March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH24) are trending down -0.04% this morning as market participants braced for U.S. factory activity data while also awaiting remarks from Fed officials.
In Thursday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indexes closed higher. Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) climbed over +14% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after the food and meat processor posted upbeat Q1 results. Also, Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) gained more than +5% after reporting better-than-expected Q4 gross margins. In addition, Salesforce Inc (CRM) rose about +3% and was the top percentage gainer on the Dow after the cloud software giant reported stronger-than-expected Q4 results, rolled out its first-ever quarterly dividend, and increased its share buyback program by $10 billion. On the bearish side, Snowflake Inc (SNOW) plunged more than -18% after the data warehousing company offered below-consensus Q1 and FY25 product revenue guidance and announced that Chief Executive Officer Frank Slootman is stepping down from the role. Also, HP Inc (HPQ) fell over -1% after posting weaker-than-expected Q1 revenue.
