OPENING CALL

Stock futures were muted, and while U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 4% premarket--the excitement from Asia--where Chinese stocks mounted a fierce rally after Alibaba reported strong results from its AI strategy, did little to move the needle on AI stocks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index notched its biggest daily gain in nearly five months.

Friday brings investors readings from S&P Global on manufacturing and services sectors, due at 9:45 a.m. ET and data on home sales and consumer sentiment at 10 a.m.

Stocks to Watch

Akamai Technologies was down 9% after-hours after the company said it expects adjusted earnings to miss analyst expectations.

Celsius Holdings will pay $1.8 billion to buy rival Alani Nu. Shares surged.

Dropbox fell 10% after it said during its conference call that it expects paying users in 2025 to decline by roughly 1.5%.

Floor & Decor Holdings posted quarterly results that topped expectations, even as a weak housing market weighs on its category. Shares rose 11%.

Grid Dynamics Holdings reported topped analyst views for adjusted earnings and revenue. Shares climbed 21%.

Rivian Automotive stock was down 2.2% after the company said it expected it adjusted loss to miss consensus

Watch For:

Existing Home Sales for January; University of Michigan Final Consumer Survey for February; Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speech

Today's Headlines/Must Reads:

- Why Is Warren Buffett Hoarding So Much Cash?

- This Spending Fight Is Actually About the Constitution

- Trump's Energy Plans Are Creating Surprising Opportunities for Investors

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar rose marginally, but stayed near the lows reached in the previous session as the absence of fresh tariff announcements from Trump reduces safe-haven demand, Convera said.

The weakness also reflects the fact that expectations for an extended pause in Fed rate cuts is linked to rising inflation expectations rather than robust economic data.

With this week's data "confirming these trends," the dollar has failed to benefit from steady rates.

The currency needs either tariff enforcement or stronger data to recover materially, it added.

MUFG also said the dollar could bounce back strongly in 2Q if Trump follows through on threats for disruptive trade tariffs.

The various tariffs are planned to take effect in either March or April, it said, adding that "We still believe it is premature to drop our forecasts for a stronger U.S. dollar."

The latest eurozone purchasing managers' index data supported the case for a weaker euro, Monex Europe said.

The data comes ahead of German elections on Sunday and the prospect of U.S. tariffs, "both of which pose short-term downside risks."

Sterling rose to a two-month high against the dollar after the stronger-than-expected U.K. retail data.

However, Capital Economics said it was driven by more people eating at home, so the gains came at a loss for restaurants and the boost to overall gross domestic product.

Energy:

Crude futures edged lower, but were still poised for weekly gains of more than 1.5% on rising supply concerns and a weaker dollar.

Prices were supported by disruptions to Kazakhstan's oil flows after a Ukrainian drone attack on a major pipeline in Russia and prospects that OPEC+ could delay its output hike plans.

The market is also keeping a close eye on developments in U.S.-Russia talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the latest data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week, while gasoline inventories and distillate fuel stocks fell.

According to Saxo, "the market continues to lack a clear direction, with supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and the OPEC+ production increase delay being offset by global demand worries."

ANZ Research said OPEC+ was expected to delay the output hike planned for early April amid an uncertain economic and geopolitical outlook.

Metals:

Gold futures slid, but remained on-track for weekly gains on safe-haven demand.

The precious metal set a fresh record of $2,973.40 in the prior session, and a test of $3,000 is starting to look like a question of "when" rather than "if," Pepperstone said.

The $3,000 mark might give the bulls a point to reassess gold's momentum and perhaps take some profit, but upward momentum should continue with safe-haven demand continuing to linger, it added.

Gold chart

Comex gold futures were likely extending consolidation, based on the daily chart , RHB Retail Research said, adding that as long as the metal stayed above support at $2,800 it will retain a positive trading bias for the commodity.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Chicken, Egg Companies Spar Over Bird-Flu Vaccinations

The chicken and egg industries are at odds. The argument isn't over which came first but about bird-flu vaccinations.

Egg companies are calling for a stronger government response to the bird flu outbreak with the virus roiling farms and sending egg prices soaring. They are also petitioning regulators to greenlight a vaccine that could be administered on farms, a sharp reversal from their position a few years ago.

