Markets Open Higher

Peace talks are apparently back on for today between the U.S. and Iran, as they were a week ago in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hopes are high for a near-term deal that would open the Strait of Hormuz and eventually have Iran give up its uranium-enrichment program for building nuclear weapons.

It’s a big ask, I’m sure all would agree. But oil prices are now below $90 per barrel (/bbl) on WTI and $95/bbl on Brent crude. Pre-market futures also look healthy on this promise. The Dow is leading the major indexes at this hour: +286 points, +0.58%, the S&P 500 is +25 points, +0.36%, the Nasdaq +118 points, +0.44%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 +12 points, +0.45%.

Retail Sales Jump Month over Month

The March print on U.S. Retail Sales is out ahead of today’s open, +1.7% versus expectations for +1.5%, and 100 basis points (bps) up month over month from the upwardly revised +0.7%. This March number is the highest we’ve seen since January 2023. Ex-autos, this figure rises another 20 bps to +1.9%, +0.5% higher than anticipated and an upwardly revised +0.7% the prior month. Again, this is the highest read we’ve seen since January three years ago.

Gas stations for the month rose +15.5% in retail sales, which turbo-charged these month-over-month gains. Year over year, +4.0% is the new headline, +30 bps from the prior month. For some context, this is still below the average +4.74% from 1993-2026.

What to Expect After Today’s Open

Two economic reports await investors a half-hour after today’s opening bell. It’s expected that Business Inventories for February will have swung back to positive +0.3% versus -0.1% the previous month. Pending Home Sales for March are expected to land in positive territory for the second-straight month, though lower: +0.5% versus the prior print of +1.8%, which was the highest since November.

Earnings Results Ahead of the Bell: MMM, GE & More

St. Paul, MN-based 3M MMM posted mixed results in its Q1 earnings report released this morning. Earnings of $2.14 per share easily surpassed the Zacks consensus of $2.02. Revenues of $6.00 billion came in a smidge below the $6.02 billion analysts were expecting, but up from the $5.78 billion in the year-ago quarter. Shares are down -3% on the news, but the stock had gained +15.2% year to date.

GE Aerospace GE posted big positive surprises on both top and bottom lines in its Q1 report this morning. Earnings of $1.86 per share was well above the $1.61 consensus, for a +15.5% surprise, while revenues in the quarter of $11.61 billion outpaced expectations by +9.1%, and much higher than the $9 billion reported a year ago. But a 44x forward P/E and some margin pressures expected in its Commercial Engines business is helping move the stock down -3.7%. 

UnitedHealth UNH came in strongly ahead of Q1 estimates this morning, with earnings of $7.23 per share up +11.9% from the Zacks consensus of $6.46 per share. Revenues of $111.72 billion outperformed estimates by +2.07%, and the health insurance major is up +7% in today’s pre-market trading, swinging to positive gains year to date. 
Homebuilder D.R. Horton DHI was mixed in its fiscal Q2 report this morning. Earnings of $2.24 per share bettered the $2.15 estimate, for a +4.2% positive surprise (though down from the $2.58 per share released in the year-ago quarter). Revenues of $7.56 billion wound up -1.33% from estimates. Shares are up nearly +7% at this hour, after the stock having gained +6% year to date.

After today’s closing bell, we’ll see new quarterly results from Intuitive Surgical ISRG, United Airlines UAL and Capital One COF.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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