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NEWS
Bulls Follow Through Amid Jobs Miss

Source: Tenor

It was another wild day in the market, with tariffs, economic news, and earnings ruling the day. Big tech battled back and helped spark a broad-based bounce (besides energy). Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has experienced its largest three-day decline of recent history as investors fear the worst for the U.S. economy. 👀

Today’s issue covers the big ADP payroll miss, updates on Trump’s tariffs, two big developments in healthcare, and other noteworthy pops & drops. 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 9 of 11 sectors closed green, with materials (+2.61%) leading and energy (-1.46%) lagging.

Source: Finviz

And here are the closing prices: 

ECONOMY
The ADP Payroll Report’s Major Miss 📊 

Investors are already worried about the economy because of slow growth estimates, Trump’s tariffs weighing on business decisions, and many other factors. However, today’s job numbers have brought the labor market back to the forefront.

Private sector job creation in February was just 77,000, down from January’s upwardly revised 186,000 and estimates of 148,000. That’s the smallest increase since July and adds to data from other metrics showing the labor market’s slow but steady cooling. 🧊 

Worries about the labor market are keeping stock investors on their toes, cutting their losers or any company that gives them a reason to worry. After the bell, several stocks saw major moves lower following their earnings reports. 👇️ 

Marvell Technology fell 13% after earnings and revenue topped estimates, but management issued a cautious outlook given the uncertain environment. Read more.

MongoDB dipped 16% after topping estimates but warned that its non-Atlas business would face growth headwinds in the fiscal year 2026. Read more.

Grindr slid despite beating estimates, as investors focused on the slowdown in revenue growth instead of profitability progress. Read more.

Zscaler was one standout, rising 5% after its earnings and revenue topped estimates, with ARR exceeding $2.7 billion. Read more.

Investors will get more context on the labor market’s health tomorrow and Friday. Any material slowdown will likely be interpreted as fears of a recession hurting stocks and risk assets further. Time will tell. 😬 

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POLICY
Delayed Car Tariffs Fuel Automakers ⛽️ 

President Donald Trump is pumping the brakes on auto tariffs, with automakers winning a one-month delay from newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada. General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis executives argued that consumer demand already suffers from high prices and financing rates. 🛑 

Auto stocks rebounded today but have only recovered part of this week’s decline.

Southern Copper and Freeport-McMoRan soared after a Bloomberg report detailed a copper price surge driven by Trump’s comments on potential tariffs. Last week, Trump directed the Commerce Department to investigate whether copper imports should be subject to tariffs on national security grounds.

The news and uncertainty sparked an upgrade of Barrick Gold from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ at UBS. The bank kept its $22 target and cited current prices as a “compelling value.”

And the semiconductor sector remained on edge, with Trump calling to end the Chips Act, the $52 billion in semiconductor subsidies designed to drive U.S. investment. Taiwan Semiconductor popped on the news, while domestic chipmakers like Intel pulled back. 🏭️ 

As we’ve been discussing, the back-and-forth commentary about tariffs, sanctions, and other tools in the economic/geopolitical battles taking place is impacting certain sectors more than others. As a result, some investors are taking a step back from these areas, hoping to avoid the volatility and hop back in once there’s clarity.

STOCKS
Other Noteworthy Pops & Drops 📋️ 

KKR & Co. ($KKR +2%): Sold its stake in the Japanese distribution and retail business operator Seiyu to Trial Holdings, representing a “significant outcome.”

ASML Holdings ($ASML +4%): The semiconductor equipment giant reiterated its sales forecast for the year despite uncertainty around tariffs and sanctions.

Gorilla Tech ($GRRR +9%): On Monday, it announced a $1.8 billion agreement to lead Thailand’s energy digitization and infrastructure transformation initiative.

Carrier Global ($CARR +5%): JPMorgan upgraded the stock from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Overweight’ while raising its price target by $1 to $78. It noted that the stock is trading below its HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) peers.

