BIG Miss on a Quiet Friday

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• 🕺Mixed bag on markets all around the world

• 🐻 The debt ceiling is the gift that keeps on giving!

• 💰 $BIG misses on their earnings

📉 Market Blues - Our US equity futures are yawning a bit this morning. S&P looks a tad sleepy, down 5 points, and the Dow is dozing off, down 44 points. The Nasdaq's a bit more perky, up by 5.5 points. 📉📈

💶 Over in Europe, it's a mixed bag - mostly flat, but up a smidge, with resources, tech, and fancy schmancy luxury brands on the rise. But staples, banks, insurance, real estate, and telecoms - yeah, not so much.

As for our buddies in the semiconductor world, they're still throwing a party thanks to Nvidia's monster report a couple of days ago. And the fancy folks in luxury are making a comeback after a bit of a slump. One standout is Rio Tinto, enjoying a 3% boost after getting some love from Morgan Stanley. 💸

In Asia, we're seeing some gains - Japan's Nikkei up a bit, Shanghai Composite up a smidgen, Taiwan's TAIEX looking pretty spry, and India bouncing up nearly a percent.

💵 Back home, the Treasury bonds are seeing a tiny bit of love after the recent drop, with yields inching down a bit. As for the Dollar, it's taking a breather after a strong showing earlier in the week.

In the land of commodities, we've got oil pretty much staying put after yesterday's dip, while Bitcoin's chilling at $26.46K and gold's on a tiny upswing. 💰

🐝 Friday Buzz - It seems like we're close to sorting out the debt ceiling issue, but let's be real - this was never a big stressor for stocks. In terms of earnings, Costco's latest report points to a 'back to normal' trend, Ulta's seeing some cracks in the beauty biz, and Marvell's as giddy as a schoolgirl about AI.

Looking ahead, we're keeping an eye on personal spending data, which might show inflation is still a thing, and - you guessed it - that debt ceiling situation.

🏛️ Stocks Sentiment - In terms of stocks, we still reckon that strong earnings, no more Fed rate hikes, and a lot of negativity might just push the S&P500 over the 4200 mark. But for now, we think it'll keep floating just below that. And as for the debt ceiling? Well, we're pretty sure we'll see a deal before the deadline. And when it hits, stocks might do a little happy dance, but don't expect a full-on rave. 🎊🎉

🚗 $ABG (Asbury Auto), your friendly neighborhood car salesman, just announced a $250MM buyback, equivalent to around 5.7% of their market value. So far in 2023, they've already nabbed about 1.1 million shares for $211 million. Think of it like a shopping spree but instead of clothes, they're splurging on their own stock.

💸 $BIG (Big Lots), the discount retailer, took a big tumble with their EPS report, dropping a loss of $3.40 compared to the anticipated loss of $1.74. That's like ordering a side of fries and getting a mountain of potatoes instead. In addition, they've experienced a decrease in same-store sales of 18.2%, more than the predicted 13.86% drop.

👖 $BKE (Buckle), purveyor of all things denim, had a decent first quarter, with an EPS of 86 cents outperforming the expected 76 cents. Their revenue was a tad undercooked though, with $282.8MM against an expected $285MM. It's like baking a cake but falling a few sprinkles short of the perfect finish.

🏀 $HIBB (Hibbett), the sportswear specialist, took a shot and missed in Q1, with EPS and comparable sales of 2.74/+4.1% against the expected 3.09/+6.7%. They also slashed their guidance for the year like a basketball player gone rogue.

💼 $BAH (Booz Allen), the management consulting giant, flexed its financial muscle, showing an upside in EPS (1.01 vs. the Street's 94c) and revenue ($2.433B vs. the Street's $2.38B) for the fourth quarter. They're like that kid who consistently overdelivers on their homework assignment.

💱 $LAZ (Lazard), the heavyweight of financial advisory, is playing musical chairs at the top. Peter R. Orszag, current CEO of Financial Advisory, is stepping up to be CEO of the whole company. It's like the quarterback getting promoted to coach. Kenneth M. Jacobs, the current CEO, will be the Executive Chairman, so he'll still be cheering from the sidelines.

🌯 Wrap for earnings. Have a fantastic day! 🌯

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