Stock Market Live May 15: Trump Talk Forces Oil Prices Lower, and the S&P 500 (VOO), Too
Key Points
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President Trump is in Qatar discussing trade talks with India and a possible nuclear deal with Iran today.
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Oil prices are down across the board on worries Iran’s oilfields may soon regain access to global markets.
Live Updates
A Fourth Day in the Green
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed Thursday at 542.70, up 0.5%, its fourth straight day of gains.
Time to Stop Selling Foot Locker
As you’ve probably heard by now, Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS | DKS Price Prediction) is buying Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) for $2.4 billion. It was a surprise move that caught JPMorgan flat-footed.
Foot Locker stock is up 85% today on Dick’s bid (Dick’s itself is down 14%), saddling JPMorgan with a big loss on its recommendation. But when you’re in a hole, the first thing to do is quit digging. Late this morning, that’s what JPMorgan did, removing its underweight recommendation on Foot Locker, and upgrading the stock to neutral.
In happier news, the S&P is now in positive territory for the day, and the Voo is up 0.3%.
Powell Drapes a Wet Blanket Over the Market
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF wasn’t looking so great to begin with this morning, and now Jerome Powell is draping a wet blanket over things, depressing spirits even further. “We may be entering a period of more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks,” warns the Federal Reserve Chairman. “Inflation could be more volatile going forward” as a result, and this limits the Fed’s ability to lower interest rates.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is still down 0.3%.
Mixed Earnings from China
A bit more stock earnings news coming in now, this time from China. Online gamer NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) reports $2.41 per share, well ahead of estimates, fueled by “solid momentum” in gaming. Online retailer Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) says it also had “a strong quarter,” but its earnings fell short of estimates at $1.73 per share.
NetEase stock is up more than 10% at the open, and Alibaba is down nearly 7%. As expected, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF opened lower as well, down 0.2%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
President Trump continues his Mideast tour. Still in Qatar at last report, he’s quoted in The Wall Street Journal today affirming that Iran “has sort of agreed to the terms” of a proposed deal that would see the Islamic nation forego nuclear weapons, presumably in exchange for our removing sanctions on its oil.
Global oil prices are tumbling in response to the news (and the prospect of Iranian oil pouring back onto world markets). Brent crude prices are down 2.8% pre-market, barely above $64 a barrel. US benchmark WTI crude is down 2.9%, a little over $61. In other trade news, the President says he’s in talks with India, “one of the highest-tariff nations in the world,” to have that nation charge the U.S. literally … no tariffs.”
And yet, how are markets taking this good news? Not well, actually. Pre-market, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is set to open as much as 0.3% lower that it closed last night.
Earnings
Earnings season is starting to slow down a bit, with only a few dozen companies reporting this morning. Still, we have a couple big S&P 500 names to cover. Index component Walmart (NYSE: WMT) beat earnings today with $0.61 per share in profit and strong growth in its health & wellness and grocery businesses.
Fellow S&P 500 component Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) beat with $6.64 per share reported — a full $1 more than analysts expected! Deere did warn, however, that its sales will be down anywhere from 10% to 20% against 2024 levels this year.
Analyst Calls
Speaking of S&P 500 components, Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) won an upgrade to overweight from Wells Fargo after reporting an earnings beat this morning.
Wolfe Research upgraded Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) to outperform. Wolfe sees the social media site showing “above market growth” and says the stock has a “reasonable valuation” given the growth rate.
UBS downgraded Alcoa (NYSE: AA) to neutral with a $31 price target.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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