Medical officers spray Indonesian nationals with antiseptic as they arrive from Wuhan, China’s center of the coronavirus epidemic, and before transferring them to the Natuna Islands military base to be quarantined, at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, February 2, 2020.
Antara Foto | Reuters
This is a live blog. Check back for updates.
9:56 am: Oil having its first positive day in six
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude is up 3.2%, on pace for its first positive day in six. It hit a high so far today of 51.65, its highest level since Feb. 3 when WTI traded as high as 51.97. The S&P Oil & Gas E&P ETF (XOP) is up 3.7%, on pace for its best day of the year. —Francolla
9:48 am: Tesla plunges 12% to below $800 a share
Shares of Tesla dropped more than 12% to below $800 in its first decline in seven days after the company announced a delay in Model 3 deliveries due to the new coronavirus in China. Wednesday’s losses cut Tesla’s year-to-date gains to about 87%. Canaccord also downgraded the stock to hold from buy, citing concerns about the effect of the coronavirus on the company’s China operations. —Li
9:33 am: Dow jumps more than 250 points at the open
The Dow popped about 282 points at the open, building on solid gains on Tuesday. Caterpillar and Intel both rose about 2%, lifting the 30-stock index. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1% after scoring a new record close in the previous session. — Li
9:17 am: S&P 500 posting earnings beats at higher rate
Major companies are beating earnings and revenue expectations so far this earnings season at a greater rate than in recent quarters, JPMorgan said in a note to clients. For the 44% of companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 62% have beaten revenue expectations and 72% have beaten net income expectations. Over the past four quarters, those numbers were 54% and 68%, respectively. The sizes of the beats are up, as well. The average revenue surprise this quarter is 1%, and the average net income surprise is 3.7%. Those numbers were 0% and 2.4%, respectively, over the past year. — Pound
8:57 am: Merck shares down after announcing spin-off plans
8:55 am: Airlines, cruise lines rise on coronavirus optimism
8:48 am: Wednesday’s biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Pinterest & more.
- Canaccord downgraded Tesla to hold from buy. (TSLA off 2.8%)
- Loop initiated Pinterest as buy. (PINS up 1%)
- Bank of America upgraded Ralph Lauren to neutral from sell. (RL up 1.5%)
- Citi raised its price target on Goldman Sachs to $290 from $255. (GS up 1.4%)
- Barclays raised its price target on Tesla to $300 from $200.
- RBC upgraded Toll Brothers to outperform from sector perform. (TOL up 2.5%)
- Atlantic Equities upgraded Snap to neutral from underweight. (Snap down 7.3% on earnings)
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Bloom
8:42 am: Disney+ subscribers hit 26.5 million
Disney reported first quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations on the top and bottom line, and said that 26.5 million people have now signed up for Disney+, its subscription service. CEO Bob Iger said the service “exceeded even our greatest expectations,” and noted on Monday’s earnings call that the number has now grown to 28.6 million. The company did not give guidance on numbers, although previously said it expects between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by the end of its 2024 fiscal year. The company has suspended operations in China as the coronavirus outbreak continues. The Shanghai Disney resort has been closed since Jan. 25, and Hong Kong Disneyland is also temporarily closed. The company said that second quarter and full-year earnings will be impacted by the closures, but that it’s too early to know by how much. Disney shares rose 0.6% in the premarket. — Stevens
8:40 am: Oil catches a bid
After falling for 5 straight sessions, and posting 10 negative days in 11, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 3% in early trading Wednesday. Prices jumped following reports of progress on a coronavirus drug, although the World Health Organization cautioned that there are still no known treatments for the virus. OPEC+ officials kicked off a second day of meetings Wednesday in Vienna to discuss potentially deeper production cuts as the virus has continued to roil oil markets. WTI has slipped into a bear market as traders fear that a slowdown in China’s economy will hit crude demand. Later today the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on U.S. inventory levels. — Stevens
8:38 am: Tesla set for first decline in seven days after Canaccord downgrade, Model 3 delay
Shares of Tesla dropped more than 3% in premarket trading, on pace for its first loss in seven days, after a company executive said the Model 3 vehicles initially scheduled for delivery in early February will be delayed due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Canaccord also downgraded the stock to hold from buy Wednesday, citing concerns about the effect of the coronavirus on the company’s China operations. “We believe patient investors will likely get a more attractive entry point,” Canaccord analyst Jed Dorsheimer said. The electric-car maker has more than doubled in 2020 alone, fueled by short covering and the fear of missing out. The vertical rise has drawn concerns on Wall Street, with investors comparing Tesla’s monster rally to past speculative bubbles. — Li
8:33 am: Ford shares tank after disappointing earnings and weak guidance
Ford Motor’s stock plunged nearly 8% in premarket trading after the automaker said it lost $1.67 billion during the fourth quarter and missed Wall Street earnings expectations on increased pension contributions and higher North American warranty and labor costs. Ford also disappointed Wall Street with its earnings projections for 2020. It’s projecting full-year earnings of between 94 cents and $1.20 a share, or adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $5.6 billion and $6.6 billion. — Li
8:32 am: Nike shares under pressure on coronavirus concerns
Shares of Nike slipped 0.3% in premarket trading after the company said the fast-spreading coronavirus will have a “material impact” on its operations across China. Nike has closed half of its stores in China as the government tries to contain a new virus outbreak there. The stores that are opened are operating with reduced hours — as they are “experiencing lower than planned retail traffic,” Nike said in a statement. — Li
8:25 am: Stock futures point to sharp gains once again
Wall Street is set to build on the already sharp gains from this week, with futures pointing to another broad-market rally. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up more than 200 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are pointing to strong gains as well. Reports of a potentially effective drug treatment for coronavirus lifted futures, but the WHO played down those reports, saying in a statement: “There are no known effective therapeutics against this 2019-nCoV.” Overall, investors are starting to bet the virus won’t affect the U.S. economy as badly as feared. A much better-than-expected jobs report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics also boosted equity futures. — Imbert
—With reporting by Michael Bloom, Maggie Fitzgerald, Jesse Pound and Gina Francolla.
