Live Markets: PLTR Earnings, MSTR and TSLA Tumble

Investing

Stock Market Today Generic (Positive or Negative)

Published: February 3, 2025 10:49 am

Last Updated: February 3, 2025 1:07 pm

Live Updates

Stocks Trim Losses Amid Tariff Pause

1:06 pm

If there was any doubt that today’s market sell-off was all about the tariffs, they’ve been erased after stocks came off their lows when the Trump administration found middle ground with Mexico. The three major stock market indices – Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 – remain lower but off their worst levels of the day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is seeing the heaviest of selling with a 1.2% decline. Here’s a breakdown of today’s market movers.

Metaverse Stays Afloat, Railroads Fall

Sectors of the economy are mixed, as healthcare, energy and consumer staples find their way into the green while financials and technology stocks remain under pressure. Seaport Securities’ Ted Weisberg told the Schwab Network that he’s looking for buying opportunities in the market sell-off. He pointed to railroad stock Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP), which fell about 7% at its worst levels of the day. He said it’s a stock he’s been buying and presents an interesting opportunity currently, though he’s waiting to see how things play out.

Big Tech play Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) is the rare exception to the sell-off, managing a 1%-plus gain on the day amid a leaked memo by CTO Andrew Bosworth saying the metaverse’s fate will be determined in 2025. Meta stock has captured the spotlight in 2025, clinching an 11-day winning streak on a recent earnings beat and aggressive spending in AI.

Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) is a victim of the trade wars, falling 2.4% because of its reliance on alcohol imports from Mexico.

Auto stocks, including General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) are down over 2% each given their vulnerable position in the North American trade tensions, which stand to disrupt the critical supply chain.

Today’s market activity can be summed up in a word: fear. After beginning their decent late in the day on Friday, stocks have extended their losses since President Trump followed through with his threat to impose costly tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Also, as the earnings parade rolls on, AI stock Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) is getting punished in the info-tech sell-off, sending the stock spiraling by nearly 4% before it even reports after the closing bell.

Nevertheless, all sectors are seeing red, from healthcare to financials to consumer staples to tech. While Bitcoin is designed to be a hedge against these forces, it too got caught in the sell-off, sinking to the $95,000 level and taking BTC-loaded stock MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) down with it for a 4% drop. No stock is immune, including last week’s winner Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), which is down a whopping 6% on the day.

Here’s a look at the damage as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: down 109.02 (-0.23%)
Nasdaq Composite: down 188.06 (-0.97%
S&P 500: down 36.40 (-0.61%)

Manic Monday

Here are some of today’s biggest storylines:

Skittish investors are fleeing tech stocks, including Palantir Technologies leading up to the company’s quarterly earnings report. Palantir’s sky-high valuation is being tested despite the fact that it is expected to report a strong quarter, per Wall Street analysts. Palantir’s market cap has ballooned by $150 billion over the past year, owing to the mania around AI stocks.

The company is profitable and is forecasting quarterly revenue in the ballpark of $767 million. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives recently lifted his price target on the stock to $90 per share with an “outperform” rating. He predicts 2025 revenue of $3.4 billion. PLTR shares have nearly quadrupled over the past year.

MicroStrategy, which holds over 471,100 Bitcoins worth roughly $44.7 billion on its balance sheet, is getting vulnerable to the whims of the crypto market. As a result, the stock is getting hammered today but is off its worst levels of the session. After buying more BTC for 12 straight weeks during Bitcoin’s latest bull run that took it past $100,000 per coin, MicroStrategy has paused its buying spree for now. Despite the short-term pressure, MicroStrategy stock has skyrocketed over 2,200% since year-end 2022.

Magnificent 7 Stock Falters

Tesla, one of the Magnificent 7’s pride and joy, is taking it on the chin today, falling below the $385 per share level. As President Trump’s close confidant, Elon Musk and his companies are taking some of the brunt of the tariff blame.

Wall Street is keeping their cool on the stock, with RBC Capital maintaining a “buy” rating on TSLA shares while Jefferies keeps its “hold” rating. Bank of America analysts recently downgraded Tesla stock to a “neutral” rating but raised the price target by nearly $100, reportedly saying that much of the good news is reflected in the stock already but $490 is “fair value.”

Key Points

President Trump followed through with his tariff threat, sending the stock market reeling.
Palantir Technologies is selling off on a lofty valuation before earnings are even printed.
Tesla is taking the brunt of the selling as CEO Elon Musk is associated with the Trump administration’s decisions.
Bitcoin is not doing its job as a hedge against geopolitical tensions, sending MicroStrategy stock reeling.

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