Stocks were mixed in early trading on Tuesday while Treasury yields held steady after climbing for two consecutive days as investors let go of hopes for a March interest rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.2% higher Tuesday morning, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%.
Optimism about impending rate cuts sent bond yields plummeting and propelled stocks to record highs before last week’s interest rate decision from the Fed, a hot jobs report, and cautious words from central bank officials poured cold water on markets’ conviction.
Earnings season remains in full swing, with reports from Eli Lilly (LLY), Chipotle (CMG), and Ford (F) today.
Stocks retreated yesterday after Fed chair Jerome Powell told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the Fed was looking for more good economic data before lowering interest rates this year.
DocuSign Stock Falls Amid Third Round of Layoffs
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Shares of DocuSign (DOCU) tumbled in early trading Tuesday after the e-signature software maker said it would cut 6% of its workforce.
DocuSign said the majority of the cuts would hit its sales and marketing departments. It also estimated that it would incur $28 million to $32 million in one-time restructuring charges, the majority of which would be booked in the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year.
The layoff announcement comes just one day after Reuters reported that takeover talks with private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman had stalled.
The layoffs announced Tuesday are DocuSign’s third round in the past year and a half. The company cut 9% of its workforce in September 2022 as growth slowed after a pandemic boom. Then in February 2023 it announced it would lay off an additional 10% of employees to further cut costs.
Tech companies of all sizes went on a hiring spree during the pandemic as lockdowns boosted demand for digital products and services. And they’ve spent the last two years attempting to “right-size” by laying off staff in the thousands, even as enthusiasm about AI has boosted optimism. PayPal (PYPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the firms that have already cut jobs this year.
DocuSign shares were down 4% at $51.30 midday Tuesday.
Palantir Stock Skyrockets as AI Platforms Fuel Q4 Sales Growth—Key Price Levels to Watch
2 hr 17 min ago
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares jumped nearly 30% in early trading Tuesday after the big data analytics software maker topped Wall Street’s sales forecast amid ongoing demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) platforms
The company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $608.4 million, up 20% from the year-ago quarter and ahead of the $602.4 million figure analysts had expected. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings for the period came in at 8 cents per share, in line with the consensus forecast. The results were bolstered by the company’s U.S. commercial division, which grew its customer count by 55% from last year’s corresponding quarter.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in a letter to shareholders late Monday that the company’s expansion and growth has never been greater, especially with “unrelenting” demand in the U.S. market for large language AI models. Karp added that the company’s AI technology pilots had increased more than sixfold over the past year.
Palantir shares have traded within an ascending channel since early August, with the pattern’s lower trendline roughly aligning with the 200-day moving average. Interestingly, the stock yesterday recorded its largest single day of share turnover since early November, with the price running into selling pressure near the 50-day moving average.
If the stock continues to climb after Tuesday, keep an eye on the channel’s top trendline, currently around $22.80, as an area of potential chart resistance.
Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket
3 hr 9 min ago
Gains:
- Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Shares of the data analytics software company soared 20% after it beat earnings expectations amid booming demand for its AI products.
- Spotify Technology SA (SPOT): The music streaming company’s stock rose 8% after it topped Wall Street estimates with its quarterly results, reporting its second-largest fourth-quarter subscriber increase.
- BP Plc (BP): Shares of the British oil giant rose 5% after it posted a smaller-than-expected decline in profit in the fourth quarter and said it would ramp up its share buybacks.
Losses:
- FMC Corp. (FMC): Shares of the fertilizer company tumbled 13% after it missed quarterly earnings estimates and forecast lower-than-expected full-year sales and profit.
- DocuSign Inc. (DOCU): Shares of the cloud software developer fell 7% after it said it would cut about 6% of jobs. It also took a hit from reports yesterday that takeover talks with two private equity firms had stalled.
- UBS Group (UBS): Shares of the Swiss bank fell 4% despite posting a narrower-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter and announcing it would restart stock buybacks with plans to spend $1 billion in the second half of the year.
Stock Futures Inch Higher
4 hr 7 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down less than 0.1% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
S&P 500 futures were up less than 0.1%.
Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up nearly 0.2%.
