CSFX Market News | Global Market Update

  UBS REDUCES ESTIMATES ON MICROSOFT DUE TO “TOO HIGH” AZURE GROWTH EXPECTATIONS, RESULTING IN A 2% DROP IN STOCK PRICE . UBS analysts have maintained a Neutral rating and a price target of $275 per share on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), citing concerns that Azure estimates are still too high. The analysts have conducted around 20 checks with Azure and AWS customers, and their conclusion is that the 2023 estimates for AWS, Azure, and Google’s Cloud are too high. They believe that customer efforts to optimize and trim their cloud spend will persist at a high level throughout 2023. According to UBS, recent trends such as spend optimization/cuts, slower migration, and new developer activity, have continued into 1Q23 and seem worse than three months ago. As a result, UBS has revised its cloud segment growth estimate to 24% in the June quarter at a constant currency, lower than the prior estimate of 25% and the Street’s 27%. Regarding the upcoming earnings call, the analysts expect that Mic...

  On Tuesday, major US stock indices such as the Nasdaq Composite, Dow Jones, and S&P 500 declined due to renewed concerns about the Fed’s potential interest rate hikes and banking crises. However, Treasury yields and gold prices increased, as the US dollar weakened. In contrast, Asian markets rose on Wednesday, buoyed by a rally in Alibaba’s stock and reduced fears of banking contagion. While South Korea’s KOSPI and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped slightly, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Australia’s ASX 200 climbed modestly. Meanwhile, oil prices increased due to disruptions in Kurdish crude shipments and a potential draw in US inventories, as well as improved sentiment towards the banking sector. Brent crude rose to $78.3/barrel, while WTI Futures increased by 0.5% to $73.57 a barrel. Natural Gas Futures, however, fell by 0.14%. US stock futures were trading slightly higher during Tuesday’s evening deals after major benchmark indices closed negatively due to the decline in technol...

  DISNEY BRINGS BACK BOB IGER AS CEO IN A BID TO BOOST GROWTH Bob Iger is returning to Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) Co. as chief executive less than a year after he retired, a surprise comeback that coincides with the entertainment company’s attempt to boost investor confidence and profits at its streaming media unit. Iger, who retired last year after 15 years as chief executive, has agreed to serve as CEO for two more years effective immediately, Disney said in a statement late on Sunday. He will replace Bob Chapek, who took over as Disney CEO in February 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, leading to parking closures and restrictions on visitors globally. Disney’s shares have fallen more than 40 percent so far this year, lagging the nearly 7 percent year-to-date drop in the broader Down Jones Industrial Average. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through th...

  APPLE WARNS OF LOWER IPHONE SHIPMENTS AS COVID CURBS HOBBLE CHINA PLANT Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) expects lower shipments of premium iPhone 14 models than previously anticipated following a significant production cut at a virus-blighted plant in China, dampening its sales outlook for the busy year-end holiday season. Demand for high-end smartphones assembled at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant has helped Apple remain a bright spot in a technology sector battered by consumer spending cutbacks amid surging inflation and interest rates. But the Cupertino, California-based vendor has fallen victim to China’s zero-COVID-19 policy, which has seen global firms including Canada Goose Holdings (NYSE:GOOS) Inc and Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) shut local stores and cut forecasts. “The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,” Apple said on Sunday without detailing the scale of the reduction. “We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max m...

  JAPAN STOCKS LOWER AT CLOSE OF TRADE; NIKKEI 225 DOWN 1.68% Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Power, Railway & Bus and Precision Instruments sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.68%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211), which rose 18.01% or 94.00 points to trade at 616.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO:4902) added 8.86% or 41.00 points to end at 504.00 and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) was up 4.41% or 227.00 points to 5,369.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Z Holdings Corp (TYO:4689), which fell 14.18% or 56.20 points to trade at 340.00 at the close. AGC Inc (TYO:5201) declined 9.33% or 435.00 points to end at 4,225.00 and Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:1332) was down 8.59% or 47.00 points to 500.00. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2531 to 980 and ...

