U.S. stock index futures pulled back from their massive Monday gains as Home Depot reported weak first-quarter results while Walmart surged on strong earnings, plus stocks to watch today in the Money & Markets Opening Bell.
The Top Story
Shares in Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) dropped 2.2% in premarket trading after the company reported missing profit estimates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Smaller competitor Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) also fell 0.9% on Home Depot’s earnings.
Fellow retailer Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) on the other hand surged 4% on news its first-quarter e-commerce sales spiked by 74% and same-store sales grew by 10%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will also be grilled later in the day by the Senate Banking Committee on action still needed to keep the world’s largest economy afloat and missteps in rolling out some $3 trillion in aid so far.
The S&P 500 and Dow ended more than 3% higher on Monday, boosted by promising early stage data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine and Powell’s pledge to support the economy as needed until the crisis has passed.
As of 9:20 a.m. EDT, Dow Jones futures were up by 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were trading down 0.2% and Nasdaq Composite futures were up 0.08%.
Stocks to Watch Today
Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) — The Chinese technology company beat Wall Street expectations for Q1 earnings and revenue. It also offered an upbeat forecast for the second quarter. Shares of Baidu jumped 8.7% in premarket trading.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) — The retail giant posted a 10% bounce in same-store sales in Q1 thanks to increased demand for groceries and other essentials. Online sales also rose 74% in the quarter. Shares of Walmart were up 4%.
SmileDirectClub Inc. (Nasdaq: SDC) — Shares of the teledentistry company were up 2.8% after news it is suing Comcast Corp.’s (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal for allegedly defaming reports on the company’s treatment methods.
Moderna Offering New Shares to Raise $1.34 Billion
The same day it reported positive results from its coronavirus vaccine trials, Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA) priced an offering of 17.6 million new shares at $76 each.
The goal is to raise around $1.34 billion to fund the manufacturing and distribution of the mRNA-1273 vaccine once it’s approved by federal regulators.
In addition to the 17.6 million shares, Moderna is giving underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 2.64 million shares in common stock, according to CNBC.
TikTok Nabs Disney Streaming Head as New CEO
After being passed over by Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) to be its next CEO, Kevin Mayer is moving on.
According to CNBC, the former head of streaming for Disney will be the new CEO of social media platform TikTok and the head of operations for ByteDance — the company that owns TikTok.
Mayer was instrumental in the launch of the Disney+ video streaming service which boasts more than 54.5 million subscribers as of May 4.
JCPenney to Close Up to 30% of Its Stores
As part of its plan to use bankruptcy to turn its business around, JCPenney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is closing 200 of its stores this year and another 50 stores next year, according to CNN Business.
The retailer has not identified which of its 846 stores would close, nor how many of its 85,000 employees would lose their jobs as a result.
What We’re Reading
Biotech Stocks Surge on Vaccine Potential. Get in the Action With This ETF (Money & Markets)
Loaded With Cash, Real Estate Buyers Wait for Sellers to Crack (Bloomberg)
Fed Chief Admits Volatility Is Here to Stay. Here’s Your Guide to Profit (Money & Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP)
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD)
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS)
NetEase Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES)
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with Opening Bell, here on Money & Markets.