ClearBridge Investments’ Jeffrey Schulze says big capital tech stocks are worth investing in because they aren’t overly expensive and have outperformed the market for years.
U.S. equity markets slid early Thursday as the spreading coronavirus weighed on investor sentiment, more than offsetting solid economic growth and strong earnings.
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Overnight, China’s National Health Commission said the death toll from the coronavirus rose to 170 and that 7,711 people have been infected. The World Health Organization will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, later Thursday to decide whether the virus’ spread has become a global health emergency.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3243.46 | -29.94 | -0.91% |
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 28549.35 | -185.10 | -0.64% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 9188.998251 | -86.17 | -0.93% |
Markets lifted off their worst levels of the morning after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 2.1 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, matching estimates.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines were all weaker amid coronavirus-related worries. Cruise operators Carnival Corp. and Royal Carribean Cruises were sharply lower.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HLDG. | 75.31 | +0.10 | +0.13% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 55.99 | -0.66 | -1.17% |
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 26.70 | -0.10 | -0.37% |
| CCL | CARNIVAL CORP. | 44.51 | -2.00 | -4.29% |
| RCL | ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES | 116.36 | -5.28 | -4.34% |
Meanwhile, drugmakers and medical mask makers gained.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVAX | NOVAVAX INC. | 6.95 | +0.11 | +1.67% |
| NNVC | NANOVIRICIDES INC | 10.72 | +1.24 | +13.08% |
| LAKE | LAKELAND INDS | 13.95 | +0.81 | +6.14% |
Elsewhere, earnings results continued to come out mostly better than expected.
Tesla zoomed higher after posting its second straight quarterly profit as both earnings and revenue topped estimates. The electric-vehicle maker also said production has begun for its Model Y crossover SUV.
Microsoft hit a record high after announcing revenue from its cloud-computing services business spiked 62 percent from a year ago. Both earnings and revenue were above expectations.
Facebook reported daily active users, earnings and revenue that were ahead of Wall Street estimates, but shares were under pressure as costs and expenses soared 34 percent year over year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 636.25 | +55.26 | +9.51% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 171.90 | +3.86 | +2.30% |
| FB | FACEBOOK INC. | 207.76 | -15.47 | -6.93% |
Altria took a $4.1 billion write-down on its Juul business and has now written off 66.7 percent of its $12.8 billion investment in the e-cigarette maker that was made in November 2018.
United Parcel Service took a $1.8 billion write-down of its own, related to its pension plan. The logistics giant lost $106 million in the fourth quarter.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MO | ALTRIA GROUP INC. | 47.52 | -2.59 | -5.17% |
| UPS | UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. | 108.64 | -7.12 | -6.15% |
Commodities were mixed with West Texas Intermediate crude oil down 1.8 percent at $52.40 a barrel and gold up 0.4 percent at $1583 an ounce.
U.S. Treasurys gained, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down 2 basis points to 1.574 percent, its lowest level in nearly four months.
Markets were lower across Europe with France’s CAC down 1.5 percent, Britain’s FTSE weaker by 1.4 percent and Germany’s DAX off 1.2 percent.
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Overnight, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei shed 2.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. China’s Shanghai Composite remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
