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Top Midday Stories: SpaceX Put Options Too Expensive, Burry Says; Intel Begins Production of Advanced 18A-P Chip Node
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite were down in late-morning trading Wednesday, as chip stocks rebounded ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision, the first under new chairman Kevin Warsh.The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to maintain the range for its federal funds rate at the current 3.50% to 3.75% for the fourth straight meeting as uncertainty remains elevated, putting the focus on the updated Summary of Economic Projections. The FOMC's statement following today's meeting is due for release at 2:00 pm ET, with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's first press conference scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm ET. Since the April 28-29 FOMC meeting, comments from Fed officials have been mixed, with differences on whether price effects from the conflict in the Middle East will be temporary or longer-lasting, and how the FOMC should react.SpaceX (SPCX) stock was down 5.9% in late-morning trading after climbing the past two days on the momentum of its record-setting initial public offering on Friday. Investor Michael Burry, known for calling the US housing collapse and the 2008 financial crisis, wrote in his newsletter on Tuesday that the company's put options remain too expensive, according to a CNBC report.Intel (INTC) has begun risk production of its most advanced chip node, 18A-P, bringing the company closer to a potential deal to manufacture chips for Apple (AAPL), CNBC reported late Tuesday. The new node delivers 9% higher performance or 18% less power consumption versus its predecessor 18A. Intel shares were up 3.9% around midday.Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google must abide by new requirements imposed by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the regulator said Wednesday. The tech giant is tasked with improving transparency and fairness in search result rankings and allowing users to port their search data to third parties. Under the regulator's Fair Ranking requirements, Google must rank "organic" search results using objective and non-discriminatory criteria, be more transparent to businesses on the rankings mechanism, and provide them with advance notice before making significant changes. Under the Data Portability requirements, Google must provide authorized third parties with tools to effectively port their search data at their request and free of charge. The regulator said it has given Google six months to implement the fair ranking requirement and three months for the data portability rule. Alphabet shares were down 2.3%.AST SpaceMobile's (ASTS) BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites successfully launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, the company said Wednesday. The system is designed to work with standard 4G and 5G mobile devices and integrate with terrestrial mobile networks, enabling cellular broadband data directly to ordinary smartphones at peak speeds of nearly 200 Mbps. The company said it has commercial agreements with nearly 60 mobile operators worldwide. AST SpaceMobile shares were up 2.1%.CarMax (KMX) reported fiscal Q1 net income Wednesday of $1.31 per diluted share, down from $1.38 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus estimate of $0.96. Fiscal Q1 total revenue was $8.01 billion, up from $7.55 billion a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. Comparable store used unit sales decreased 0.8%, compared with an 8.1% rise in the year-ago period and worse than Truist Securities' estimate, which called for a flat print. Total gross profit declined 4.4% to $854.4 million due to weakness in the retail used vehicle segment. The company laid out a growth framework that focuses on competitive pricing, an improved customer experience and cost-reduction opportunities. CarMax shares were down 7.2%.Price: $189.88, Change: $-11.92, Percent Change: -5.91%
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