US stocks mixed as Wall Street watches and waits

Live4 updates

• Tue, February 27, 2024 at 4:13 PM GMT+1

  Consumer confidence falls from two-year high

  Consumers are feeling less confident about the current state of the US economy, according to new data released Tuesday morning.

  The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for February came in at a reading of 106.7, down from a revised 110.9 in January. January’s preliminary reading was 114, a two-year high for the measure. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of 115 for February.

  The Expectations Index, which measures consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, fell to 79.8 in February from a revised 81.5 in January. Historically, a reading below 80 in that category signals a recession in the coming year.

  “The decline in consumer confidence in February interrupted a three-month rise, reflecting persistent uncertainty about the US economy,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.

  “The drop in confidence was broad-based, affecting all income groups except households earning less than $15,000 and those earning more than $125,000. Confidence deteriorated for consumers under the age of 35 and those 55 and over, whereas it improved slightly for those aged 35 to 54,” she added.

• 

  Tue, February 27, 2024 at 3:32 PM GMT+1

  Stocks mostly muted

  US stocks were mostly muted in early trading on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of retail earnings reports and awaited upcoming PCE inflation data, due Thursday.

  Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) were little changed in the wake of a pullback from all-time highs. Tech stocks were more upbeat, with a rise of 0.3% for the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC).

• 

  Tue, February 27, 2024 at 2:30 PM GMT+1

  Macy’s says it’s closing 150 more stores

  Just wow, Macy’s (M).

  In an effort to fend off an overthrowing of its board by activist investor Arkhouse (who has nominated nine directors to the board), Macy’s dropped a bombshell this morning: it plans to close 150 “underproductive” stores, with 50 being shut down this year.

  The goal: boost profit margins and cash flow and potentially, push the stock price higher.

  This is a huge, huge number for a company that has shuttered hundreds of stores across the country in the past decade.

  I will push to the side on what this could mean to the battle with Arkhouse for now.

  But what I will say is this is likely bullish for the general merchandise departments at discounters Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT) and TJX Companies (TJX) long-term. Essentially, Macy’s exiting a fresh round of neighborhoods in the United States and in turn sending market share to competitors both in store and online.

  I think the closures say a lot about how the shift to digital shopping continues to impact legacy retailers such as Macy’s.

  By the way, naturally Amazon (AMZN) is a winner here. It has made great strides in apparel and general merchandise selections and considering it continues to cut delivery times, expect the tech beast to continue to put major pressure on department store retailers.

• 

  Tue, February 27, 2024 at 1:31 PM GMT+1

  It still isn’t pretty in the housing market

  The vibe around the US housing market still isn’t pretty, and likely won’t be any better until later this year.

  Appliance giant Whirlpool (WHR) just dropped some guidance ahead of an investor day down at the New York Stock Exchange today that says a lot about the continued pressures in the market.

  Despite a major innovation push this year (notably an aggressive push into new small appliances such as automated KitchenAid espresso makers) the company guided to flat sales in North America year over year.

  The company doesn’t really see top line improvement until 2026, where it outlined a 2% to 3% compound annual sales growth rate for its largest market — North America.

  I will be diving into the guide more with Whirlpool chairman and CEO Marc Bitzer in a chat that will air on Yahoo Finance Live today in the 3 p.m. ET hour.

  The positive here: the notorious industrial cost-cutter thinks it could expand its profit margins this year, next year and in 2026 by removing a good amount of costs.

  Keep in mind this back-end weighted outlook from Whirlpool comes on the heels of a lackluster new home sales report this week.

  Bottom line is for housing derivative stocks like Whirlpool, Home Depot (HD), etc. to work higher again there will have to be new indications on when the Fed will be cutting interest rates. The expectations on rate cuts this year has been pushed back a lot amid stronger than expected inflation readings and various Fed speak.

  That said, I am a buyer of one of those new KitchenAid automatic espresso makers. Snazzy tool to deliver caffeine to me in a super efficient manner!