US Open: Wall Street slides on strong NFP, Nvidia slides on export curbs

• Major indices decline, with US2000 leading losses at -1.59% to 2,218.6, US500 down -0.65% to 5,905.9, while VIX jumps 3.37% to 18.43
• Delta Air Lines (DAL) soars 9% after forecasting record 2025, projecting Q1 revenue growth of 7-9% and strong premium segment performance
• Nvidia (NVDA) dips 3% after opposing Biden's planned chip export restrictions, warns of impact on global computing access while announcing Hyundai AI partnership
• Walgreens (WBA) beats Q1 expectations with sales up 7.5% to $39.46B and EPS of $0.51, maintains FY2025 guidance despite retail headwinds
• Insurance stocks tumble on California wildfire exposure, with Mercury General plunging 39%, Allstate -4.7%, as estimated damages could reach $150B
• Constellation Brands falls 6.5% after lowering FY2025 outlook despite Q3 profit growth, citing consumer spending uncertainty
• TikTok ban case heads to Supreme Court, with analysts giving platform 30% chance of success; potential beneficiaries include Meta, Snap, and Alphabet

US Markets Under Pressure: Major indices are declining, with the US2000 showing the steepest drop at -1.59% to 2218.6, followed by the MEXComp (-1.16% to 50204). The US500 is down -0.65% to 5905.9, and the US100 falls -0.91% to 21111.69. Market volatility is rising, with the VIX up 3.37% to 18.43.

European Markets Mixed: The VSTOXX leads European gains, up 3.51% to 17.68, followed by Austria's AUT20 (+0.88% to 3682) and Germany's DE40 (+0.01% to 20467.1). However, several markets are in negative territory, with Spain's SPA35 down -0.81% to 11785, Switzerland's SUI20 falling -0.67% to 11808, and the UK100 declining -0.31% to 8292.5.

S&P 500 Sectors Predominantly Red: The market shows broad weakness with most sectors declining. Energy and Utilities are the only bright spots, up 1.44% and 0.63% respectively, along with a modest gain in Health Care (+0.26%). Information Technology leads the declines (-1.79%), followed by Real Estate (-1.44%) and Financials (-1.28%). The overall S&P 500 is down -0.90%.

Current volatility observed on Wall Street. Source: xStation 

The Nasdaq-100 index, represented by the US100 contract, is trading below the mid-November high at 21,255 following today's drop after strong NFP. This level serves as a support for bulls as it was retested twice last month.

For bears, key downside targets include the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level, followed by the 100-day SMA at 20,568. 

The RSI has broken below the support level that has historically acted as a retracement zone. This could indicate a potential pause or reversal in the current trend. Meanwhile, the MACD remains in a downtrend, reinforcing the cautionary outlook. Source: xStation

News:

• Walgreens (WBA.US) beats Q1 expectations despite retail headwinds, reporting sales of $39.46B (+7.5% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $0.51, above consensus of $0.37. The company maintained its FY2025 guidance of $1.40-$1.80 EPS, with growth in Healthcare and International segments expected to offset pressure in U.S. Retail Pharmacy. Pharmacy sales showed strong 10.4% growth while retail sales declined 6.2%.
• Nvidia (NVDA) shares dipped 3% after strongly opposing the Biden administration's reported plans to tighten chip export controls. The company's VP of Government Affairs criticized the "extreme country cap policy" as potentially harmful to global computing access while doing little for national security. Despite restrictions, Nvidia announced a new strategic partnership with Hyundai to develop AI technologies, sending the Korean automaker's shares up 6.1%. Mizuho analysts project the AI accelerator market to reach $400B by 2027.
• TikTok Ban Case heads to Supreme Court today, with justices set to hear arguments on the law requiring ByteDance to sell or face a U.S. ban. Bloomberg Intelligence gives TikTok only a 30% chance of stopping the law. A ban could benefit Meta, Snap, and Alphabet's YouTube through increased market share, while potentially impacting Oracle's hosting revenue. Legal experts note that even if TikTok loses, President-elect Trump would have limited options to prevent the ban's implementation.
• Delta Air Lines (DAL.US) soars 9% after forecasting its best financial year in history, projecting Q1 revenue growth of 7-9% and EPS of $0.70-$1.00, surpassing analyst expectations. The carrier expects over $4B in free cash flow for 2025, up 18% YoY. Premium seat revenue grew 8% last quarter as the airline continues focusing on luxury offerings.
• U.S. Labor Market shows remarkable strength in December, adding 256,000 jobs versus expected 160,000, while unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%. Health care, retail trade, and government sectors led job gains. The strong report complicates Federal Reserve's path toward rate cuts, sending Treasury yields higher with 2-year yield jumping 11 basis points to 4.38%.
• California Wildfires trigger insurance sector selloff, with Mercury General plunging 39% due to heavy California exposure. Allstate (ALL.US), Travelers (TRV.US), and Chubb (CB.US) fell 4.7%, 4%, and 3% respectively. J.P. Morgan estimates insured losses could exceed $20B, while AccuWeather projects total economic damage between $135-150B. The disaster has destroyed over 10,000 structures and forced 360,000 evacuations.
• Constellation Brands (STZ.US) shares drop 6.5% after lowering FY2025 outlook despite Q3 profit growth. CEO cites "near-term uncertainty on consumer spending" as beer sales rose 3% but missed expectations, while wine and spirits sales declined 14%. The company now expects 4-7% net sales growth in beer business and 5-8% decline in wine and spirits segment.
• Bitcoin edges up 1.9% to $93,876 following jobs data but heads for worst weekly performance since September, down 4.4%. Sentiment dampened by DOJ's approval to sell $6.5B worth of confiscated Silk Road Bitcoin and shifting expectations for Fed rate cuts.

Other news coming from individual S&P 500 index companies. Source: Bloomberg Financial LP