It goes to show that one press release can make or break the stock market, as is the case with Apple today, gold is rallying plus more in Money and Markets‘ Closing Bell.
The Top Story
Tuesday morning, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) reported it would not make its quarterly revenue guidance because of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Apple said its iPhone supply is dropping and demand for its products in China is following suit.
That announcement had a ripple effect on U.S. equities markets.
Companies that supply microchips suffered setbacks following Apple’s announcement. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: SWKS), Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) and Micron Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) all dropped in afternoon trading.
“The market is taking it in (its) stride, meaning that they know that this virus is going to have an impact on the supply chain but the severity of the impact is still unclear,” U.S. Bank Wealth Management investment strategist Jeff Kravetz said. “But investors are not overly concerned and we’re higher this year just because we’ve got an accommodative Fed, higher earnings and — when you exclude the impact of the virus — an incredibly resilient consumer.”
Apple shares fell 1.8% Tuesday afternoon but had fallen as much as 4% earlier in the day.
Money and Markets: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 3,370 (-9 points, -0.3%)
DOW: 29,232 (-165 points, -0.5%)
NASDAQ: 9,732 (+1 points, +0.02%)
GOLD: $1,601.50 (+$20.70, +1.3%)
BITCOIN: $10,243.44 (+$607.52, +6.3%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 1.56%
*- as of 4:15 p.m.
A Big Win
In today’s Wall Street Wake-Up, you learned about how Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) purchased 18.9 million shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR). Shares of Kroger rose 5.2% Tuesday.
We also told you about Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM) missing its profit and revenue forecasts. Shares of the Israeli-based semiconductor manufacturer fell 9.4%.
Finally, there was Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE). The company moved a step closer to commercial space travel by moving a shuttle to its launch facility in New Mexico. Shares of Virgin Galactic finished up 5.6% after seesawing all day. Check out our analysis of the stock here.
M&A News
Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) agreed to acquire Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) for $4.5 billion, or $50 per share. The combined company will have nearly $1.5 trillion in total assets under management.
1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (Nasdaq: FLWS) is acquiring PersonalizationMall.com for $252 million in cash and other considerations. The acquisition includes PersonalizationMall.com and its 360,000-square-foot production and distribution facility.
Golden Nuggets
Gold and silver prices finally topped price points they had only reached temporarily in 2019.
The price of gold futures jumped above $1,600 per ounce as safe haven precious metals received a boost from added coronavirus fears. Gold reached a five-week high Tuesday afternoon.
Silver futures moved above $18 per ounce. It was a three-week high for the metal.
Platinum prices also took advantage of the coronavirus scare, jumping to $991 an ounce. Palladium moved to $2,498 an ounce.
Cannabis Corner
New Mexico lawmakers have sent a bill to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham prohibiting out-of-state residents from taking part in the state’s medical cannabis program.
The New Mexico House approved the measure 44-19. It passed the Senate last week.
The new law closes a loophole in the original bill that allowed residents of nearby Texas and other states from getting medical marijuana cards if they met certain criteria.
In other cannabis news, the Department of Transportation released a notice on Tuesday that workers in safety-sensitive positions under its guidelines would not be tested for CBD.
The agency said while marijuana is illegal, the federal legalization of hemp means that cannabidiol derived from it is not a controlled substance.
Cannabis stocks were mostly mixed Tuesday afternoon as some in the industry came down from last week’s gains — thanks to Canopy Growth Corp.’s (NYSE: CGC) strong revenue report.
Canopy Growth fell 0.8% Tuesday afternoon while Aurora Cannabis moved 3.8% higher. Cronos Group Corp. (Nasdaq: CRON) fell 1.7%.
Stock Market Update
Apple’s rally from early losses Tuesday helped the Nasdaq Composite move back into positive territory in the afternoon.
However, it did nothing to help the other two equity indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%. The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, but the Nasdaq moved 1 point higher.
Today’s Big Winners:
Leidos Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) +9.2%
Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) +6.9%
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) +7.3%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD) +2.8%
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) +1.4%
Today’s Big Losers:
Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC) -6.6%
Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) -6.1%
Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) -4.1%
KLA Corp. (Nasdaq: KLAC) -4%
Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) -2.2%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money and Markets.
Don’t forget about “Marijuana Markets: a POTcast,” featuring the biggest cannabis news and investment notes from Banyan Hill’s Anthony Planas, here on Money and Markets each Saturday morning.