Breakfast News: S&P 500 Climbs, VIX Declines

Source: Image Created by Jester AI.

1. Relief Drives Stocks Higher and the VIX Lower

Tech (+4.66%) and consumer discretionary (+5.66%) sectors led the S&P 500 to the highest level since early March, with the Dow Jones exiting correction territory.

• Signs of thawing tensions: The White House confirmed this morning the U.S. would cut the "de minimis" tariff on China shipments from 120% to 54%. China has removed the month-long ban on airlines taking delivery of Boeing (BA 1.83%) planes.
• The VIX continues to fall below 19: The common market fear gauge moved to the lowest level since March 27. Improving investor sentiment was noted by Goldman Sachs (GS 4.27%), raising its S&P 500 year-end forecast to 6,500 points.

2. Amazon Taps FedEx for Deliveries

Amazon (AMZN 8.09%) has partnered with FedEx (FDX 6.91%) to handle some package deliveries previously looked after by UPS (UPS 5.50%), with the tech giant citing cost favorability and capacity issues.

• "Securing FedEx capacity is our primary solution for these capacity constraints": FedEx will work alongside other third-party partners, such as UPS and USPS, but the added bandwidth will help following news UPS would be reducing its shipping volume for Amazon in the coming year.
• Amazon shipped 6.3 billion parcels in 2024: Data shows Amazon grew deliveries by 7.3% last year, far outstripping UPS at 4.7 billion and FedEx at 3.7 billion, highlighting the logistics powerhouse it has become.

3. Bitcoin Stalls, Coinbase Set for S&P 500

Bitcoin (BTC -0.91%) fell short of posting record highs, with the cryptocurrency being a notable absentee to the risk-on party. Some flagged profit-taking and trader nerves after a rapid 25% gain in the past month.

• Jitters ahead of all-time highs: After trading around $5k from record levels, demand has stalled, with some flows moving to Ethereum (ETH -2.65%), which has rocketed 37% in the past week.
• Welcoming crypto stocks to the mainstream: Heightened trading activity has been advantageous for Coinbase (COIN 3.86%), with the company set to join the S&P 500 next week. While Bitcoin has a Superscore of 90 in our Cryptoball database, Coinbase has a Superscore of 70 in Moneyball.

4. After-Hours Earnings: Rigetti Reels, Hertz Hurts

Rigetti Computing (RGTI 9.31%) fell over 12% after the market closed, following a disappointing operating loss for Q1 and a steep gross margin fall, partly due to lower margin contract deals.

• Focusing on technological advancements: The management team highlighted innovation awards and new projects when looking ahead for the rest of the year, but it remains to be seen if these will help improve profitability.
• "The company intends to remain prudent in its fleet management, entering the summer with a relatively tight fleet": Hertz (HTZ 3.57%) missed revenue and earnings estimates for Q1, causing the stock to drop over 6% after the closing bell. The fall was primarily driven by reduced fleet capacity.

5. Key Tuesday Results: NU, ONON, SE

Rule Breakers recommendation Nu Holdings (NU 0.66%) will release earnings after the closing bell. Investors are watching for the extent of growth in the customer base, alongside the activity engagement rate.

• Beating the S&P 500 by 14% since June 2024 Stock Advisor rec: On Holding (ONON 3.97%) will be hoping to match the strong Q4 earnings beat when it reports pre-market open. It has been pushing the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels, so investors will be keen to see what portion of total revenue this makes up.
• Growth hinging on expansion in Asia and Brazil: Sea Limited (SE 2.02%) is expected to grow Q1 revenue by 30.8% from the prior-year period when it puts out financials before the market opens. This should be thanks to strong performances in e-commerce and digital financial services, the same as last quarter.

6. Foolish Fun

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