Tuesday's Market Watch: CPI Data, Oracle's Surge, and Southwest's Decline

Investors tracking the stock market on Tuesday witnessed a flurry of notable happenings. To start, the February consumer price index (CPI) pushed slightly past expectations with a 3.2% year-over-year increase, compared to the 3.1% forecast. In doing so, it edged over January's 3.1% rise. The core CPI, which omits volatile food and energy prices, also saw a bump to 3.8% from the anticipated 3.7%, although it presented a minimal drop from the former month's 3.9%. Despite these figures prompting a mixed response in Treasury yields, U.S. stocks managed to maintain their early trading gains.

Oracle's Earnings Win

Oracle seized investor interest with an unexpectedly strong quarterly performance, with shares rocketing upwards by over 12%. The focal point for the market was Oracle's 29% jump in year-over-year growth in remaining performance obligations (RPO), marking a substantial hike from the previous two quarters. Moreover, Oracle is projecting an increase in fiscal 2025 capital expenditures to $10 billion, significantly up from last year's $7.5 billion.

Analyst Insights and Company Updates

Elsewhere, Evercore expressed confidence that Apple's stock decline was overplayed, noting the potential for an accelerated buyback program, an underestimated services sector, and AI innovations poised to stimulate the next wave of upgrades. Coinbase received an upgrade in its rating from Raymond James, moving from 'underperform' to 'market perform' as Bitcoin's price saw nominal movement after recently surpassing $72,000. On a less positive note, Southwest Airlines faced an 8.5% drop in stock price following revisions to its first-quarter outlook and an increase in estimated economic fuel costs, alongside expected delays in receiving Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

In other updates, RBC launched with an 'outperform' rating for DexCom, setting a $165 price target, yet voiced a preference for Abbott Laboratories within the diabetes device sector for its broader health care diversification. JPMorgan shifted its stance on Dollar General to 'neutral', increasing its price target, while maintaining a bullish perspective on Dollar Tree ahead of earnings. On the retail front, Kohl's released a fourth-quarter EPS that outperformed estimates, but same-store sales disappointed, leading to a more than 3% drop in share value. The projections for 2024 adjusted EPS also raised concerns.

ON Holding revealed a 22% increase in fourth-quarter sales, missing projections slightly while showcasing better-than-expected adjusted EBITDA numbers. Nonetheless, their shares declined by 13.5% due to a somewhat weaker sales forecast impacted by currency exchange challenges. In corporate leadership news, 3M announced CEO Mike Roman's transition to chairman, with William Brown set to take over as CEO starting May 1.

CPI, Oracle, Southwest, Earnings, Analyst, Stocks, Upgrades, Forecasts, Leadership, Revenue