Markets News, Sept. 18, 2023: Stocks Little Changed to Start Fed Week

S&P 500's Biggest Gains and Losses Today

Here are the S&P 500 stocks that gained and lost the most today:

Dow Jones Flat Ahead of IPOs, Fed Rate Call

Ahead of a slate of initial public offerings this week and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished flat, moving up only 6 points, or 0.02%.

Apple (AAPL) shares jumped 1.7% as reports suggested the rollout of its iPhone 15 will be delayed in some markets due to strong demand and manufacturing challenges.

Shares of Visa (V) rose 1.5%, regaining some of its losses from late last week when the stock fell after the company announced it was in talks to develop a share exchange for its Class B shares. 

Travelers Companies (TRV) rose 1.2% and Amgen (AMGN) moved higher by 0.9%. 

Chevron (CVX) gained 0.4% as oil hit a new 10-month high, nearing $95 per barrel. Oil prices have surged 40% since June.

American Express (AXP) was the worst-performing stock in the Dow 30, with its shares dropping 2.5% after Delta Air Lines (DAL) reduced American Express cardholders' access to its SkyClubs in a restructuring of its rewards plan. Delta shares fell 2.5%.

Boeing (BA) shares declined by 1.4% and Home Depot (HD) shares fell 1.3%.

Nike (NKE) shares fell 0.8%. The shoemaker’s stock has fallen in 9 of September’s 11 trading sessions so far. 

Microsoft (MSFT) dropped 0.4% as the software giant said its product chief, Panos Panay, is leaving the company. He is reported to be joining Amazon (AMZN) to oversee devices there. Amazon shares declined 0.3%.

-Terry Lane

Shares of COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Fall After Pfizer CFO Warns of Outlook 'Haircut'

Moderna (MRNA) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 as shares dropped 9% after Pfizer CFO David Denton said the outlook for vaccine rates this year got a significant "haircut." Pfizer (PFE) shares also dropped, declining 1%.

Denton told a J.P. Morgan healthcare conference that Pfizer expects a 24% vaccination rate in the U.S. this year, which equates to about 82 million injections. Moderna has estimated a range of 50 million to 100 million.

Last week, Moderna and Pfizer, along with Pfizer’s partner BioNTech (BNTX), received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for a new vaccine that targets currently circulating variants of the virus.

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of BioNTech also fell 3.8% following the news.

-Bill McColl

Joby Aviation to Build New Air Taxi Manufacturing Facility

Air taxi company Joby Aviation (JOBY) said Monday it's building a new manufacturing facility in Dayton, OH, that will be capable of delivering up to 500 aircraft per year and generate about 2,000 jobs.

The new facility will be built at Dayton International Airport and cover 140 acres. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed by 2025.

Joby Aviation is a California-based aviation company that manufactures electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to use as an air taxi service. Starting in 2025, Joby plans to operate the aircraft as part of aerial ridesharing networks in cities worldwide, building on its existing partnerships with Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Uber (UBER).

Joby shares were trading 5% higher at 3:00 p.m. ET Monday, and have more than doubled so far this year. However, they're worth about a third less than their IPO closing price of roughly $11 a share in August 2021.

-Mack Wilowski

Incyte Falls on GSK Bone Cancer Drug Approval

Shares of drugmaker Incyte Corp. (INCY) fell more than 4% Monday after GSK Plc (GSK)—formerly GlaxoSmithKline—gained Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its drug Ojjaara as a treatment for myelofibrosis patients with anemia. 

Incyte makes Jakafi, a top-selling treatment for myelofibrosis, a rare kind of bone marrow cancer.

SEC Charges Lyft Over Board Member's Pre-IPO Share Sale

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. (LYFT) for failing to disclose the involvement of one of its board members in a share sale prior to the company's initial public offering (IPO).

The SEC fined Lyft $10 million for failing to disclose the role of one of its board members in the sale of around $424 million worth of private shares, prior to the firm's 2019 IPO.

According to the complaint, the director arranged for an investor's sale of shares to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with which the director was affiliated. The director, who left the board at the time of the transaction, received millions of dollars in compensation for "structuring and negotiating the deal," according to the SEC's complaint.

Lyft shares were down more than 3% in midday trading on Monday to around $10.90 after achieving a $72 share price in its IPO.

-Kevin George

Clorox Warns Current Quarter Results Will Be Affected by Cyber Attack

Clorox Co. (CLX) warned it is still dealing with the fallout from a recent cyberattack, saying the hack will have a significant effect on its current quarter results.

The attack, first discovered Aug. 14, damaged portions of the company's information technology (IT) systems, which caused “widescale disruption of Clorox’s operations," it said in a filing Monday.

In response, the company took some systems offline and began manual ordering and processing procedures. Clorox continues operating at a lower rate of order processing and has recently started to experience higher consumer product availability issues, the company said.?

Shares of Clorox?were down slightly Monday afternoon but remain up for 2023.

-Bill McColl

Midday Market Movers

Joby Aviation Inc. (JOBY): Shares of the maker of electric air taxis gained 6% after saying it will build a manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio. Toby said it will spend up to $500 million on the plant, creating as many as 2,000 jobs.

