Stock Market Live May 28: S&P 500 (VOO) Set to Open Higher
Key Points
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The stock market remains optimistic this morning after President Trump postponed new tariffs on EU imports.
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Retailers Macy’s and Abercrombie & Fitch reported positive earnings surprises this morning, but weak guidance.
Live Updates
What Went Up (Yesterday) Came Back Down (Today)
After surging 2% in Tuesday trading, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed at 540.20 Wednesday, down 0.6%.
Nvidia on Deck
With under three hours remaining until market close, investor eyes are turning to Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction), which will report Q1 earnings after close of trading. Analysts are looking for the S&P 500 component company to report $0.75 per share in earnings on $43.25 billion in revenue.
The Voo is currently down 0.1%.
Little Analyst Love for AES Stock
Utility company and S&P 500 component AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is down 3.9% as another analyst weighs in on the stock. Seaport Research has raised its price target 67% to $5 a share, which sounds like good news.
The bad news? AES stock actually costs closer to $10, so a $5 price target is still pretty pessimistic. Accordingly, Seaport is maintaining its sell rating on AES stock.
Autozone is in the Zone
Guggenheim this morning raised its price target on S&P 500 component company AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to $4,100, seeing sequential improvement in both domestic retail and domestic commercial same store sales.
“The return of more favorable ticket-related dynamics should help to amplify the company’s out-year secular growth potential,” said the analyst.
Significant VOO holdings with Wall Street recommendations
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Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) – Coverage initiated by Redburn Atlantic with a $301 “Buy: rating. Will see movement with NVIDIA earnings today.
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Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) –Redburn Atlantic also initiated coverage with a $112 outperform rating.
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Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) – Neutral rating from Redburn with a $67 price target.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
Never underestimate the power of low expectations.
President Trump spooked investors last week when he threatened to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union — then elated investors on Tuesday when he postponed imposition of the tariff.
Confusing things further, the President told investors Friday that he was “not looking for a deal” with the recalcitrant EU, only to turn around Tuesday and say, no, in fact, he actually is planning to “quickly establish meeting dates” to discuss lowering tariff barriers and “open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America.”
The stock market roared ahead, with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) gaining 2%.
Today, the market looks to extend those gains as the Voo trades about 0.1% higher pre-market. It remains to be seen what new rabbits the President might pull out of his hat today. Meanwhile, investor focus may be switching to earnings…
Earnings
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) leads off earnings reports today, announcing it has beaten expectations with $1.59 per share earned in Q1, $0.20 better than expected. The stock is up more than 28% pre-market.
Macy’s (NYSE: M) reported a smaller earnings beat, $0.16 per share in Q1, where analysts expected only $0.15. Macy’s stock is up almost 2%.
The bad news: Both companies cut guidance after reporting their beats. Abercrombie says Q2 earnings will fall below consensus and range between $2.10 per share and $2.30. Full year earnings will probably also miss the mark, ranging from $9.50 to $10.50. Macy’s warned that Q2 earnings could be as little as half the $0.33 Wall Street is expecting. For the full year, the company set a range from $1.60 to $2, well short of analyst forecasts.
Neither company is an S&P 500 component. That doesn’t mean their weak guidance won’t end up weighing on the index today.
Analyst Calls
In analyst action this morning, Baird just upgraded credit rater and S&P 500 component Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FICO) to outperform with a $1,900 price target. Despite regulatory concerns, Baird declared: “We consider FICO Scores the best financial model we’ve seen,” and probably a product the market cannot do without.
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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