With just hours to go until the final session of the first quarter wraps, the Dow was on track for its worst single-quarter decline since the fourth quarter of 1987, and its worst first quarter on record.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Stocks have swung widely over the past several weeks, with Monday’s gains coming after a smattering of positive health-care developments helped blunt some fears surrounding reports of a still-rising coronavirus case count, extended stay-at-home orders, and strained hospital infrastructure in the cities hit hardest by the outbreak. Johnson & Johnson said Monday it planned to begin human tests of its coronavirus vaccine by September, and Abbott Laboratories recently unveiled a five-minute coronavirus test.” data-reactid=”18″>Stocks have swung widely over the past several weeks, with Monday’s gains coming after a smattering of positive health-care developments helped blunt some fears surrounding reports of a still-rising coronavirus case count, extended stay-at-home orders, and strained hospital infrastructure in the cities hit hardest by the outbreak. Johnson & Johnson said Monday it planned to begin human tests of its coronavirus vaccine by September, and Abbott Laboratories recently unveiled a five-minute coronavirus test.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Separately, overnight Tuesday, better than expected manufacturing sector data from China suggested the country was beginning to recover some economic damage from the outbreak.” data-reactid=”19″>Separately, overnight Tuesday, better than expected manufacturing sector data from China suggested the country was beginning to recover some economic damage from the outbreak.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Still, both the human impact and business disruptions due to the pandemic have continued to mount around the world. The number of coronavirus cases topped 800,000 globally as of Tuesday, including more than 164,000 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins data. In New York, the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, the number of confirmed cases jumped by nearly 7,000 to 66,497 as of Monday afternoon.” data-reactid=”20″>Still, both the human impact and business disruptions due to the pandemic have continued to mount around the world. The number of coronavirus cases topped 800,000 globally as of Tuesday, including more than 164,000 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins data. In New York, the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, the number of confirmed cases jumped by nearly 7,000 to 66,497 as of Monday afternoon.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Some lawmakers have already been pushing for more fiscal stimulus just days after passing a $2 trillion economic relief package.” data-reactid=”21″>Some lawmakers have already been pushing for more fiscal stimulus just days after passing a $2 trillion economic relief package.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="JCPenney, Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap became some of the latest major public retailers to announce major furloughs as storefronts remain closed. Companies from Domino’s Pizza to Planet Fitness and L’Oreal recently suspended their respective 2020 financial guidance, as uncertainty over the duration and magnitude of impact from the coronavirus outbreak linger.” data-reactid=”22″>JCPenney, Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap became some of the latest major public retailers to announce major furloughs as storefronts remain closed. Companies from Domino’s Pizza to Planet Fitness and L’Oreal recently suspended their respective 2020 financial guidance, as uncertainty over the duration and magnitude of impact from the coronavirus outbreak linger.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Amid these developments, many analysts believe further volatility is ahead for equities, with some predicting a choppier “W-shaped” or slower “U-shaped,” rather than a “V-shaped,” recovery. Others, including those at JPMorgan Chase, suggested risk assets could start to stabilize from here.” data-reactid=”23″>Amid these developments, many analysts believe further volatility is ahead for equities, with some predicting a choppier “W-shaped” or slower “U-shaped,” rather than a “V-shaped,” recovery. Others, including those at JPMorgan Chase, suggested risk assets could start to stabilize from here.
As equities at least temporarily take a breather from a selloff earlier this month, investors turned their attention to oil, which recovered some losses Tuesday after a precipitous decline during the prior session sent West Texas intermediate futures to the lowest level since 2002.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="President Donald Trump held a call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Monday, during which the leaders “agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets,” according to Bloomberg, citing a White House statement.” data-reactid=”25″>President Donald Trump held a call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Monday, during which the leaders “agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets,” according to Bloomberg, citing a White House statement.
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1:12 p.m. ET: Stocks decline again in volatile session
Stocks turned around were down again midday Tuesday, with the Dow off nearly 200 points, or 0.87%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 each also dipped into negative territory, led by declines in the Real Estate sector.
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11:02 a.m. ET: Stocks pare earlier losses, Dow and Nasdaq turn slightly positive
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 11:02 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): -4.31 points (-0.16%) to 2,625.76
10:50 a.m. ET: The eventual economic recovery in the U.S. will be ‘U-shaped,’ strategist says
The economic deterioration induced by the COVID-19 outbreak will likely create a “U-shaped” recovery after infection rates peak, or a slower rebound than the speedy “V-shaped” recovery some had initially anticipated, according to Gabriela Santos, JPMorgan global market strategist.
“A ‘V-shape’ I think we should unfortunately discount at this point, because even when infection rates peak for COVID-19 around the world, what the China experience is teaching us is even though the government begins to relax some social distancing guidelines, individuals themselves are still very careful about how exactly they go back to their day to day lives,” she said.
