Dow Jones Today: Futures Rise as Tech Stocks Jump on News of Tariff Exemptions; Apple, Dell, Best Buy Surge
Citi Downgrades U.S. Stocks, Upgrades Japan as Tariff Uncertainty Looms
1 hr 14 min ago
Citi became the latest investment firm to voice skepticism about the outlook for U.S. stocks on Monday as tariff uncertainty continues to weigh on sentiment.
Citi analysts on Monday downgraded U.S. stocks to “neutral” from “overweight,” citing “still-high valuations and mounting downgrade pressures.” The analysts also upgraded Japanese and U.K. stocks to “overweight,” joining continental Europe in Citi’s group of preferred regions.
Tariffs, the analysts said, are likely to reduce both U.S. GDP and corporate earnings, undermining two of the core drivers of the “U.S. exceptionalism” of the past decade-plus. At the same time, Citi estimates U.S. stocks as a whole are historically expensive, “trading at c80th percentile valuation multiple vs. history” even after the recent sell-off.
U.S. stocks have outperformed their global peers for most of the past 15 years. The post-Global Financial Crisis order of low interest rates and low inflation favored the fast-growing tech stocks that have come to dominate the U.S. stock market. As a result of Wall Street’s outperformance, international investors have bought far more U.S. stocks than the other way around. Citi warns that, against this backdrop, “small shifts in allocation decisions can have an outsized impact.”
As U.S. stocks have lost their sheen, international equities have taken on a fresh luster. European and Japanese equities, Citi says, trade at attractive valuations. Japanese equities appear to be pricing in a more substantial earnings contraction than other markets, but “Japan seems as likely as any market to see reprieve from US tariffs,” the analysts note.
Citi also forecasts that the U.S. market is made even less attractive relative to Europe and Japan by the White House’s unpredictability. “While tariff risks have abated, macro/policy uncertainty remains elevated. … Investors have also shown signs of shunning other US assets, with the dollar weakening and US Treasury yields rising,” the analysts wrote. “Therefore, we believe investors could continue allocating away from US equities as well.”
Netflix Price Levels To Watch Ahead of Thursday’s Earnings Report
2 hr 9 min ago
Netflix (NFLX) shares moved higher to start the week as the streaming giant gets set to report earnings after Thursday’s close.
Despite concerns that a tariff-induced recession could slow advertising spending and see consumers reign in discretionary purchases on services like streaming subscriptions, Wall Street has an average “buy” rating on the stock. Analysts at JPMorgan recently pointed out that the company sits positioned to weather an uncertain macro environment given its strong subscriber base.
Netflix shares were up 3% at around $946 in recent trading, pushing the stock’s year-to-date gain to about 6%.
Below, we take a closer look at Netflix’s chart and apply technical analysis to identify vital price levels worth watching out for ahead of the streaming giant’s quarterly results.
Since minting their record high in mid-February, Netflix shares have trended lower within a descending channel.
More recently, the stock found buying interest near the pattern’s lower trendline last week, potentially setting the stage for a post-earnings continuation rally.
Meanwhile, last week’s bounce coincided with a strong uptick in the relative strength index (RSI) to indicate accelerating momentum before the indicator dipped slightly on Thursday and Friday as the price consolidated after Wednesday’s rally.
Selling from current levels could see a retest of last week’s intraday low around $821. This area on the chart may also provide support near the descending channel’s lower trendline and the stock’s January trough.
A breakdown here could trigger a fall to the next level of vital support at $765. Investors may look to accumulate shares in this region near the upper level of a consolidation period that formed on the chart following last October’s breakaway gap.
Further buying this week could fuel a rally to the $1,000 level. This area would likely attract significant attention near the psychological round number and a range of corresponding trading activity on the chart stretching back to mid-October.
Finally, a more bullish move in Netflix shares could see the price climb to $1065, a location on the chart where investors may seek profit-taking opportunities near the stock’s record high.
Palantir Stock Pops After NATO Acquires AI-Enabled Warfighting System
2 hr 53 min ago
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) was one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 Monday after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced it acquired the firm’s artificial intelligence-enabled military system.
