Weekly News Summary For April 26 to May 2, 2019

Friday, April 26: Intel Stock Down 8% on Gloomy Guidance for Q2

Shares of Intel declined by 8% in pre-market trade on Friday after the US chipmaker’s latest guidance signaled a weak outlook that left the semiconductor sector in a bearish state during extended hours trading.

Taking a more cautious stance for the second half of the year, Intel stated that it expects EPS earnings at $0.89 on revenue of $15.6 billion in the second quarter, ending below forecasts of $1.02 per share on revenue of $16.88 billion.

Monday, April 29: S&P 500 Registers New Highs, Continues 2019 Rally

The S&P 500 rose to an intraday record high on Monday, reinforcing the possibility that the decade-long bull market has much further to run after US consumer spending grew to its highest in more than 9-1/2 years in March and key inflation gauge stayed well below the Federal Reserve’s target.

The S&P beat its intraday record of $2,940.91 reached on Sept. 21, hitting a session high of $2,949.52, while tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index registered another record close on Monday as well.

Tuesday, April 30: Alphabet Q1 Revenue Weakens, Stock Drops Nearly 8%

Alphabet’s stock almost took an 8% loss in pre-market trade on Tuesday after the internet giant reported its slowest revenue growth in three years.

Weighed by stronger competition and challenges at Youtube, Google’s parent-company generated revenue growth of 17% to end up with $36.3 billion in the first quarter which is below analysts’ estimate of $37.3 billion and the 26% annual gain registered in the first three months of 2018.

Wednesday, May 1: Oil Prices Drop on Venezuelan Uprising Attempt

Oil prices shed more than a dollar from the high registered the previous day as Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called for the support of the country’s military to dismiss President Nicolas Maduro.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures last stood at $63.54 per barrel, slightly recovering from a low of $63.09 a barrel hit on Tuesday overnight.

Thursday, May 2: US Dollar Rebounds on Powell’s Comments

The US dollar rebounded from lows posted overnight after Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated on Thursday that the factors keeping inflation from speeding up might be transitory and he saw no reason for a rate adjustment in either direction.

The dollar index last stood at $97.37 against a basket of its peers after hitting a low of $97.14 on Wednesday, while the 10-year Treasury yields were up by 7 basis points from overnight lows.