“So demand was quick to shut down, but it’s actually much slower to come back online,” she added. “The better analogy here is a U. There’s a very sharp drop in activity in the first half, there’s a bit of a stall in the second, and then in 2021 is when that strong rebound begins.”
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<h2 class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="10:17 a.m. ET: Goldman Sachs slashes first- and second-quarter GDP estimates further” data-reactid=”49″>10:17 a.m. ET: Goldman Sachs slashes first- and second-quarter GDP estimates further
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Goldman Sachs on Tuesday downwardly revised its estimate for second-quarter economic activity in the U.S., citing even greater impact from the coronavirus outbreak than originally anticipated. However, they also upwardly revised their expectations for the margin of recovery in later quarters this year.” data-reactid=”50″>Goldman Sachs on Tuesday downwardly revised its estimate for second-quarter economic activity in the U.S., citing even greater impact from the coronavirus outbreak than originally anticipated. However, they also upwardly revised their expectations for the margin of recovery in later quarters this year.
The firm said it sees real gross domestic product falling 9% in the first quarter and dropping 34% in the second quarter on a quarter over quarter, annualized basis. This compared to their previous estimates of a 6% drop and 24% drop in the first and second quarters, respectively, on a quarter over quarter, annualized basis.
At the same time, the economists upgraded their expectations for the recovery in the second half of this year. They see a 19% quarter over quarter annualized GDP gain in the third quarter, or better than the 12% jump previously anticipated.
“These forecast changes reflect the net effect of two directionally offsetting changes. On the one hand, the anecdotal evidence and the sky-high jobless claims numbers show an even bigger output and (especially) labor market collapse than we had anticipated,” the economists said. “This not only means deeper negatives in the very near term but also raises the specter of more adverse second-round effects on income and spending a bit further down the road.”
“On the other hand, both monetary and fiscal policy are easing dramatically further, which will tend to contain these second-round effects and add to growth down the road,” they added. “The Phase 3 fiscal package was much bigger than we had expected, we now anticipate a Phase 4 package focused on state fiscal aid, and the Fed is likely to use the $454bn addition to the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund aggressively to sustain the flow of credit to private-sector and municipal borrowers.”
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10:00 a.m. ET: Consumer confidence declines in March ‘in line with a severe contraction,’ Confidence Board says
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Consumer confidence fell but by a smaller margin than anticipated, the Conference Board said Tuesday.” data-reactid=”61″>Consumer confidence fell but by a smaller margin than anticipated, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The headline consumer confidence index fell to 120.0 in March, better than the 110.0 expected, according to Bloomberg consensus data. February’s index was upwardly revised to 132.6 from 130.7 previously reported.
Subindices tracking consumers’ assessments of current and future business conditions also declined in March.
“Consumer confidence declined sharply in March due to a deterioration in the short-term outlook,” Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement. “The Present Situation Index remained relatively strong, reflective of an economy that was on solid footing, and prior to the recent surge in unemployment claims.”
“However, the intensification of COVID-19 and extreme volatility in the financial markets have increased uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and jobs,” Franco added. “March’s decline in confidence is more in line with a severe contraction – rather than a temporary shock – and further declines are sure to follow.”
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9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks open lower
Stocks opened lower, taking a pause from rising after Monday’s rally.
Early losses in the S&P 500 were led by declines in the Utilities and Financial sectors. Energy was the only positive sector, as crude oil prices recovered some of Monday’s steep losses.
Here were the main moves in markets as of 9:31 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): -16.97 points (-0.65%) to 2,609.68
Stock futures’ gains proved ephemeral Tuesday morning as contracts on each of the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq took a turn a dropped at least 1%, with an hour to go until the opening bell.
Here were the main moves in the three major indices, as of 8:33 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): down 1.41%, or 36.75 points to 2,574.5
Dow futures (YM=F): down 1.31% or 290 points to 22,877.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): down 1.07% or 84.25 points to 7,770.5
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7:11 a.m. ET Monday: Stock futures hold steady
Stock futures were little changed Tuesday morning, taking a pause after Monday’s rally. Crude oil prices recovered some losses after a rout sent the commodity down to its lowest level since 2002.
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:11 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): down 0.08%, or 2 points to 2,609.25
Dow futures (YM=F): up 0.01% or 2 points to 22,169
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): up 0.25% or 19.5 points to 7,874.25
Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.
The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.
Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.
The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.
Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”
“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.
“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”
Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.
The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.
It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.
Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.
It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.
“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.
Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.
The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.
Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.
The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.
“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.
Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.
“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.
“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”
Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.
On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.
That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.
Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”
“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”
French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.
“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.
“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
