Francesca Fontana
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
Now let's check back in on Tesla, the EV maker led by Elon Musk. I know, I know, we keep talking about this stock, but hey, there's just no shortage of moves lately. Long story short, a swirl of consumer backlash, investor scrutiny, and vandalism continues to surround Tesla. And as we've seen, all of this has taken a sizable toll on the stock so far this year.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
So this week, on Tuesday, analysts warn of lower overseas demand and said consumer backlash as the brand becomes, quote, increasingly politicized. I mean, it was just last week, right? We saw President Trump posing with Teslas on the White House lawn. And as chief executive Elon Musk has become a powerful senior advisor to Trump, we've also seen Tesla's vehicles becoming targets of vandalism.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
That same day, Tuesday, several vehicles were set on fire outside a Tesla service center in Las Vegas. And the stock ended up losing 5.3 percent that day. Then on Wednesday, Tesla recalled most Cybertrucks. This is its eighth recall issued on the truck due to a flaw that can cause an exterior panel to fall off. But there was also good news for the stock.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
Cantor Fitzgerald raised its rating on Tesla, saying the recent sell-off created an attractive entry point. And later that day, in an unusual move that certainly raised some eyebrows and some concerns re-federal ethics rules, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox viewers to buy Tesla stock, saying, quote, And just yesterday, Musk told Tesla workers not to sell their shares.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
But even with things relatively quiet on the tariff front, traders certainly had their fair share of news to digest. There was Tuesday's tech sell-off, turmoil in the Middle East and developments around the war in Ukraine. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, with most officials at the central bank still penciling in two rate cuts for the year.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
So how did the stock do this week? Well, Tesla shares lost 5.3% on Tuesday, then they rebounded 4.7% Wednesday. On a weekly basis, though, the stock ended up extending its eight-week losing streak, well, nine-week losing streak now, with a loss of 0.5%. Last but not least, consumer spending and economic concerns were front and center in earnings this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
For instance, General Mills, the food maker known for Lucky Charms, Yoplait, etc., reported lower than expected fiscal third quarter sales and cut its outlook for the year. It said that in the latest quarter, North American retailers reduced inventory and consumers spent less on snacks. And we saw General Mills shares fall roughly 2% on Wednesday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
Although the stock did end up notching a weekly gain of about 0.6%. We saw similar concerns coming from Nike later in the week. The sportswear company late Thursday posted lower third quarter profit and revenue. And Nike said its sales in the current fourth quarter are expected to drop at a rate in the mid-teens. And Nike shares ended up losing 5.5% on Friday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi with supervising producer Michael Kosmides. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, March 22nd. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal. And this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Well, it looks like we made it through the week without any big trade drama coming from the White House compared to recent weeks.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
and plenty of earnings reports along the way. All in all, the major indexes match to notch gains for the week, with the S&P 500 rising half a percent, the Dow gaining 1.2 percent, and the Nasdaq ending about 0.2 percent higher. First up, let's talk about Affirm and Klarna, two of the fintech players in the buy now, pay later space. You've probably seen those options in your online shopping cart.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
They do what it says on the tin. You buy now and then you pay later in installments. Well, since 2019, Walmart, the U.S. retail giant, had partnered with Affirm to offer its customers those installment plans. But on Monday, we learned that Walmart is rolling back its relationship with Affirm and replacing it with Swedish rival Klarna.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Walmart Affirms Klarna, Tesla Politics, Consumer Angst
Now, Klarna has recently filed for an IPO listing on the New York Stock Exchange. So be on the watch for that. But Affirm began trading on the Nasdaq back in 2021. So let's see, how did the stock react to this news? Affirm shares fell 4.2% on Monday and extended their declines Tuesday, losing about 9%. But the stock gained background in the following days and ended the week just 0.4% lower.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
First, let's talk Intel. Two of its chip-making rivals are eyeing deals that would break the storied company in two. The Wall Street Journal reported last weekend that Broadcom has been looking at Intel's chip design and marketing business, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has its eye on controlling some or all of Intel's chip plants.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
And that's according to people familiar with the matter. Now, Broadcom and TSMC aren't working together, and the talks are preliminary and largely informal. But the end result could be a breakup of Intel. And if you're asking, how did Intel go from global leader, totally dominating the chip business for decades, to an acquisition target?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Well, its recent struggles include manufacturing setbacks, a costly turnaround strategy, and AI missteps. And you might remember that this isn't the first time Intel was sought after. Last September, the Journal reported that Qualcomm had made a takeover approach to the company.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
And investors were clearly excited about the dual deal possibilities this week, because Intel shares surged 16% on Tuesday. And while the stock came back down to earth later in the week, it still notched a weekly gain of 5.3%. Now let's circle back to Walmart. Retail giant, leading American grocer, used to be big on smiley faces, remember that old logo?
