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