will report its quarterly results today after the closing bell. Over the past three years financial services giant has presented solid quarterly results mostly thanks to steadily increasing payments volume, which currently stands at $2.4 trillion.
Payment volume references the total value of payments taking place across Visa's financial platforms.  However ongoing pandemic negatively affected global consumer and business markets and investors will try to assess how the recent turmoil on the financial markets affects the company results.
Therefore payments volume will be the will be a key metric to look out for. Over  the past three years payments volume rose each quarter  however growth rate  has declined from 39% in Q3 2017 to 14% in Q3 2018 to 5% in Q3 2019 which is reflected in Visa's lower profit and revenue growth. In the previous quarter payments volume increase 8%.
In previous fiscal Q2 periods, both EPS and revenue were growing each year, but by a smaller and smaller percentage. Analysts expect 7% growth in payments volume in second quarter of 2020. Source: Bloomberg, XTB Research
Visa (V.US) share price is testing 200 MA (redline). Should upbeat moods prevail, resistance at $ 194.57 per share may come into play. Local support can be found at $158.38 per share. Source: xStation5.
 
Facebook (FB.US) —  reported earnings of $1.71 per share on revenue of $17.74 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv expected earnings of $1.75 per share on revenue of $17.41 billion. Share price went up 10% in extended trading. Company recorded a drop in ad revenue in March, however situation improved in April, according to its earnings report.

Microsoft (MSFT.US) reported better than expected results. Tech giant earned $ 1.40 per share while analysts expected earnings of $ 1.26 per share. Revenue also came above estimates. Microsoft stocks advanced 3% in extended trading. According to a company statement, the coronavirus had "minimal net impact on the total company revenue," . Microsoft's sales increased by 15%, and cloud business made a significant contribution to this.

TESLA (TSLA.US) stock rose 9% in extended trading after the company posted an unexpected profit for the first quarter. The automaker earned $1.24 per while analysts expected a loss of 36 cents per share with revenue of $5.90 billion. Revenue came in slightly above estimates despite factory shutdowns. Vehicle deliveries numbers came in slightly below estimates.

Kraft Heinz (KHC.US) - reported better than expected quarterly figures. Company earned 58 cents per share, which is 3 cents a share above analysts’ expectations. Revenue also beat consensus. Kraft Heinz benefited from increased consumer demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

McDonald’s (MCD.US) – reported quarterly earnings of $1.47 per share, 10 cents a share below estimates. Revenue came in above analysts’ projections. Before the pandemic McDonald’s recorded strong sales, but like many other restaurant chains, these figure declined once the pandemic hit.

Twitter (TWTR.US) – reported quarterly profit of 11 cents per share, a penny a share above estimates. Revenue and the number of daily active users came above market expectations. The company did not provide any guidance for the second quarter or the full year due to uncertainty surrounding the current business environment.

Today, after the market close Apple (AAPL.US) and Amazon (AMZN.US) will publish their quarterly results. More details about these two companies can be found in our US Open post dated 28/04/2020

This content has been created by XTB S.A. This service is provided by XTB S.A., with its registered office in Warsaw, at Prosta 67, 00-838 Warsaw, Poland, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) conducted by District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw, XII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS number 0000217580, REGON number 015803782 and Tax Identification Number (NIP) 527-24-43-955, with the fully paid up share capital in the amount of PLN 5.869.181,75. XTB S.A. conducts brokerage activities on the basis of the license granted by Polish Securities and Exchange Commission on 8th November 2005 No. DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005 and is supervised by Polish Supervision Authority.

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