Top Midday Stories: US Treasury Yields Rise Amid Deficit Concerns; Target Cuts Sales Outlook

MT Newswires Live
21 May

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index were down, while the Nasdaq Composite was up in late-morning trading Wednesday, as long-dated US Treasury yields eclipsed notable thresholds.

The yields on 30-year and 10-year US Treasury bonds rose past 5.0% and 4.5%, respectfully, as of 11:09 a.m. ET, levels last seen in the immediate wake of President Donald Trump's tariff announcement in early April. The latest movements follow Moody's recent downgrade of US credit to Aa1 from Aaa due to deficit and debt concerns.

In company news, Target (TGT) reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.30 per diluted share, down from $2.03 a year earlier and below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $1.61. Fiscal Q1 sales were $23.85 billion, down from $24.53 billion a year ago and below the FactSet consensus of $24.23 billion. For 2025, the company said it now expects adjusted EPS in a range of $7.00 to $9.00 on a low-single digit decline in sales, down from $8.80 to $9.80 on net sales growth of around 1%. Target shares were down 3.9% around midday.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) allegedly paid thousands of dollars in bonuses to nursing homes where it installed its own medical teams and pressured them to help cut care expenses for residents, The Guardian reported Wednesday. UnitedHealth shares were down 4.0%.

Nvidia (NVDA) Chief Executive Jensen Huang said Wednesday that US export restrictions on artificial intelligence chips to China have been a "failure," according to media reports. Huang said the controls have prompted Chinese companies to begin buying from domestic chipmakers, including Huawei, the reports said. Nvidia shares were up 1.1%.

Medtronic (MDT) said Wednesday it plans to separate its diabetes business into a standalone, publicly traded company. The diabetes business, which represents 8% of its revenue, will operate independently within 18 months via a series of capital markets transactions, with an initial public offering and subsequent split-off being the preferred path, the company said. Medtronic shares were down 1.2%.

Wolfspeed (WOLF) is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks after rejecting creditor-led proposals to restructure its debt, which totals $6.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Wolfspeed shares were down 67.4%.

Lowe's (LOW) reported fiscal Q1 earnings Wednesday of $2.92 per diluted share, down from $3.06 a year earlier but above the FactSet consensus of $2.87. Fiscal Q1 net sales were $20.93 billion, down from $21.36 billion a year ago and below the FactSet consensus estimate of $20.94 billion. The company maintained its fiscal 2025 EPS guidance of $12.15 to $12.40 on sales of $83.5 billion to $84.5 billion. Analysts are looking for $12.22 and $84.28, respectively. Lowe's shares were down 1.3%.

Price: 94.07, Change: -4.05, Percent Change: -4.13

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