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Consumer stocks were mixed premarket Thursday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) down 0.1% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) 1.1% higher.Unilever (UL) stock was up 1.9% after the company reported a 3.8% underlying sales growth, along with a 3.3% decline in turnover, in Q1.
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advanced 0.5% in Thursday's premarket activity, amid optimistic big tech earnings reports and a deluge of economic data.US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.5% before the start of regular trading.Reports releasing at 8:30 am ET include the Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) from Washington, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE)-core inflation report for March, the weekly jobless claims bulletin, and the Q1 Employment Cost Index.The April Chicago PMI posts at 9:45 am, followed by the February leading indicators report at 10 am, and the weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET.In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 0.7%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.7% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 1.4%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.Power Play:FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 1.5%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was up 1.9%.Willis Towers Watson (WTW) shares were down more than 9% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.Winners and Losers:Health CareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 1.2%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was 1.1% higher, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was up 0.7%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 0.2%.Eli Lilly (LLY) stock was up more than 7% premarket after the company reported higher Q1 non-GAAP earnings and revenue.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) gained by 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 1% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 1.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) rose 2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) advanced by 1.3%.Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) shares were up 7% in Thursday's premarket activity after the tech giant reported overnight Q1 earnings and sales above market expectations.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.5%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 1.6% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) gained 0.4%.Caterpillar (CAT) stock was up more than 5% before the opening bell after the company reported higher Q1 adjusted profit and revenue.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.3%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was 0.2% lower, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) retreated 0.1%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) was up 0.6%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) gained 0.03%, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) declined by 0.6%.Unilever (UL) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company said its Q1 underlying sales grew by 3.8%.EnergyThe iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was down 0.9%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declined by 1.1%.ConocoPhillips (COP) stock was down more than 2% before the opening bell after the company reported lower Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.CommoditiesFront-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by 2.3% to $104.44 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated by 1.4% to $2.61 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) decreased by 2.6%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.5% lower.Gold futures for May were up by 1.8% to $4,641.80 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures rose by 2.6% to $73.96 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was 1.9% higher, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained by 2.7%.
CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:Unilever delivered Q1 2026 underlying sales growth (USG) of 3.8%, beating consensus of 3.6%, with well-balanced contributions from pricing (+0.9%) and volume (+2.9%). The volume-led growth was attributed to Power Brands achieving 5.0% USG and 4.0% volume expansion, validating the strategy of focusing investments on its strongest assets. We welcome the tilt toward volume growth as we view it as a healthier expansion indicating higher quality growth and business strength. Management reconfirmed full-year 2026 USG guidance at the bottom end of the 4-6% range with at least 2% volume growth. Emerging markets delivered sustained strength with 5.7% USG, underpinned by a robust 4.2% volume contribution, led by India's 7% USG. Home Care led segmental performance with 6.1% USG and 6.2% volume expansion. Our view remains more optimistic than the consensus estimate of 3.5% as we see continued strength in Unilever's market-leading offerings with strong underlying momentum across categories and geographies.
European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were rising late Friday morning, gaining 0.66% at 1,798.36 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index, which is off 2% for the week so far.From continental Europe, the gainers were led by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (NVO) and software firm SAP (SAP), which rose 6.4% and 5.6% respectively. They were followed by furniture maker Natuzzi (NTZ) and consumer goods company Unilever (UL), which were up 2.6% and 1.7% respectively.The decliners from continental Europe were led by biotech firm Evaxion (EVAX) and petroleum refiner Equinor (EQNR), which fell 2.4% and 1.4% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Cellectis (CLLS) and oil and gas company Eni (E), which were down 1.2% and 0.9% respectively.The gainers from the UK were led by British American Tobacco (BTI) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which advanced 2.5% and 2.4% respectively. They were followed by insurance company Prudential (PUK) and educational publisher Pearson (PSO), which increased 1.2% and 0.7% respectively.The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical firm NuCana (NCNA) and Autolus Therapeutics (AUTL), which fell 5.1% and 2.7% respectively. They were followed by Trinity Biotech (TRIB) and Silence Therapeutics (SLN), which lost 1.6% and 1% respectively.
Unilever's (UL) share price already appears to reflect concerns around the planned separation of its food business, while expectations for future growth remain modest and recent incentive-plan changes suggest lower internal confidence in meeting public targets, RBC Capital Market said Tuesday in a report.The planned transaction may add complexity for shareholders, offer limited value, and risk distracting management, with the streamlined company likely to hold about the same competitive position even after focusing on faster-growing categories, the report said.Unilever's new pay structure allows bonuses to be earned at growth rates below the company's stated ambitions, raising questions about the credibility of those goals, the report said.Market expectations already reflect caution, with consensus forecasts near the low end of guidance and RBC's own estimates sitting below that range, the report said.RBC said these concerns now appear largely reflected in the stock, and the shares were upgraded to sector perform from underperform with a price target of 42 British pounds ($56.75).Price: $57.33, Change: $-0.63, Percent Change: -1.10%
Unilever PLC's (UL) London stock has an average rating of hold and mean price target of GBP51.66, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
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