Mixed market opening: Dow down, S&P 500 up
Wall Street closes positive: Dow Jones +0.1%, S&P500 +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.6%. New record for the first two indices. Netflix soars (+11.1%) thanks to results above expectations.
The number of construction sites started for the construction of new houses in the United States in September it stood at 1.354 million units per year. The figure was down 0.5% on a monthly basis (1.356 million in August) and was below the consensus of economists at 1.355 million units.
Stellantis closes a 16 square kilometer plant in the United States
The misfortunes of Stellar (+1.9% to 12.184 euros) are getting worse: the European car manufacturer has announced its intention to close and sell its large test park in Arizona by the end of the year. This is the latest cost-cutting measure undertaken by outgoing CEO Tavares (whose mandate expires in 2026 and will not be renewed in 2026). The land, purchased by Chrystler from Ford Motors in 2007, covers four thousand acres (16 square kilometers) and is used for vehicle testing and development.
According to a company note, the 69 employees of the testing facility will be «placed in redundancy fund for an indefinite period, which will give them the right to salaries and allowances for two years”.
3.30pm. US stock markets open mixed after the record session of the Dow Jones. Five stocks to monitor
Wall Street opens the October 18th session mixed, after another record session in which the Dow Jones renewed its historic highs at 43,239 pointsdriven by the rally of TravelersAmerica’s largest insurance company, as well as promising data on industrial production and unemployment claims. At 3.30pm the industrial index lost 0.3%, the S&P rose by 0.13%, and the Nasdaq marked +0.5%.
On the macroeconomic front, focus on construction data. Comments from central bank leaders will follow, including the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Raphael Bostic and the president of the Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari.
The performance of Treasury decennali trading slightly down at 4.08%. The US currency continues to appreciate with the exchange rate euro dollar at 1.08. Oil falling: the price of Brent declines by 1.2% and that of Wti by 1.1%. Here are five stocks to watch:
1. US government investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles opens
At 3.30pm Tesla shares rose by 0.35%. The automaker’s Full Self-Driving technology is the subject of a preliminary investigation by the Office of Defects Investigation, a division of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Nhtsa), for «the inability of the system’s engineering controls to react appropriately to conditions of reduced visibility on the roadway». The investigation was launched after four accidents involving Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD, resulting in the death of a pedestrian and one injury. It could affect 2.4 million vehicles including i S and X models products from 2016 to 2024, i Model 3 products from 2017 to 2024, i Model Y produced from 2020 to 2024 and the Cybertrucks produced between this year and last year. The assessment by NHTSA will also study any other accidents related to the FSD function that occurred in similar conditions of reduced visibility and, if so, the factors that contributed to them.
2. Netflix’s accounts make their red carpet debut on Wall Street
Netflix shares soared by 8.5% after the publication of the quarterly report. The streaming platform closed the third quarter of 2024 with a performance beyond expectations, which continues to show growth of advertising segment. In detail, the company recorded a net profit of 2.36 billion dollars, equal to 5.4 dollars per share at the end of September, marking an increase compared to the 1.68 billion (3.73 dollars per share) reported in the similar period last year and doing better than the $5.12 expected by analysts. Also growing saleswith revenue rebounding 15% to $9.83 billion from $8.54 billion a year ago, beating the consensus forecast of $9.77 billion.
3. The change at the top sends CVS into turmoil
Shares of pharmacy chain CVS Health fell 7.4% after the company announced that longtime executive David Joyner had replaced Karen Lynch in the role of CEO. The change at the top came on top of the news that the company forecast third-quarter adjusted profit of between $1.05 and $1.10 per share, lower than the $1.69 per share expected by analysts.
American Express shares were down 5.2% at 3.30pm, following a mixed earnings report. Revenue of 16.64 billion was slightly lower than analysts’ consensus forecast of 16.67 billion, while the useful of $3.49 per share exceeded expectations ($3.28).
At 3.30pm P&G shares opened slightly down by 0.8% in the wake of the accounts of first quarter of the fiscal year 2025, in which the consumer goods company recorded a core EPS (earnings per share) of $1.93, up 5% year-on-year and above analysts’ expectations of 1 .9 dollars. Diluted net earnings per share, however, decreased 12% to $1.61, primarily due to higher restructuring costs due to unwinding operations in some corporate markets, including Argentina. The American company’s revenues stood at 21.7 billion, a decrease of 1% compared to the same period in 2023. The consensus forecast was 21.91 billion.
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