Gold Steadies After Thursday's Selloff
Gold steadied on Friday after a steep sell-off in the previous session.
Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,914.78 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 percent at $1,928.45.
The precious metal was headed for its first weekly decline since November after falling nearly 2 percent on Thursday.
A slew of data showed on Thursday that the U.S. labor market remains resilient despite higher borrowing costs.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve hiked rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected, but gave little indication it is nearing the end of its tightening cycle.
The European Central bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) hiked rates by 50 basis points (bps) each on Thursday and the cautious messaging from both suggested that the fight against inflation is far from over.
The dollar bounced back in early European trade after earnings from three of Silicon Valley’s largest companies disappointed investors.
Apple reported its worst holiday performance in four years and Amazon reported its least profitable holiday quarter since 2014 while Alphabet posted fourth-quarter revenue that fell below analysts’ estimates.
On the data front, investors await U.S. jobs and service sector activity data later in the day for any clues into the health of the world’s largest economy.
Economists expect U.S. employment to increase by 185,000 jobs in January after an increase of 223,000 jobs in December. The jobless rate is expected to inch up to 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent.
Aon plc Q4 Profit Decreases, but beats estimates
Aon plc (AON) reported a profit for fourth quarter that decreased from last year but beat the Street estimates.
The company’s bottom line came in at $657 million, or $3.14 per share. This compares with $863 million, or $3.90 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.
Excluding items, Aon plc reported adjusted earnings of $815 million or $3.89 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $3.65 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 1.6% to $3.13 billion from $3.08 billion last year.
Aon plc earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q4): $657 Mln. vs. $863 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $3.14 vs. $3.90 last year.
-Analyst Estimates: $3.65
-Revenue (Q4): $3.13 Bln vs. $3.08 Bln last year.
Cigna Corp. Q4 Profit Increases, beats estimates
Cigna Corp. (CI) announced a profit for its fourth quarter that increased from last year and beat the Street estimates.
The company’s bottom line totaled $1.17 billion, or $3.83 per share. This compares with $1.12 billion, or $3.39 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.
Excluding items, Cigna Corp. reported adjusted earnings of $1.51 billion or $4.96 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $4.86 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 0.1% to $45.74 billion from $45.68 billion last year.
Cigna Corp. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q4): $1.17 Bln. vs. $1.12 Bln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $3.83 vs. $3.39 last year.
-Analyst Estimate: $4.86
-Revenue (Q4): $45.74 Bln vs. $45.68 Bln last year.
Pre-market Movers: GENE, RSLS, BMEA, EDBL, MDXH…
The following are some of the stocks making big moves in Friday’s pre-market trading (as of 07.55 A.M. ET).
In the Green
Genetic Technologies Limited (GENE) is up over 167% at $2.67.
ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (RSLS) is up over 149% at $15.71.
Biomea Fusion, Inc. (BMEA) is up over 47% at $13.85.
Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) is up over 25% at $26.58.
OneConnect Financial Technology Co., Ltd. (OCFT) is up over 8% at $7.12.
Opthea Limited (OPT) is up over 8% at $5.60.
In the Red
Edible Garden AG Incorporated (EDBL) is down over 43% at $4.68.
MDxHealth SA (MDXH) is down over 36% at $3.99.
Gaucho Group Holdings, Inc. (VINO) is down over 35% at $3.50.
Summit Therapeutics Inc. (SMMT) is down over 27% at $2.82.
PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (PMCB) is down over 25% at $2.16.
Bill.com Holdings, Inc. (BILL) is down over 22% at $100.00.
Cellectis S.A. (CLLS) is down over 16% at $2.72.
Silvergate Capital Corporation (SI) is down over 13% at $18.22.
Atlassian Corporation (TEAM) is down over 9% at $164.98.
Clearfield, Inc. (CLFD) is down over 8% at $64.51.
Mobile Global Esports Inc. (MGAM) is down over 8% at $3.18.
Motorsport Games Inc. (MSGM) is down over 7% at $21.16.
Zimmer Biomet Sees FY23 Profit In Line With View
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (ZBH) said it expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range $6.95 – $7.15 and revenue growth of 1.5% – 3.5% for fiscal year 2023. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $6.98 per share for fiscal year 2023. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company reported that its fourth quarter net loss widened to $130.5 million or $0.62 per share from $84.0 million or $0.40 per share last year.
Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations for the latest-quarter were $396.3 million or $1.88 per share.
Fourth quarter net sales from continuing operations were $1.825 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the prior year period, and an increase of 8.3% on a constant currency basis.
Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.83 per share and revenues of $1.76 billion for the fourth quarter.
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