Daktronics ($DAKT -15%): The video display supplier’s third-quarter results fell short of estimates, with Reece Kurtenbach stepping down as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board on March 5. His replacement search is underway.

Blackstone ($BX +1%): Funds managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) made a strategic minority investment in asset manager ITE Management, L.P.

Stratasys Inc. ($SSYS -1%): The 3D printing company’s revenue fell 4% YoY but still topped estimates marginally. However, its forward guidance missed expectations.

COMPANY NEWS
Novo Nordisk Goes Direct 📦️ 

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its NovoCare Pharmacy on Wednesday, offering consumers the opportunity to buy its Wegovy weight loss medication at a reduced cost of $499 per month for cash-paying patients who are uninsured or lack coverage for obesity medicines. 💊 

It’s the latest company in the space to begin selling medicines directly to patients. Eli Lilly sold its obesity drug Zepbound to patients last year amid supply shortages that allowed cheaper, compounded versions provided by Hims & Hers and other telehealth companies to capture some market share.

Analysts say this strategy seeks to push compounding pharmacy players out of the market, allowing major players like Novo Nordisk and Zepbound to use their size and pricing power to sacrifice short-term profits to maintain market control.

Novo Nordisk shares rose about 4% on the news. Still, Stocktwits community sentiment remains in ‘bearish’ territory as investors focus on the increasingly competitive environment and price concessions big players are making to secure market share. 🐻 

Source: Stocktwits

Lastly, we need to mention vaccine maker Moderna when discussing healthcare stocks. The stock soared 15% today on two pieces of news. 👀 

First, CEO Sephane Bancel bought $5 million of common stock on the open market this past Monday, with director Paul Sagan also buying $1 million in shares. Secondly, a court in Germany ruled that a COVID patent Moderna held was violated by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, leading to compensation if upheld.

That sparked a major rally today, and technical analysts say the move is coming at an interesting level. Prices are stabilizing at their post-IPO highs from years ago, and momentum is showing a positive divergence. The beaten-down stock needed a catalyst to get a mean reversion going, and many view this news as just that. 👍️ 

Source: TradingView

PRESENTED BY STOCKTWITS
Daily Rip Live: The Job Market’s Major Miss 🧑‍💼 

Hosts Shay Boloor and Katie Petty break down the market’s rocky start, why the $496 level in QQQ ( ▲ 1.304% ) is critical, tech’s price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the job market’s latest miss, earnings expectations, and opportunities (and risks) in the buy-now-pay-later and cybersecurity sectors.

WHAT’S ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Top Things 📋

Economic data: European Central Bank Rate Decision (8:15 am ET), ECB Press Conference (8:45 am ET), ECB Economic Projections (9:45 am ET), ECB President Lagarde Speech (10:15 am ET), Fed Waller Speech (3:30 pm ET), Fed Bostic Speech (7:00 pm ET). 📊

Pre-Market Earnings: JD ($JD), Polestar Automotive ($PSNY), Kroger ($KR), Macy’s ($M), Gevo ($GEVO), Mind Medicine ($MMND), BJ’s Wholesale Club ($BJ). 🛏️

After-Hour Earnings: Broadcom ($AVGO), Costco ($COST), Serve Robotics ($SERV), Gap ($GPS), BigBear AI Holdings ($BBAI), Hewlett Packard ($HPE), Samsara ($IOT). 🎧

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls and more straight from the Stocktwits app or website. You’ll find them on the calendar page and individual symbol pages once they’re set to begin! We’ll see you there. 👍

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🛡️ Scale AI announces multimillion-dollar defense deal, a major step in U.S. military automation

🤑 Ahead of a possible $4 billion IPO, CoreWeave’s founders already pocketed $488 million

✂️ Disney cuts 6% of staffers from news and entertainment unit, shutters data-driven website 538

📈 Revenue prediction startup Gong surpasses $300M in annualized revenue, indicating potential IPO path

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