Stocks experienced a decline on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains, as bond yields rose and oil prices increased. Costco Wholesale reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for the fiscal fourth quarter, causing its stock to rise by 1.3%. However, the retailer did not provide an update on the potential increase in membership fees, a move that many on Wall Street believe is long overdue. Furniture company MillerKnoll raised its outlook for fiscal 2024, expecting adjusted earnings of $1.85 to $2.15 per share, which is higher than its previous guidance. Furthermore, the company’s first-quarter earnings and sales surpassed analysts’ expectations, causing its stock to jump by 29%. Cloudflare saw a 5.8% rise after announcing a partnership with Meta Platforms to make Llama 2, an open-source large language model, available to developers building AI applications on Cloudflare’s worker platform.
In other news, Blink Charging and ChargePoint experienced gains of 5.3% and 3.4%, respectively, after being initiated with a Buy rating by UBS. Guardant Health’s shares increased by 5.5% after receiving an upgrade to Overweight from Neutral by Piper Sandler. Paychex also witnessed a rise of 4% after lifting its adjusted earnings guidance for the fiscal year. However, Progress Software faced a decline of 3.2% after lowering its fiscal-year adjusted free cash flow guidance. Hasbro and Mattel experienced different trends, with Hasbro falling by 0.1% and Mattel rising by 3.2% after being initiated with Overweight ratings by Morgan Stanley. Paramount’s stock rose by 2% after Hollywood writers reached an agreement to end their strike. On the other hand, Netflix shares were down 0.4%, Walt Disney slipped 0.7%, and Amazon.com fell by 1.1% after a 4% slump on Wednesday due to the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit regarding the alleged prevention of competition with its dominant online marketplace. Earnings reports from Micron Technology and Jefferies Financial Group are expected to be released after the market closes.
In summary, stocks faced a decline after bond yields rose and oil prices increased. Costco Wholesale reported better-than-expected earnings, but did not provide an update on potential membership fee increases. MillerKnoll raised its fiscal 2024 outlook, and its first-quarter earnings and sales surpassed expectations. Cloudflare saw a rise due to its partnership with Meta Platforms. Blink Charging, ChargePoint, Guardant Health, and Paychex also experienced gains. Conversely, Progress Software faced a decline, and Hasbro, Mattel, Netflix, Walt Disney, and Amazon.com saw mixed results. Paramount’s stock rose after a deal was reached to end the Hollywood writers’ strike, and earnings reports from Micron Technology and Jefferies Financial Group are anticipated.