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Well, Walmart investors weren't smiling at the company's latest quarterly report. Deal-seeking shoppers boosted shares last year, but this year it might be a different story. Wal-Mart postete einen starken Profit und Revenue für die Weihnachtszeit, aber es gab weniger als erwartetes Wachstum für die kommende Jahrhunderte.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Dies schlug die Investoren ab und hatte Ripple-Effekte auf dem Markt am Montag, weil es einige Glauben auf die Stärke des US-Konsumenten gab. Wal-Mart-Ausgaben fielen am Montag um 6,5 Prozent und verringerten am Freitag weiter, endet mit einem wöchentlichen Verlust von 8,9 Prozent. Let's talk about love. You know, Valentine's Day is over, it's done.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
And so maybe it's fitting that one of the biggest losers of the week was dating app company Bumble. Now Bumble's been trying to turn itself around, but late Tuesday the company forecast lower than expected earnings in the first quarter, disappointing investors. And it's not the only online dating stock that hasn't been so lucky in love lately.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Earlier this month, Rival Match, which owns Tinder, Hinge and Okie Cupid, replaced its top executive, posted a drop in fourth quarter earnings and forecast sales below expectations. Now Bumble said it's got a plan to attract more users and improve its monetization strategy and it's going to wind down two of its dating apps.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Fruits, with a Z, you know how cool stuff gets spelled, and official, which is spelled normally. But that did little to stop the freefall, as Bumble shares lost a whopping 30% Wednesday, and on the week lost 38%. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Hey Listeners, it's Saturday, February 22nd. I'm Francesca Fontana for the Wall Street Journal and this is What's News in Markets. Our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Kicking off another four-day trading week, Tuesday started on a high note, with the S&P 500 notching its second record high close of 2025.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
Today's show was produced by Pierre Bien-Aimé, with supervising producer Talia Arbel. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend and don't forget to email me whether you're feeling bullish or bearish about the stock market. I'll see you next Saturday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
But investors are still cautious, with talk of tariffs and warm inflation. And I found this really interesting. Per the latest survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, bearishness among individual traders... The percentage who expect stock prices to fall over the next six months reached about 47% for the week ending February 12th. That's the highest since November 2023. Woof.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Intel Spikes, Walmart Slides, Bumble Fumbles
And I'm curious to know what you think. So please email me at francesca.fontana at wsj.com. I am really looking forward to hearing your two cents. All right, back to the week. Am Donnerstag riefen Walmarts Steuern auf den Index-Paraden, wir kommen zurück zu dem, und die Gloom lag mit Fridays Verlusten. Am Wochenende fielen die Dow und der Nasdaq alle 2,5 %, während der S&P 500 1,7 % fiel.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
Amazon's ubiquitous online retail platform and many of the third-party sellers on that platform sourced their products from China. Before the trade deal eased the tariffs that they're subject to, many of these merchants warned that prices could skyrocket, and some said that they would have to stop their operations entirely.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
So, we saw Amazon shares surge roughly 8% on Monday, and on the week the stock gained 6.5%. Then there was Boeing, which rose on the news that China was scrapping an earlier ban on Boeing's airplanes.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
The government last month told Chinese carriers that they had to seek additional approval before taking delivery of Boeing aircraft that they had already ordered, so in effect halting deliveries to one of Boeing's biggest markets.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
Plus, later in the week, the White House announced that Qatar Airways would buy up to 210 Boeing aircraft, one of several business deals that the president noted during his trip to the Middle East. Boeing shares gained 2.5 percent on Tuesday and rose 5.6 percent on the week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
And then there was Nike, which relies on Vietnam, Indonesia, and China for its products and was hit hard last month when the tariffs were announced. It climbed 7.3% on Monday and notched a weekly gain of more than 8%. Now, back to UnitedHealth, the healthcare conglomerate and parent of insurance provider UnitedHealthcare. It's had a rough year, and it had a bad week this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
