Stocks rise with buyers undeterred by higher prices
On Tuesday, U.S. stock futures surged as investors saw solid earnings from Home Depot (HD), Dow stocks Walmart (WMT), and better-than-expected retail sales data from the government. October retail sales increased 1.8% overall. Excluding autos, sales also rose 1.8%, compared to estimates of 1.1%. Rent for single-family homes rose 11% in September.
The Nasdaq, the Dow, and the S&P 500 dropped Monday. However, these three stock benchmarks remained less than 1.1% away from their last record high, closing at the beginning of November. The 10-year Treasury yield fell lower Tuesday but stayed above 1.7%.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin and other digital currencies dropped, retreating from near-record highs. The world’s largest digital coin fell toward $60,000 after China’s state planner announced that it would continue eliminating crypto mining in the country. Earlier this year, Beijing decided to crack down on bitcoin mining leading to the departure of miners.
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Shares of Walmart initially increased 1.1% but turned moderately lower in premarket trading. It happened on Tuesday after the retail giant announced its fixed third-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed expectations. Walmart brought back grocery shoppers. The company managed to boost full-year earnings guidance.
Home Depot increased 1.1% in the premarket after announcing adjusted third-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed expectations on Tuesday. Same-store sales rose 6.2% in the quarter, beating expectations as people continued to fix up their houses during the pandemic, but at a slower rate than last year.
Elon Musk (Tesla’s CEO) might face a possible tax bill of higher than $11 billion on stock options granted at the beginning of 2012. On Monday, Musk had to sell another $940 million in shares to pay taxes on options. That brings his total options operations to about $4.7 billion since the beginning of November.
Lucid rose 5.9% in the premarket after the start-up reported over 17,500 reservations for its electric vehicles (Air sedan). That’s up from 13,500 in the prior quarter. As a public company, it also confirmed its production targets for 2022 in its first-quarter financial results listed via a SPAC deal at the beginning of July.
On Tuesday, Peloton said it intends to sell an extra $1.1 billion of its Class A common shares. The connected fitness equipment maker is trying to find other ways as momentum slows for its products. Shares dropped 1.6% in premarket and roughly 71% year to date.
