Pre-markets are somewhat reversed this morning: after closing yesterday with the Dow closing in the red slightly and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 in the green, at this hour the Dow is up but the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and small-cap Russell 2000 are down. Oil prices are up again at this hour, sending futures off their early-morning highs.
The Strait of Hormuz remains closed at this hour, likely to remain so, as the latest proposal to open the major shipping channel appears to not find favor with the Trump administration. The war in Iran has already gone on weeks longer than originally anticipated, with no realistic end in sight at this time.
A Wall Street Journal article this morning on OpenAI having missed its quarterly targets is especially hitting the tech-heavy Nasdaq harder, sending the index down -319 points, -1.16%. The S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 are both -0.60% currently, while the blue-chip Dow is up +58 points, +0.12% at this hour.
Case-Shiller Home Prices Slowed in February
Scoring one for lower inflation metrics (albeit in the rearview mirror), the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for February came in at +0.9% on the 20-city composite, down 30 basis points (bps) month over month. Higher mortgage rates for the month put downward pressure on pricing, and real home price returns have now been negative (rising slower than the rate of inflation) for now nine-straight months.
The top-performing cities were once again Chicago (+5.0%) and New York (4.7%), followed by Cleveland (+4.2%). Denver was the weakest market for the month, -2.2%, after several months of Tampa being the weakest market for home price growth. Los Angeles and Washington DC were also lower for the month.
Q1 Earnings at a Glance: BP, GM, KO & More
BP BP shares are up following Q1 results that doubled earnings for the oil supermajor, a direct result of the war in Iran. Earnings of $1.24 per share outpaced the $0.91 in the Zacks consensus, leading to a +36.26% earnings surprise.
General Motors GM had an even better quarter on its bottom line: earnings of $3.70 per share zoomed ahead of the $2.61 consensus by +41.76%. A $500 million tariff refund has bolstered the U.S.’s top automaker, but shares are down -1.23% at this hour ahead of the open.
Coca-Cola KO shares are up +3.45% currently, after outperforming expectations on its bottom line by a solid nickel: 86 cents peer share versus 81 in the Zacks consensus, with the company’s strongest sales growth in nearly two years.
UPS UPS delivered a modest 3-cent earnings beat this morning to $1.07 per share, for a +2.88% earnings surprise. Yet declining volume domestically is weighing on the stock, which is -6% at this hour in pre-market trading.
Spotify SPOT surpassed earnings estimates this morning — $4.04 per share versus $3.72 anticipated — but shares are falling -11% ahead of the opening bell after missing full-year guidance, deepening from its -14% selloff year to date.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
BP p.l.c. (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report
CocaCola Company (The) (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS): Free Stock Analysis Report
General Motors Company (GM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Spotify Technology (SPOT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).