Oil tankers: Tanker stocks were up across the board as oil prices continued to climb, with Brent crude trading at over $95 a barrel. Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) rose more than 6% and Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK) gained 3%.

Apple Inc. (AAPL): Shares of the iPhone maker rose more than 2% after falling nearly 8% from their recent highs on reports of a limited iPhone ban in China and a lackluster response to last week’s iPhone 15 reveal.

Moderna Inc. (MRNA): The vaccine maker’s shares fell more than 7% after competitor Pfizer’s (PFE) CFO, David Denton, said at a conference on Monday that the company expects just 24% of eligible Americans to receive a Covid-19 vaccine this year.

Paramount Global (PARA): Shares of the entertainment company fell 3% after analysts at Raymond James initiated coverage with a market-perform rating while giving competitors Disney (DIS) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) outperform ratings. 

Oil Prices Hit a New 10-Month High

Crude oil prices are trading at their highest since early November, which could translate to higher gas prices for consumers and a potential rebound in inflation.

The price of Brent crude—the international benchmark for crude oil—edged closer to $95 per barrel on Monday, hitting a new 10-month high. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude—the U.S. benchmark—traded marginally lower at $92 per barrel.

Rising crude prices could directly impact consumers through higher prices at the gas pump, which could further pressure cash-strapped households. The nationwide average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas was $3.88 on Monday, 20 cents higher than at the same time last year.

-Mack Wilowski

Alibaba Expands International Business With $2 Billion Investment in Turkey's Trendyol

Alibaba (BABA) reportedly plans to boost its business outside of China with a $2 billion investment in Turkey's Trendyol, the Chinese tech giant announced Monday after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Alibaba also suggested it plans to set up a data center and a logistics center in Turkey's capital of Ankara, as well as an export operations center at Istanbul airport.

Alibaba has already invested $1.4 billion in Trendyol and holds an 86.5% stake in the e-commerce platform, which hosts more than 250,000 merchants who sell around 200 million products.

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Alibaba were down about 0.2% as of 11 a.m. ET on Monday and are down about 6% for the year so far.

-Fatima Attarwala

Instacart Set to IPO This Week

Instacart, the grocery delivery platform that boomed in popularity amid Covid-19 lockdowns, will set its IPO price as it tries to ride the high of Arm’s big IPO last week.?

The company last week raised its target price range by $2 to between $28 and $30 a share, valuing it at as much as $10 billion. That move came after shares of chip designer Arm Holdings Plc (ARM) rose about 25% above their IPO price on their first day of trading. Arm raised nearly $5 billion last week in what is likely to be the largest U.S. IPO of the year. 

Instacart is looking to raise as much as $660 million when it begins trading on the Nasdaq tomorrow. Like Arm, it has lined up anchor investors to boost confidence in the listing. PepsiCo. Inc. (PEP), for example, has agreed to buy $175 million of preferred shares in a private placement.

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gainers:

• Micron Technology Inc. (MU): The chipmaker’s shares gained nearly 2% after it was upgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank, who see Micron benefiting from an end to the microchip downcycle. 
• GSK Plc (GSK): Shares of the British drug maker gained more than 1% after the FDA approved its drug Ojjaara for use as a treatment for a rare type of bone marrow cancer. 
• DoorDash Inc. (DASH): Shares of the food delivery platform gained more than 1% after it was upgraded by Mizuho analysts, who see moderating food inflation and resilient consumer spending boosting key metrics throughout the year.

Losers:?

• Arm Holdings Plc (ARM): Shares of the semiconductor designer lost more than 3% after gaining nearly 20% in its first two days of trading last week. 
• Stellantis NV (STLA): The car maker’s shares lost about 2% after the United Auto Workers (UAW) rejected its offer of a 21% pay raise.
• Paypal Holdings Inc. (PYPL): Shares of the payments company fell 1% after MoffettNathanson downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform and lowered its price target. Analysts wrote that while they “are excited for the fresh start at PayPal under new CEO Alex Chris,” they see profit growth remaining lackluster.

5 Things to Know Before Markets Open

Here's what investors need to know to start their day:

1. Shares of the “Big Three” Detroit car makers were mixed as negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) resumed over the weekend amid a limited strike against the companies.
2. Chevron (CVX) shares moved up 0.2% in pre-market trading after it was able to resume full production at one of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in Australia, despite a strike from union workers.
3. Shares of Clorox (CLX) shares fell 2.2% in pre-market trading after it said a cybersecurity attack on the company would have a “material” impact on its fiscal first-quarter results.
4. Shares of British chip designer Arm (ARM) traded 1.4% lower in pre-market trading after it gave up some of its gains from its blockbuster initial public offering last week.
5. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index is expected to decline to a reading of 49.5 in September from 50 in August when it is released at 10 a.m. ET.

-Terry Lane

Futures Slip As Bond Yields, Oil Rise

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1% in premarket trading Monday.

S&P 500 futures contracts lost 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%.