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Good morning investors! Stocks continue to hit new highs as we await some more earning reports.
Today we cover:
Morning Download presents a new AI tool
More tariffs?
Stocks hit a new high
📣 Announcement - Find a Great Stock
You’ve asked for better ways to analyze stocks and find good value stocks, so today we’re announcing the launch of an AI-driven stock analyzer. This is a beta version and we’ll continually add more features based on your feedback, so please let us know what you think!
You enter any stock and the stock analyzer tells you:
Company info
Price history
Analyst recommendation score
Bulls vs Bears News
The last 2 are the most important. It’ll give you an average rating across all the analysts that cover the stock. For example, for Apple, you can see most analysts rate this a Buy and Strong Buy:
Next is the news, which is broken into recent articles that are Bullish and Bearish, so you can get both sides and make an educated decision. All the articles are linked so you can read them to dig deeper. Notice they are all current, with many of them from the same day (I took this screenshot yesterday).
So give it a try and reply to this email with your thoughts and any features you'd like us to add.
📊 Economy and News
Trump Considers Expanding Tariffs to Autos, Pharmaceuticals, and Semiconductors
President Donald Trump said he may expand U.S. tariffs to include automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, with duties around 25% that could rise over a year. He did not specify whether all imported vehicles would be affected or if certain countries would be targeted, but the tariffs could begin as early as April 2.
This move would extend the administration’s trade policy, which already includes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum set for March. This is going to impact auto exports, including Mexico, Japan, and Canada.
Trump claimed the tariffs are prompting foreign companies to return to the U.S. Japan and India could face the biggest impact in pharmaceuticals, potentially raising costs and causing shortages.
Semiconductor tariffs, which Trump did not specify a timeline for, could affect Taiwan Semiconductor, a key supplier for Nvidia and Apple.
Global hits:
New Zealand slashes rates for a fourth straight time in bid to boost a slowing economy.
UK inflation leaps to higher-than-expected 3% in January.
China deal-making ramps up after years of decline as domestic companies prepare for Trump tariffs.
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Mortgage: The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) . Refinance applications declined by 7% over the week but remained 39% higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, mortgage applications for home purchases dropped 6% for the week but were still up 7% year over year.
Check this: Embattled EV maker Nikola files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Also, HSBC announces share buyback of up to $2 billion as annual profit jumps 6.5%.
Fed Minutes: Federal Reserve officials in January agreed that inflation must ease further before they consider lowering interest rates, according to meeting minutes released Wednesday. They also expressed concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could complicate efforts to bring inflation down.
Warning: By 2055, 84% of all U.S. homes may see some drop in value, totaling $1.47 trillion in losses, due to climate change.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 6,144.15 (+0.24%)
DJIA 44,627.59 (+0.16%)
NASDAQ 20,056.25 (+0.75%)
BRENT CRUDE 76.06 (+0.29%)
* Prices as of Feb 20th, 12:20 AM UTC
S&P 500 closes at another record
The S&P 500 reached a new all-time high on Wednesday, demonstrating market resilience despite ongoing trade concerns and a cautious stance from the Federal Reserve.
Technology stocks led the gains, with Microsoft rising +1.3% after unveiling its first-ever quantum computing chip. Tesla also advanced nearly +2%, while Analog Devices surged close to +10% following stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. Another big winner was SCMI that gained nearly +8%.
Moreover, Hims & Hers Health stock gained about +18% on news that the company has acquired Trybe Labs, which will allow the telehealth company to offer at-home testing. The deal will create competition for Labcorp and Quest.
The share price of Palantir fell by as much as -12%. The drop followed a report by the Washington Post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told top Pentagon brass to prepare to cut the U.S. defense budget by +8% each year for the next five years.
Exciting: Apple is releasing a new low-cost iPhone called iPhone 16e, and it will retail for $599 when it goes on sale later this month. Moreover, Bank of America estimates that Apple will need to raise prices for the iPhone, other products 9% to fully offset Trump’s coming tariffs.
Check this: JetBlue is talking with carriers about a potential new partnership after a judge blocked JetBlue’s planned purchase of Spirit Airlines last year. On the other hand, Forever 21 is in talks with liquidators, indicating it’s struggling to find a buyer, as it prepares to close 200 more stores.
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