Tesla Q3 deliveries, private payrolls data: Morning Brief
On today's episode of Morning Brief, Hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith analyze the market open and report on some of the biggest stories impacting markets. All three of the major indexes (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) opened slightly lower on Wednesday, while oil prices (CL=F, BZ=F) continued to rise and bitcoin (BTC-USD) experienced a sharp decline. Traders flocked to more defensive areas of the market in Tuesday's trading session after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel. Israel has vowed to respond to the attack, raising concerns about tensions in the Middle East escalating even further. Raymond James Washington policy analyst and managing director Ed Mills observes that markets have been "shockingly resilient" despite global unrest. "There are a lot of unknowns ahead and Israel will absolutely respond. They cannot let hundreds of missiles going towards their country be met without a response," Mills states. However, he notes that the nature of Israel's response remains "uncertain." US private payroll numbers beat Wall Street expectations in September, according to the latest ADP report. The data shows that 143,000 jobs were added in the private sector last month, surpassing the projected 125,000 jobs — a significant increase from August's reported 99,000 jobs. Tesla (TSLA) shares are under pressure after the company reported that it delivered 462,890 vehicles during the third quarter. This figure came in slightly below Wall Street's expectation of 463,897 deliveries. William Blair group head of energy and sustainability research sector, Jed Dorsheimer, notes that the growing optimism in delivery estimates on Wall Street was closely tied to Tesla's rising stock price. Consequently, he says, "it's not surprising to see a pullback" now that the numbers have missed expectations. Despite this setback, Dorsheimer points out that this quarter demonstrates Tesla's stabilization ahead of "some key catalysts" for the business, including the upcoming robotaxi event and the Shanghai energy business. Nike (NKE) is looking for a fresh start under its incoming CEO, Elliott Hill. The footwear giant reported mixed fiscal first quarter results, withdrew its full-year sales guidance, and postponed its investor day that was originally scheduled for November. Hill will step into the role on October 14, where he will embark on a turnaround mission for the company. Baird Senior Research Analyst Jonathan Komp argues that under Hill, Nike will likely be able to improve its performance, saying, "Generally, we expect stocks in the sector to bottom when earnings start getting less bad. We think we've seen the worst here for Nike, but it is going to take patience." As the Federal Reserve's rate easing cycle is underway, Megan Horneman, Verdence Capital Advisors CIO, believes that investors are putting too much faith in a soft landing. She tells Yahoo Finance, "People are just getting a little ahead of themselves as far as what strength there is in the economy." While the labor market remains "relatively strong," she has concerns about the consumer, noting that credit card debt is over $1 trillion. She adds, "We know that inflation is coming down towards the Fed's target, but we can't forget that this has been accumulating for several years now. So this is really a strain on consumers... I just don't see the strength in the consumer that's going to be able to last much longer." This post was written by Melanie Riehl