The Toughest Job in Fashion Is Top Designer for a Luxury Brand

The top design job at luxury brands is starting to look like the career of a star athlete: well paid but often brutally short. That isn't a very healthy sign for the industry.

Fashion designers have left or been pushed out of luxury companies in high numbers over the past year. This month, Gucci became the latest big label to say it is replacing its creative director. According to Bank of America, 13 brands have replaced their creative heads recently. The list includes Celine, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Valentino, Tom Ford and Fendi.

Nissan stock surges on report it's seeking Tesla deal. How the odd pairing could work.

Nissan Motor stock shot higher on Friday after a published report said the Japanese automaker was pursuing a deal to be bought by a Tesla-led consortium.

Nissan shares JP:7201 rose as much as 13% in Tokyo - settling 9% higher - as the Financial Times, citing three people with "direct knowledge," said a high-level Japanese group is drawing up plans for Elon Musk's Tesla TSLA to invest in the automaker. The group leading the plan includes a former Japanese prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, as well as Hiro Mizuno, a former Tesla board member, the FT reported.

The Latest Dilemma Facing Finance Chiefs: What to Tell Investors About Tariffs

A barrage of tariff orders and threats from the Trump administration has left finance chiefs grappling with making projections in their earnings guidance to investors about the potential impact of shifting trade policy.

Many companies at the start of the year or quarter provide investors with guidance on metrics such as sales and profit, based on scenarios that finance executives and their staff spend hours crafting. But many of those scenarios have been upended in recent weeks by U.S. tariff announcements, such as import taxes of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada that were set to take effect this month before being paused for 30 days.

Tech stocks seem to have ended their 'difficult relationship' with the bond market

U.S. large-cap technology and growth stocks appear to have finally broken off their "difficult relationship" with long-term Treasury yields, according to DataTrek Research.

"We consider that good news for investors since markets have returned to their normal condition and fundamentals are now back in the driver's seat," said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, in a note emailed Thursday. Large-cap growth and tech stocks in the U.S. have ended "an unhealthy relationship that went on way too long," he said, citing a stretch in which they were positively correlated with the price return of long-duration Treasury bonds.

Trump Is Planning to Take Control of the Postal Service, Officials Say

President Trump is making plans to disband the governing board that oversees the U.S. Postal Service and absorb the agency into his administration, throwing the future of the mail provider's quasigovernmental status into doubt.

Trump is preparing to issue an executive order, possibly this week, to fire the members of the Postal Service's governing board and put the agency under the direct control of the Commerce Department, according to two government officials. The plan was earlier reported by the Washington Post late Thursday.

Witkoff, Kushner Discuss Gaza Rebuild

MIAMI-Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, said he and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, are discussing bringing together real-estate executives to come up with a plan to rebuild Gaza.

"We talk about convening people together from all parts of the world, master planners and developers and architects, talking about ideas and so forth," said Witkoff onstage in conversation with Kushner at the FII Priority conference in Miami, a gathering of business executives sponsored by Saudi Arabia's sovereign-wealth fund.

Write to clare.kinloch@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

CI Financial 4Q

Emera 4Q

NexGen Energy 4Q

Secure Waste Infrastructure 4Q

Economic Indicators $(ET)$:

0830 Dec Retail trade

1245 Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speech

Stocks to Watch:

Aurora Cannabis Expands Medical Cannabis Pastille Offerings in Australia

Boardwalk REIT 4Q Rev C$155.6M

DATA Communications Mgmt Declares Initial Dividend of C$0.025; Special Cash Dividend of C$0.20 per Share

Dream Office REIT 4Q Loss C$19.1M; 4Q FFO C$0.72/Unit

Imperial Metals: Red Chris Met Its 2024 Production Guidance of 85M Pounds of Copper and 57,000 Ounces of Gold; Copper and Gold Production Expected to Be Higher in 2025 at Red Chris as the Mining Sequence Provides for Mining Higher Grade Ore During the Year

Lundin Gold Announces 50% Increase to Quarterly Dividend and Implementation of Normal Course Issuer Bid; 4Q Rev $341.8M; 4Q EPS 54C; Declares Dividend of 20C

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2025 06:09 ET (11:09 GMT)

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