NATO said Monday that on March 25, it “finalized the acquisition of the Palantir Maven Smart System NATO (MSS NATO) for employment within NATO’s Allied Command Operations (ACO), marking a significant advancement in the modernization of NATO’s warfighting capabilities.”
Financial terms were not disclosed. The agency said the procurement “was one of the most expeditious in NATO’s history, taking only six months from outlining the requirement to acquiring the system,” and that “it is expected that ACO will begin using the new system within the next 30 days.”
Palantir stock was up 4% in recent trading after surging about 8% earlier in the day. Shares have added about one-quarter of their value in 2025 and soared more than 300% over the past 12 months.
Intel Sells 51% Stake in Altera Unit
3 hr 42 min ago
Shares of Intel (INTC) rose Monday morning after the chipmaker said it agreed to sell 51% of its programmable chip business Altera to private equity firm Silver Lake.
The deal values Altera at $8.75 billion, and will leave Intel with the remaining 49% ownership stake, the companies said Monday. Intel said that Raghib Hussain will be CEO of Altera, effective May 5, joining the company from his role as president of Products and Technologies at Marvell (MRVL).
“Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sharpening our focus, lowering our expense structure and strengthening our balance sheet,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said.
The companies expect the deal to close in the second half of this year. Altera’s results will be removed from Intel’s quarterly consolidated financial statements once the deal is closed. The unit recorded revenue of $1.54 billion and adjusted operating income of $35 million in fiscal 2024.
The news follows speculation of a possible deal for a stake in Altera and other parts of Intel’s business earlier this year.
Intel shares were up about 3% in recent trading. The chipmaker is set to report first-quarter results after the market closes on April 24.
Pfizer Halts Development of Obesity Drug
4 hr 21 min ago
Pfizer (PFE) said it will stop development of an oral daily weight-loss pill after a participant taking the drug in a clinical trial experienced a liver injury.
The GLP-1 receptor agonist, danuglipron, was seen as Pfizer’s potential answer to popular weight-loss treatments like Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound and Mounjaro, which are injected weekly.
U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk and Lilly stock were each up about 3% in recent trading, while Pfizer shares were 1% higher.
Danuglipron “met key pharmacokinetic objectives” in a Phase 3 trial but one patient “experienced potential drug-induced liver injury,” Pfizer said, adding that the injury “resolved” after treatment was discontinued.
Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Chris Boshoff said the company would continue to develop an “oral GIPR antagonist candidate and other earlier obesity programs.”
TradingView
Pfizer shares are down about 16% since the start of the year, about double the decline of the S&P 500 over the period.
The drugmaker plans to report its first-quarter earnings on April 29.
Gold Levels to Watch After Recent Record Highs
5 hr 17 min ago
Gold (XAUUSD) is losing ground this morning after hitting record highs last week as investors flocked to the safe-haven asset amid ongoing uncertainty over tariffs and their impact on the global economy.
The precious metal remains supported as concerns about an intensifying global trade war continue to place downward pressure on the dollar and Treasurys amid diminishing faith in the U.S. as a reliable trading partner.
Gold’s price, which soared 6% last week and trades 23% higher since the start of the year, seesawed Sunday evening as investors digested news that recently announced U.S. tariff exemptions on smartphones, computers, and semiconductors could be temporary, with the president later pledging a national security trade investigation into the chip sector.
After a brief retracement to the 50-day moving average and lower trendline of an ascending channel, gold’s price has continued its strong uptrend, breaking out above the pattern in Friday’s trading session.
However, despite the commodity’s move into price discovery mode, a bearish divergence has formed between the relative strength index (RSI) and price, indicating easing buying momentum.
Investors should monitor key support levels on gold’s chart around $3,170, $3,048, $2,955, and $2,858.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Index Futures Point to Higher Open
6 hr 16 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.1%.
TradingView
S&P 500 futures rose 1.7%.
TradingView
Nasdaq 100 futures added 2%.
TradingView