Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024

Markets churned to basically breakeven in today’s trading session. This is a trading climate that is quite ready to absorb some new news in order to point a clear way forward. We obviously note the General Election two weeks from today, but mostly the near-term has to do with the Fed’s interest-rate-cutting schedule.

What happens first are the October reports on Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) and the Employment Situation, on Thursday and Friday of next week. As a result, today there was no wind in the sails, and the Dow closed -0.02%, the S&P 500 -0.05% and the Nasdaq +0.18%. The small-cap Russell 2000 slipped -0.29%.

McDonald’s e.coli Outbreak Sends Shares Lower

Just when I was about to stick a fork in the trading day, news wires are bringing a story that an e.coli outbreak at McDonald’s MCD in the Mountain region of the U.S. has led to one death in Colorado, 10 hospitalizations and 49 reported cases, directly related to consumption of Quarter Pounder hamburgers. We hope this is a contained outbreak; shares of MCD are understandably down -8.5% at this hour.

Starbucks Warns on Same-Store Sales, Pulls Guidance

After today’s close, Starbucks SBUX, scheduled to report fiscal Q4 earnings on October 30th, pre-announced an expected -7% in same-store sales in the quarter. The company’s new guide on earnings and sales is 80 cents per share and $9.1 billion, respectively, from $1.04 per share and $9.33 billion, respectively, in the Zacks consensus. Shares are down -3% on the news, bringing the stock to breakeven, year-to-date.

Texas Instruments Beats Estimates in Q3

Ultimately, it’s a mixed report for Dallas chipmaker Texas Instruments TXN, even though the company outperformed on both top and bottom lines. Earnings of $1.47 per share beat the Zacks consensus by 9 cents, with revenues of $4.15 billion outpacing the $4.11 billion expected. But lower guidance on both metrics for Q4 had initially sent TXN shares down in late trading. It is currently back to breakeven, +14% year to date.

Check out the updated Zacks Earnings Calendar here.

What to Expect Tomorrow in the Stock Market

Just like today, Wednesday trading will not have the decision of the presidential election, nor a new read on PCE or monthly non-farm payrolls. The biggest news will likely be the Tesla TSLA Q3 earnings report after tomorrow’s closing bell. The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated EV leader expects -12% earnings growth year over year, but +9.5% on revenues.

Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>>