Want
to
buffer
your
portfolio
from
a
downturn?
Step
away
from
cash
and
into
bonds,
UBS
says

Proactive
investors
will
want
to
switch
out
of
their
cash-heavy
positions
now
and
get
into
bonds
before
the
Federal
Reserve
begins
cutting
rates,
said
UBS’s
Mark
Haefele.

The
100
largest
money
market
funds
are
still
yielding
well
over
5%,
but
those
rates
will
come
down
as
the
Fed
trims
rates.
Haefele,
global
chief
investment
officer
for
wealth
management,
said
that
in
its
base
case
UBS
expects
8.5%
returns
for
high-quality
medium
duration
bonds,
compared
to
4.3%
for
cash.

Another
reason
to
go
for
longer-term
fixed
income:
In
a
hard
landing
situation,
portfolio
losses
would
be
cushioned
by
those
bonds.
In
a
recession
scenario,
UBS
anticipates
equity
markets
could
tumble
more
than
15%
on
a
total
return
basis,
but
those
losses
would
be
curbed
by
a
16%
rally
in
bonds.

A
portfolio
that
is
allocated
60%
toward
stocks
and
40%
in
bonds
would
see
just
a
3%
decline
in
this
circumstance,
Haefele
said.

“Investors
holding
excessive
cash
would
not
be
as
well
insulated
in
this
scenario

cash
does
not
‘rally,
and
the
returns
on
rates
would
likely
fall
in
this
scenario,'”
he
wrote.

Darla
Mercado

Transportation
stocks
poised
to
catch
a
bid,
MRB
Partners
says

With
the
downturn
in
freight
shipments
poised
to
reverse
in
2024,
partly
due
to
low
inventories
spurring
a
revival
in
manufacturing
output,
transportation
stocks
should
similarly
rebound,
according
to
a
Thursday
note
from
MRB
Partners.
Increased
global
trade
should
also
give
the
stocks
a
boost,
the
researcher
said.

Within
the
industry,
MRB
recommends
air
freight
and
logistics
companies,
saying,
“the
recent
upswing
in
air
freight
revenue
ton
miles
bodes
well
for
the
relative
forward
earnings
of
air
freight
stocks,
which
are
also
attractively
valued.”

Railroads
and
truckers,
meanwhile,
are
being
held
in
check
by
“muted
growth
in
non-intermodal
rail
traffic,
subdued
pricing
trends,
and
elevated
relative
valuations,”
MRB
strategist
Salvatore
Ruscitti
wrote.

The
Dow
Jones
Transportation
Average
is
higher
by
2.3%
so
far
this
week
and
up
0.34%
for
the
year
thus
far,
exactly
matching
the
S&P
500
this
week
but
lagging
the
S&P’s
2.6%
gain
in
2024.



Scott
Schnipper,
Michael
Bloom

Intel,
AMD,
Nvidia
drag
Nasdaq
100
futures
lower

Shares
of
major
semiconductor
stocks
dragged
Nasdaq
100
futures
lower
on
Thursday
evening.
The
index
sank
by
0.5%,
losing
about
90
points
in
after-hours
trading.

Semiconductor
manufacturer


Intel

lost
about
10%
after
reporting

disappointing
first-quarter
guidance
.

Shares
of
another
semiconductor
company,


Advanced
Micro
Devices
,
sank
more
than
3%,
while
software
and
manufacturing
equipment
provider


Applied
Materials

lost
2.3%.
Semiconductor
company


KLA

also
shed
6%
after
posting
lower-than-expected
guidance
for
the
fiscal
third
quarter,
and


Nvidia

shed
1.7%
on
the
back
of
the
sector’s
declines.



Pia
Singh

Intel,
Levi
Strauss
among
companies
moving
in
after-hours
trading


Check
out
the
companies
making
headlines
in
after-hours
trading:



  • T-Mobile
     —
    The
    telecommunications
    stock
    shed
    2.9%%
    after
    T-Mobile
    missed
    on
    earnings
    expectations
    for
    the
    fourth
    quarter,
    but
    beat
    on
    revenue.
    The
    company
    posted
    $1.67
    per
    share
    in
    earnings,
    while
    analysts
    polled
    by
    LSEG
    expected
    $1.90
    per
    share.
    Revenue
    came
    out
    at
    $20.48
    billion
    for
    the
    period,
    higher
    than
    the
    expected
    $19.64
    billion
    according
    to
    LSEG.


  • Intel
     —
    Shares
    of
    the
    chip
    manufacturer
    lost
    nearly
    8%
    in
    after-hours
    trading
    after
    the
    company
    posted disappointing
    first-quarter
    guidance
    .
    Intel
    expects
    adjusted
    earnings
    of
    13
    cents
    per
    share
    for
    the
    first
    quarter
    of
    2024,
    while
    analysts
    surveyed
    by
    LSEG
    called
    for
    33
    cents
    per
    share.
    Anticipated
    revenue
    of
    $12.2
    billion
    to
    $13.2
    billion
    also
    came
    short
    of
    analysts’
    expectations
    of
    $14.15
    billion
    in
    revenue
    for
    the
    period.


  • Levi
    Strauss
     —
    Shares
    of
    Levi
    Strauss
    declined
    nearly
    1%
    after
    the
    apparel
    company
    said
    Thursday
    it
    will cut
    at
    least
    10%
    of
    its
    global
    corporate
    workforce
     through
    restructuring
    efforts.
    The
    job
    cuts
    will
    happen
    in
    the
    first
    half
    of
    2024,
    the
    company
    said.
    Fourth-quarter
    earnings
    also
    came
    out
    Thursday,
    with
    Levi’s
    adjusted
    earnings
    per
    share
    beating
    estimates,
    but
    falling
    short
    on
    expectations
    for
    revenue.

For
the
full
list,
read

here
.



Pia
Singh

Stock
futures
open
in
the
red

Futures
tied
to
the Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average were
lower
on
Thursday,
down
67
points,
or
0.18%.

S&P
500
futures shed
about
0.15%.
Nasdaq
100
futures dropped
0.4%,
led
by
declines
from


Intel

after
a
disappointing
first-quarter
guidance.



Pia
Singh