On Tuesday, UnitedHealth suspended its 2025 earnings outlook and announced the sudden resignation of Chief Executive Andrew Witte, and the stock dropped a whopping 18%. But that wasn't all. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department is investigating the company for possible criminal Medicare fraud.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
And that's along with the other government probes into UnitedHealth, including antitrust investigations and a civil investigation of its Medicare billing practices that the journal first reported in February. UnitedHealth said it hadn't been notified by the Justice Department of the Criminal Investigation, and it stands by the integrity of its Medicare Advantage program.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
86.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
86%. That is how much that shares of sneaker seller Foot Locker gained on Thursday, thanks to Dick's Sporting Goods, the big box retailer, buying the company for roughly $2.4 billion. If you'll pardon the pun, Foot Locker has been on pretty shaky footing, and its shares have slumped this year on Trump's tariffs. So Foot Locker jumped 86% on Thursday and ended the week with a gain of 98%.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
How did DigShares do? Well, they didn't make quite so extreme a move and not quite in the same direction, dropping 15% on Thursday. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
Hey, listeners, it's Saturday, May 17th. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. We have a deal. In case you missed it, we got a surprise on Monday when the U.S.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi with supervising producer Talia Arbel. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
and China announced a trade deal rolling back most of the tariffs between the two countries that have been weighing heavily on investors' minds and on many companies' operations. Now, the relief could be temporary. It's a 90-day agreement, so plenty of uncertainty remains.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
But the trade optimism sparked a rally on Monday, with the three major indexes making some smaller, mixed moves the rest of the week. On Tuesday, for instance, UnitedHealth's giant drop dragged the Dow lower, and we'll get to that stock's meltdown in a bit. All in all, the three major indexes each made some gains this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trade Truce Winners, UnitedHealth Slides, Foot Locker Deal Bounce
The Dow added more than 3%, the S&P 500 gained more than 5%, and the Nasdaq rose more than 7%. As far as individual movers go, let's run through some of the big winners of the US-China truce. Many of the stocks that had the most to gain were, logically, the ones most exposed to China in their supply chains. So, for example, Amazon, along with other big tech stocks, got a boost from the news.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Then, in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was going to buy a brand new Tesla, quote, as a show of confidence and support for Musk. Like I said, Trump has been pretty anti-electric car. He campaigned extensively against Joe Biden's EV mandates, for one, and his administration back in February halted federal funding for new charging stations.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
But, you know, you'd never know it, at least not by the looks of the photo op Trump held later that day on Tuesday. He joined Elon outside the White House alongside several Tesla models. The shoutout did give the stock a rebound, with shares rising almost 4% on Tuesday. But on a weekly basis, Tesla posted a loss for the eighth week in a row, this time a loss of nearly 5%.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
All right, like I promised, it is time for another trade war play-by-play. I know last week was pretty nuts. You can be the judge of how this week stacks up in comparison. Spoiler alert, it's not the global auto industry caught in the crossfire. No, this time it is alcohol.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
You might recall that Trump announced back in February that on March 12, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum would go into effect. And that they did. On Wednesday. So on Wednesday, the European Union announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. Really hitting them where it hurts. 50%, starting April 1, on imports of American whiskey, motorcycles, and motorboats. we're gonna focus on the whiskey.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, March 15th. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Welcome back, everybody. Hope you made it through this week in markets in one piece. What was it in a word? A doozy. Well, maybe that's two words.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Then, Thursday, Trump escalates, threatening to impose 200% tariffs on all alcohol imports from the bloc, prompting a sell-off among European drink makers. Beer, wine, champagne, liquor, you name it. Now, this EU levy on American whiskey That'd be a blow to Jack Daniels maker Brown Foreman and other U.S.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
