- Wall Street indices open mixed
- Markets await Powell's testimony
- Helen of Troy plunges 30% after cutting forecasts
Wall Street indices launched today's trading mixed - S&P 500 gained 0.2%, Nasdaq opened almost 0.4% higher, Dow Jones dropped 0.1% and small-cap Russell 2000 launched session 0.3% lower. This comes after a rather downbeat session in Europe, during which major indices from the region trade lower.
Investors are waiting for semi-annual testimonies from Fed Chair Powell scheduled for this week. Powell will appear before US Senate committee today at 3:00 pm BST, and before US House committee tomorrow at 3:00 pm BST. Traders will look for clues on monetary policy and timing of rate cuts.
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Source: xStation5
Taking a look at the Dow Jones futures (US30) at H4 interval, we that the index made an attempt to break above the downward trendline yesterday but bulls failed to maintain momentum and index pulled back below it and to the 39,700 price zone. US30 is dropping below this zone today and is currently testing 50-period moving average in the 39,600 pts area. The next support zone in-line can be found ranging around 39,300 pts level.
Company News
Shares of Helen of Troy (HELE.US), US designer and marketer of consumer products, launched today's trading with an almost 30% bearish price gap. Stock plunged after company reported disappointing fiscal-Q1 2025 earnings and cut full-year forecasts. Helen of Troy reported a 22% YoY drop in fiscal-Q1 sales to $416.8 million (exp. $445.9 million) and adjusted EPS of $0.99 (exp. $1.59). Company cut full-year fiscal-2025 revenue forecast to $1.885-1.935 billion (exp. $1.98 billion) and adjusted EPS of $7.00-7.50 (exp $8.93). Stock dropped to the lowest level since late-2014.
US-listed shares of BP (BP.US) are trading lower after the oil giant warned of that it will take a $1-2 billion impairment charge in the second quarter of 2024. Company also warned of weaker realized margins, which will have an adverse impact of $500-700 million.
Analysts' actions
- Sealed Air (SEE.US) rated 'buy' at Stifel. Price target set at $47.00
- Amcor (AMCR.US) rated 'hold' at Stifel. Price target set at $10.83
Helen of Troy (HELE.US) plunges over 30% today after cutting full-year forecasts and reporting weak earnings. Stock drops to the lowest level since December 2014. Weekly chart. Source: xStation5
