Apple reports earnings beat, China weighs trade talks with U.S.: Morning Buzz

The major averages were sharply higher at midday, with every major index up at least 1.5% following the upbeat April jobs report as well as some potential optimism around U.S.-China trade negotiations. Investors are still weighing the impact of a number of big earnings reports from tech and energy giants and await next week’s earnings news from major players like Ford, Disney, and Uber.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are up sharply, rebounding from several days of declines. Meanwhile, oil prices are falling, erasing yesterday’s rebound from April’s significant decline.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Apple (AAPL) reported upbeat Q2 results, increased its quarterly dividend, announced a $100B stock buyback, and provided Q3 revenue guidance
• Amazon (AMZN) reported better-than-expected Q1 results and provided Q2 revenue guidance
• Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) both reported mixed Q1 results
• U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose to 177,000 in April, with the unemployment rate flat at 4.2%
• China’s Ministry of Commerce is considering trade talks with the U.S., Bloomberg reports

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Jefferies cuts Apple (AAPL) to Underperform on expected tariff downside while Rosenblatt downgraded the stock to Neutral on a lack of AI-driven iPhone boost
• Square and Cash App parent Block (XYZ) was downgraded by no less than four firms following earnings
• Bernstein upgraded Reddit (RDDT) to Market Perform following the company’s Q1 report
• Wedbush downgraded Airbnb (ABNB) to Neutral amid slowing travel trends
• Craig-Hallum upgraded A10 Networks (ATEN) to Buy following better Q1 results

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Plans by JetBlue (JBLU) to sign a domestic partnership with another airline faces opposition from its pilot union, which says the move could “fundamentally reshape” the U.S. carrier and impact the future of its workers, Reuters says
• PDD’s (PDD) Temu is shifting to a “local fulfillment” model, selling only goods from local U.S. merchants to American consumers, to avoid tariffs and keep prices unchanged, Bloomberg reports
• A U.S. Army report from April ranks Palantir’s (PLTR) new $178M mobile battlefield intelligence-gathering vehicle and trailer among its top-performing programs, Bloomberg says
• CVC and Blackstone (BX) will invest more than $2B in equity and debt to take a minority stake in Istanbul-based Dream Games, which makes Royal Match, valuing it at about $5B, FT reports
• Nio (NIO) sold just two cars in the Netherlands in April, according to official registration data, its lowest monthly performance in the market since its launch there in October 2022, EV says

4. MOVERS:

• BrightSpring Health (BTSG) gains after reporting Q1 results and raising its guidance for FY25
• Adaptive Biotechnologies (ADPT) and Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) higher after reporting quarterly results
• DexCom (DXCM) increases after reporting Q1 results and announcing a $750M share repurchase program
• Ardelyx (ARDX) falls after Raymond James downgraded the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy
• Cytokinetics (CYTK) lower after announcing the FDA extended the PDUFA action date for aficamten 

 5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Block (XYZ) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue missing consensus
• DuPont (DD) reported Q1 results and backed its guidance for FY25, with CEO Lori Koch commenting, “Our results reflect continued strong quarterly financial performance”
• Airbnb (ABNB) reported Q1 results, with EPS in-line with consensus
• Instacart (CART) reported Q1 results and provided guidance for Q2
• Roku (ROKU) reported Q1 results and provided guidance for FY25 and Q2

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 1.50%, or 610.43, to 41,363.39, the Nasdaq was up 1.77%, or 313.00, to 18,023.74, and the S&P 500 was up 1.59%, or 89.18, to 5,693.32.