distillers, which are already contending with a drop in demand as American drinkers cut back on, well, drinking. And the tariff threat was a blow to Brown Foreman's stock this week. Its shares fell 5.1% on Wednesday, and on a weekly basis, the stock was down 5.8%. Last but not least, U.S. airlines lost some air on Tuesday, but some carriers managed to buck the trend.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
What was the week about in a few words? Recession fears and trade. Recession fears were in the foreground for many companies' earnings reports. For instance, Kohl's joined the growing chorus of retailers warning of slowing household spending this year. And the stock on Tuesday plummeted 24 percent.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue lowered guidance early in the week, and we saw Delta shares fall more than 7% on Tuesday, while American shares lost more than 8%. But JetBlue gained 4.2%. For one, its outlook cut was smaller than the others, and it already warned of first-quarter weakness back in January.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Meanwhile, Southwest unveiled a range of moves to lift revenue, including the seismic shift of charging for checked bags. And its shares on Tuesday jumped about 8%. So JetBlue, Southwest... How'd the stocks fare the rest of the week? Well, JetBlue ended with a loss of more than 8%, while Southwest posted a weekly gain of more than 9%. And now you know what's news in markets this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi, with supervising producer Michael Kosmitas. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next Saturday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
Plus, on Friday, we saw that the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to its lowest level since November 2022. So not great. And we'll get into the trade war stuff in a bit, but minor spoiler alert, it was Thursday, the day the European Union got more tariff threats from Trump, that the S&P 500 closed in correction territory.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
In other words, it fell more than 10% from its recent high on February 19th. All in all, the three major indexes posted weekly declines, with the Dow dropping about 3% and the S&P and the Nasdaq each falling more than 2%. First up, Tesla, Elon Musk's EV maker, which got some relief from its latest rout thanks to a shout out from previous EV hater, President Trump.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Trump’s Tesla, Trade-War Hiccups, Low-Flying Shares
In case you missed it, disappointing sales data and concerns over Musk's role in the Trump administration have been weighing on the stock. And on Monday, shares lost 15%, its worst trading day since 2020, taking its year-to-date losses to 45%.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
So it's expanding its lucrative experiences business into a new market. The company also posted strong earnings, saying that its U.S. theme parks attracted more guests and higher spending from visitors in the latest quarter.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
Disney's Experiences unit, which is the home of its theme parks and cruises, has helped boost its other businesses, including its streaming platforms and its film and TV studios. And those areas, at Disney and at its rivals, have an array of issues that they're facing, like declining cable TV and underperformance at the box office. And, of course, a new threat has also emerged.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
President Trump's recent comments calling for 100% tariffs on films produced outside the U.S. So how'd the stock do on Wednesday? Well, Disney shares jumped 11%, making it the best performer in the Dow that day. And on the week, the stock gained about 15%. Now let's talk steel.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
Of course, as we've seen, President Trump has been trying to build up American steel demand with tariffs on foreign metal. Meanwhile, as we learned this week, one of the major U.S. steelmakers is shrinking. Cleveland Cliffs on Wednesday said it will pause or slow operations at six plants. after posting a wider first quarter loss and lower revenue.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
These production cuts and changes in its operations are expected to affect about 2,000 jobs and save the company some $300 million a year. Now, the future for steel demand in the U.S., it seems, is still unclear. Steel prices climbed as customers were buying up steel ahead of Trump's tariffs on imported metal.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
But now that rally has stalled, and buyers are holding off on placing big orders in an uncertain U.S. economy. Cleveland Cliff shares ended up plummeting 16% on Thursday and on a weekly basis lost more than 20%. And we finally got a big trade deal development this week, with the US-UK agreement announced on Thursday. And, like I said earlier, it contained good news for Boeing.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
