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Stocks mixed, Oil edged higher, Bargains on 3 Top S&P 500 stocks, J.P. Morgan warns stocks in “calm before the storm,” Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy, Auto sales up despite rates at 15-year high, and more financial news.
Stocks edged higher in early trading but were mixed later in the day as the Dow dipped. The S&P 500 inched up 2.89 points or +0.07%, while the Dow fell 2.6 points or -0.01%, while the NASDAQ lifted slightly by 1.53 points or +0.10%, as of 9:37 AM EDT, Yahoo Finance reported.
In oil futures, WTI crude was up +1.28% and traded at $81.45 a barrel, while Brent crude rose +0.94% and traded at $85.73 a barrel as of 8:39 AM CDT.
The benchmark US 10-Year Treasury was up +0.037 for a yield of 3.469%, while the 2-Year Treasury was up +0.031 for a yield of 4.011%, as of 9:40 AM EDT.
Analysts say with the top 3 S&P 500 stocks near 52-week lows, these stocks look like a bargain now. The stocks in question are shares of CVS Health, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool issued a rare “all in” buy alert on these stocks, which called these dips a temporary setback. The payout for Medtronic has risen for 45 consecutive years, and shares offer an above-average dividend yield. Later this year, Johnson & Johnson investors will get a 2-for-1 deal when its consumer health business branches into a new company.
This year’s equities rally is likely to falter, as a combination of bank turbulence, oil shock, and slowing growth are poised to send stocks back towards 2022 lows, according to JPMorgan strategist Marko Kolanovic, who characterized the present market as “the calm before the storm,” Yahoo Finance reported.
“The Fed indicated no intention to cut interest rates this year, yet risk assets are exhibiting an unprecedented rally, with European stocks trading near all-time highs and US stocks recovering recent losses,” Kolanovic wrote. “We expect a reversal in risk sentiment and the market retesting last year’s low over the coming months.”
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday after the satellite launch company could not secure the long-term funding it needed to recover from a rocket failure earlier this year, FOXBusiness reported. The filing comes after the company announced last week it was laying off roughly 85% of its 750 employees.
The sales of new vehicles in the US rose 7.5% in the first quarter, despite interest rates hitting a 15-year high, as the average auto-loan rate reached 7% during the quarter. Automakers sold 3.59 million vehicles during the first three months of the year, compared with 3.34 million a year earlier, the Detroit Free Press reported.
