2024-01-03 06:45:55 ET
Summary
- Maersk suspends Red Sea transit after ship attack.
- AST SpaceMobile seeks strategic investment, shares rise.
- Universal Logistics expands into Roanoke, Virginia market.
Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Maersk ( AMKBY ) to continue pausing Red Sea transit after attack on ship. (00:23) AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) soars after seeing fundraising close this month. (01:19) Universal Logistics ( ULH ) to invest $50M for expansion into greater Roanoke, Virginia market. (01:53)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
Shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk ( OTCPK:AMKBY ) ( OTCPK:AMKBF ) said Tuesday it will halt all transit through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal until further notice. This decision was made after a weekend attack on one of its ships.
Maersk ( OTCPK:AMKBY ) ( OTCPK:AMKBF ) said an investigation into the incident is continuing and that some vessels will be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
Hapag-Lloyd ( OTCPK:HLAGF ) ( OTCPK:HPGLY ) said it will continue to avoid Red Sea transits until at least January 9 in response to the attacks.
Shares of both shippers surged more than 5% in European trading, the result of spikes in booking costs for some tankers in the wake of taking the lengthy diversions to avoid disruptions at the Suez Canal as well as the Panama Canal.
According to RBC Capital Markets, more than 10% of global trade and ~3M bbl/day of crude oil pass through the Red Sea.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS ) is up +5% pre-market after saying it is seeking to close and fund a previously disclosed strategic investment with multiple parties in January.
The company is attempting to build the first space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones. It also reported initial ground infrastructure orders from two customers for planned commercial service.
The announcement came after AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) shares plummeted 19.5% in regular trading on no news.
Universal Logistics (NASDAQ: ULH ) is expanding and the company has set its sights on Virginia.
Tuesday ULH announced expansion into a new industrial building within the greater Roanoke, Virginia area.
The company expects to invest about $50M and generate 45 new employment opportunities with the expansion.
The 254,000-square-foot facility is expected to commence operations in 2025.
On our catalyst watch for the day,
Other articles to look out for on Seeking Alpha:
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Tesla's China-made EV sales surged in December, capturing over half of global deliveries in 2023
The 2024 trading year started off with a mostly downward move by major averages.
The Nasdaq ( COMP.IND ) finished to the downside by 1.63%, the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) slid by 0.57%, and the Dow ( DJI ) concluded slightly higher by 0.07%.
Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. The Dow is down 0.2%, the S & P 500 is down 0.2% and the Nasdaq is down 0.4%. Crude oil is down 0.3% at more than $70 per barrel. Bitcoin is down 1.3% and below $45,000.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.4% and the DAX is down 0.6%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: PGT Innovations (NYSE: PGTI ) is up nearly 5% following an unsolicited proposal from Miter Brands.
On today’s economic calendar:
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10:00 Job openings and labor turnover survey
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2:00 FOMC minutes
For further details see:
Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Maersk Extends Red Sea Pause