$10 billion worth of good news, you might say. Because during the announcement... Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a British airline would buy $10 billion worth of Boeing planes. And in exchange for the UK buying these jets as well as doing other things like cutting tariffs on some U.S. beef imports, the Trump administration agreed to roll back tariffs imposed on British steel and cars.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
And we got more specifics on Friday when British Airways owner IAG said it's ordered 32 Boeing planes. So after making some smaller moves in both directions earlier in the week, Boeing shares gained 3.3% on Thursday and notched a weekly gain of 5.1%. And now you know what's news in markets this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Pierre Bien-Aimé with supervising producer Talia Arbel. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend and I will see you next Saturday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
Hey listeners, it's Saturday, May 10th. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. The stock market started this week pretty gloomy, as the S&P 500 and the Dow both snapped nine-day winning streaks on Monday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
Trade jitters, of course, continued to be at play for investors. And those jitters weren't calmed by President Trump's meeting with Canada's prime minister or promises of trade deals. But things turned around on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held rates steady. And we got a nice rally on Thursday on the announcement of a trade pact between the U.S.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Disney Shines, Cleveland-Cliffs Slides, Boeing Climbs
and the U.K., which had some good news in it for Boeing, but more on that later. All in all, though, all three major indexes ended the week slightly lower. Thank you. First up, let's talk Disney. The entertainment company announced plans for a new theme park, and investors were certainly celebrating. Disney said that its new park, which will be its seventh global park, will be built in Abu Dhabi.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
And it seemed like Target investors got spooked, too, because its shares fell 3% on Tuesday and the stock ended the week down more than 7%. And Target wasn't alone. Another retail stock, Best Buy, took a hit after saying tariffs might curb demand for its electronics due to higher prices. Best Buy shares took a dive after that, sliding about 13% on Tuesday. And on the week, they lost roughly 12%.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
So we're seeing how the trade policy atmosphere has been weighing on stocks through Tuesday, which was when those Mexico and Canada tariffs took effect. That brings us to Wednesday, where this week's tariff play-by-play really ramps up. OK, so we're going to move fast. And we're going to focus on global auto stocks, which are especially vulnerable. All right? Got it? Great. Let's go. Tuesday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
The tariffs are here. Wednesday. The White House says, eh, not so fast. Actually, automakers, you're getting a one-month reprieve from the levies for cars that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Auto stocks cheer. U.S.-traded shares of Toyota Motor, for one, jump 6.5%. But that's not all.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
Thursday morning, we get Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC saying that one-month reprieve might be extended beyond automakers. And later that day, President Trump suspends the tariffs on goods that fall under the USMCA until April 2nd. But like I mentioned, investors weren't sure what to make of all these sudden changes, and stocks fell anyway.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
Hey, listeners, it's Saturday, March 8th. I'm Francesca Montana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Trade, trade, trade. That was the big story in the stock market as investors and portfolio managers grappled with fears about U.S.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
Okay, that was a lot of news, a lot of whipsawing in the markets, and like I said, a lot of big moves for the most trade-vulnerable sectors. But let's circle back to Toyota. At the end of all that, its U.S. shares finished the week with a gain of 4.8%. So now we're at Friday, and markets got a bit of a break from all the trade news, so we got to look up and see, you know, what else is going on.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
I'll tell you. Gap was on fire. The apparel company, behind brands like Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and of course its namesake, posted better than expected sales and profit last quarter, as its turnaround efforts continue to show results. And for what it's worth, given that the trade uncertainty is far from over, Gap also addressed tariffs, saying it has minimal exposure.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
economic performance amid a ton of policy uncertainty. Don't worry if you missed the latest on all the rapid-fire tariff updates this week. I will run through those in a bit. On a broader level, we've been seeing U.S. consumer confidence slipping on fears of rising prices, which was a thread we saw in some of the retail movers this week. I'll come back to those in a minute, too.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