  AUSTRALIA STOCKS LOWER AT CLOSE OF TRADE; S&P/ASX 200 DOWN 0.87% Australian stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Metals & Mining, Materials and Resources sectors led shares lower. At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.87%. The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX:QUB), which rose 5.08% or 0.13 points to trade at 2.69 at the close. Meanwhile, Vicinity Centres Re Ltd (ASX:VCX) added 4.28% or 0.08 points to end at 1.95 and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX:RMS) was up 4.23% or 0.03 points to 0.74 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA), which fell 9.16% or 0.48 points to trade at 4.76 at the close. Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX:SLR) declined 8.23% or 0.10 points to end at 1.12 and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) was down 8.15% or 1.31 points to 14.76. Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 798 to 493 and 378 en...

  TECH ROUT WIDENS AS META SINKS AFTER RESULTS A carnage in U.S. technology stocks widened on Thursday as shares of Meta Platforms Inc sank 20% after the Facebook (NASDAQ:META) parent’s costly metaverse bets and the impact of soaring inflation on ad spending spooked investors. Meta was set to lose about $67 billion in market value, if losses hold through the session, adding to the trillions of dollars that some of the biggest tech names have shed this year amid rising interest rates and a stronger dollar. Meta itself has lost over half a trillion dollars in market value this year. Its shares were trading at $104.60 before the bell and set to open at their lowest in over six years. Its results come a day after Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Snap (NYSE:SNAP) posted dismal numbers, sparking a wide-spread selloff in tech stocks. Analysts say the firm’s spending towards capital-intensive projects at a time when the ad market – its major source of revenue – is drying...

  MICROSOFT FALLS AFTER A ‘SIGNIFICANT’ GUIDANCE MISS Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are trading nearly 6% down in early Wednesday trading after the tech titan offered soft guidance for its fiscal second quarter while also lowering the 2023 revenue outlook. Microsoft reported an EPS of $2.35 to top the analyst estimate of $2.32. Revenue jumped 11% YoY to $50.1 billion, again higher than the consensus of $49.86 billion. This marks the weakest quarterly sales growth in five years for Microsoft. Microsoft Azure grew 35% to generate $20.33 billion in sales, while analysts were looking for a 36% growth rate. Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes and Personal Computing units topped analyst views. “In a world facing increasing headwinds, digital technology is the ultimate tailwind. In this environment, we’re focused on helping our customers do more with less, while investing in secular growth areas and managing our cost structure in a disciplined way,” said Satya Nadella, cha...

  MICROSOFT ESTIMATES LOWERED ON ‘STEEPEST PC DECLINE IN TWO DECADES’ Credit Suisse lowered its estimates for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Wednesday, stating that high inventory levels and economic uncertainty are resulting in the “steepest PC decline in two decades.” “IDC and Gartner released PC shipment data for Q3 2022 showing a historic slowdown in the PC market. Gartner (sell-through) and IDC (sell-in) reported shipment declines of 19.5% and 15.0% year-over-year for Q3, respectively, versus declines of 12.6% and 15.3% year-over-year in Q2 and compared to increases of 1.0% and 3.9% in Q3 2021,” wrote Credit Suisse analysts. “In comparison, Microsoft’s management provided guidance for Windows OEM revenue for the September quarter to decline in the high single-digits. Consensus estimates for Windows OEM revenue growth currently forecast an 8.0% y/y decline.” The analysts wrote that the September quarter estimates represent the steepest market decline since Gartner began tracking th...

  VOLKSWAGEN TARGETING 20-30% AUTOMATION AT NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLE PLANT Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) is looking at automating 20-30% of production at its upcoming Trinity plant near its Wolfsburg headquarters, the plant’s chief production officer said on Tuesday. “Assembly is still 90% manual work,” Sebastian Schmickartz said at a suppliers summit in Wolfsburg. “This is what we want to change with the new factory. We are looking at 20-30% automation.” The Trinity plant, where the German carmaker will build a new flagship electric sedan, is due to begin pre-series production in 2025, with the official start of production in 2026. The key to automating more of its assembly line will be moving to a module-based strategy, Schmickartz said, condensing 50 parts into one through techniques like die casting to produce front-end, back-end and roof modules. Volkswagen brand production chief Christian Vollmer told Reuters earlier this year the carmaker hoped this production strategy would help boos...