Less than 10% of Gap's products come from China, and less than 1% come from Canada and Mexico. Good to know, because with how this week went, it's hard to say what next week holds. All in all, Gap's share surged a whopping 19% on Friday. And now you know what's news in markets this week.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Jess Jupiter with Deputy Editor Chris Sinsley. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend and see you next Saturday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
Then, of course, there was Thursday's big sell-off, with chip stocks in particular getting hammered as investors searched through AI chip makers' results, looking for the next big thing, the next NVIDIA, if you will. And while the indexes managed to end Friday in the black, they each notched losses for the week. The Dow fell more than 2%, the S&P lost more than 3%, and the Nasdaq fell about 3.5%.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
First up, let's set our target on Target, the Red Bull's eye, the American retail giant. This week, Target was the latest retailer to warn investors about the looming impacts of higher tariffs and consumer uncertainty. Like I said before, shoppers are worried that they'll be seeing a lot of price tags going up.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Tariffs Whipsaw, Gap’s Bump, Target Prices
So on Tuesday, Target said its February sales fell year over year, and the company warned that its sales could be flat this year. A similar reading from Walmart spooked investors last month when executives set lower-than-expected fiscal year revenue and profit targets.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Now let's circle back to NVIDIA, the poster child of the AI boom. Like I mentioned, NVIDIA also delivered some solid earnings, but investors weren't so ready to celebrate. After the market closed Wednesday, NVIDIA posted sharply rising sales and profit in its latest quarter, and the company said it brought in $11 billion of revenue from its new Blackwell artificial intelligence chips.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
The results showed that spending on NVIDIA's chips is continuing to soar, despite all the jitters about the outlook for the AI boom that have been moving through the stock market. You may recall that in January, the threat of competition to U.S. dominance from Chinese AI developer DeepSeek rattled investors.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Analysts blame the stock's fall on narrower profit margins and worry about NVIDIA's sales in China. NVIDIA shares dropped 8.5% on Thursday and on a weekly basis lost about 7.2%. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin and Anthony Bansi with supervising producer Talia Arbel. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend. And don't forget, you can email me your thoughts on the market at francesca.fontana at wsj.com. I'll see you next Saturday.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
But trade drama, continued inflation, and AI competition fears did not do us any favors in February.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, March 1st. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. To refresh our memories, stocks logged gains for January and a strong start to 2025.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
This week, for instance, NVIDIA's positive results still managed to cause a sell-off, and we had more tariff threats from President Trump and retaliation threats from China, not to mention the tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which stocks wobbled before they recovered late Friday afternoon.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
All in all, the three major indexes ended the week mixed, and for the month of February, the S&P 500 and the Dow each fell about 1.5%, while the Nasdaq dropped nearly 4%. We got some fresh earnings reports this week, including from Home Depot, the home improvement giant. Even the less handy among us certainly know the orange logo.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Home Depot delivered a better-than-expected quarter, beating Wall Street's expectations for quarterly sales and profit, and the company said it's increasing its quarterly dividend to $2.30 a share.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
Home Depot said that demand was strong for things like appliances, building materials, and lumber, but weaker for projects like kitchen and bathroom remodels, you know, the kind of big purchases that a lot of us might typically use financing for, like a credit card or a personal loan.
WSJ What’s News
What’s News in Markets: Home Depot Delivers, Nvidia Wobbles
And the company sees higher interest rates continuing to strain people's wallets when it comes to big-ticket purchases. And, as a result, it offered cautious guidance. Home Depot shares rallied 2.8% on Tuesday and notched a weekly gain of 2.9%. We also got positive quarterly results this week from Home Depot rival Lowe's, with the blue logo, not orange, and its shares rose too.