TESLA’S LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES OVERSHADOW RECORD DELIVERIES Tesla  Inc on Sunday announced lower-than-expected electric vehicle deliveries in the third quarter, as logistical challenges overshadowed its record deliveries. The top electric car maker said “it is becoming increasingly challenging to secure vehicle transportation capacity and at a reasonable cost,” but some analysts were also concerned about demand for high-ticket items due to the weakening global economy. “The economy around the edges is still having a negative impact for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) that’s mostly logistical. But I think there is some demand (issues) sprinkled in there,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told Reuters after the delivery results. “There is a dark cloud over the auto sector. And Tesla is not immune.” Tesla delivered 343,830 electric vehicles, a record for the world’s most valuable automaker, but less than the 359,162 analysts on average had expected, according to Refinitiv. A year earlier Tesla ...

  MICRON TECHNOLOGY IS TRADING DOWN 1.94% AT 50.01 Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) are up nearly 3% in pre-market Friday despite the chipmaker reporting extremely soft guidance for its first fiscal quarter. Micron’s FQ4 earnings report has so far proved to be “sell the rumor buy the news” as shares trade higher despite a significant guidance miss. Micron reported an EPS of $1.45 on revenue of $6.64 billion, which compares to analyst estimates of $1.41 per share on revenue of $6.81 billion. For this quarter, the company is looking for EPS of $0.02 (the midpoint) on revenue of $4.25 billion (the midpoint). The offered guidance compares to the analyst consensus of $0.64 per share on revenue of $5.62 billion. The adjusted gross margin is seen between 24% and 28%, marking another material miss as consensus stood at 33.6% Read More

  S&P 200: NEWS & TECHNICAL  ANALYSIS Australia Stocks Higher At Close Of Trade; S&P/ASX 200 Up 0.21% Australia stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Energy, Financials and Resources sectors led shares higher. At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.21%. The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC), which rose 4.60% or 0.39 points to trade at 8.87 at the close. Meanwhile, Woodside Energy Ltd (ASX:WDS) added 4.30% or 1.39 points to end at 33.73 and Worley Ltd (ASX:WOR) was up 3.68% or 0.51 points to 14.38 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were South32 Ltd (ASX:S32), which fell 7.18% or 0.31 points to trade at 4.01 at the close. Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) declined 6.36% or 0.05 points to end at 0.77 and Nanosonics Ltd (ASX:NAN) was down 5.99% or 0.24 points to 3.77. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Sydney Stock Exchange by 709 to 628 and 398 ended unchanged. S...

  TOP 5 STOCKS TO WATCH OUT TODAY Visa Inc (V):  Visa is one of the few mega-cap companies to post an unequivocally positive earnings report so far this season. Despite this huge headline numbers on its report, Visa stock didn’t move up that much. As investors digest the impressive results, Visa shares should move higher. The company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings leapt to $1.79 per share from $1.38 per share for the same period a year earlier. Importantly, this was miles ahead of analyst expectations at $1.65. Payment volumes also jumped, surging 17% year over year, with all-important cross-border transactions up a sizzling 38%. Those international payments are vital, since Visa gets to keep a much higher take rate on that class of purchases. While the tech sector is having a downbeat earnings season, the consumer is still strong and international travel is back on the upswing. With Visa stock still down sharply from its 52-week highs, opportunity lurks. Waters Corp. (...

  MICROSOFT CORP. TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: WEEKLY CHART In the weekly charts, MICROSOFT CORP. is trading in a down channel. It is trading above all SMA. The immediate support is 305.12 & the resistance level is at 317.67. MICROSOFT CORP. is trading in the down channel until there is trend reversal. MICROSOFT CORP. TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT

  TWITTER Technical Analysis: Weekly Chart In the weekly charts, TWITTER is trading in a down channel. It is trading below all SMA. The immediate support is 31.93 & the resistance level is at 41.62. TWITTER is trading in the down channel until there is a trend reversal. TWITTER Technical Analysis: Daily Chart READ FULL REPORT - CLICK HERE