Sri Lanka Reinstates Emergency As Economic Crisis Drags On

Sri Lanka imposed an emergency for the second time in five weeks as protests continued in the capital city of Colombo. 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's order gives broad powers to security forces in clamping down violent protests. 

"in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community," the statement released by the President's office noted. 

The island nation of 22 million (2.2 crore) citizens has been struggling with shortages of food, energy, and fuel. 

The nation also defaulted on its $51 billion foreign currency loan last month and is currently in negotiation with the International Monetary Fund and India. 

Students have been protesting for months and demanding the resignation of the current government. 

Sri Lanka's economic crisis worsened after the pandemic stopped the steady flow of tourist arrivals and supply disruptions affected the export of main crop tea and apparel.  

The island nation heavily relies on tourism which generated $4 billion in 2019 with additional merchandise export of $13 billion, according to the data released by the government. 

Record 2.8 million tourist arrived in 2018 but the arrivals plunged to 1.9 million following the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019, according to the statistics provided by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Tourism arrivals dropped further to 194,500 in 2021 from 507,311 arrivals in 2020 when most arrived  before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic forced the airport closures in March.

With a total of 285,000 arrivals, tourism has been on the rebound in the first quarter of 2022 but still 60% below the record arrivals in the period in 2018. 

With the foreign exchange reserve exhausted and the tourism industry showing no sign of rebound, the government was forced to seek loans from India and the international multilateral institutions. 

For months, Sri Lankans have been struggling to access daily necessities and basic food items as the country is experiencing power cuts and fuel rationing and unable to pay for oil and food imports. 

 Tourist arrivals from China are not expected to rebound as the communist nation is battling the resurgent coronavirus and European tourists delay their travels.  

Frequent power cuts and lack of fuel has hampered the apparel exporters in meeting their orders.

 Moreover, high fertilizer prices and lack of foreign exchange has also curtailed tea production 30%.

 At the close of financial markets on Friday, the Sri Lankan rupee traded at 360 in Colombo against one U.S. dollar, down sharply from the low of 175 in the last week in April 2019 just before the Easter bombings. 

After Wild Swings Indexes Closed Down

U.S. market indexes opened lower and quickly fell 2.4% after thirty minutes of trading. 

In volatile trading, major indexes lacked direction but generally traded lower than Thursday's close. 

Indexes breached the positive line briefly around 11:20 a.m. for eight minutes and again around 1:04 p.m. for less than two minutes. 

Stocks fell lower in the afternoon, before turning higher just before 3:26 p.m. 

At close, the S&P 500 index fell 0.56% or 23.20 points and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.4% or 173.03 points.

For the week, the S&P 500 index declined 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1%. 

The U.S. stocks decline on Thursday erased more than the gains in Wednesday's trading on the worries that the Fed's response to the latest bout of inflation is not going to fall short as the labor market conditions remain tight.  

The jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor released today indicated employment increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate was 3.6% matching the rate in March. 

Employers added jobs for the twelfth month in a row but labor participation rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 62.2% and available labor force shrank by 363,000. 

Wage gains may be easing after the jobs report showed that private sector hourly rate gains increased 5.5% in the 12-month to April, a decline from 5.6% in the same period to March. 

Bausch & Lomb jumped 10% to $19.75 after the company priced its initial public offering at $18 a share, sharply lower than the expected range of $21 to $24. 

UnderArmour plunged more than 19% after the apparel company reported adjusted profit of 1 cents below the estimated range between 3 and 6 cents. The company also issued a weaker-than-expected outlook. 

Zillow Group fell 15% after the real estate broker reported strong quarterly results but issued weak annual outlook. 

DoorDash Inc gained 2% after the delivery company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the orders delivered rose 23% from a year ago to 402 million. 

Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion. 

Crude oil increased $1.96 to $110.22 a barrel and the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bond increased to 3.12%. 

Hungary held up the latest EU sanctions on Russian oil ban and demanded more time and money. 

The union of 27 nations must agree to place any sanctions and is ready to impose its sixth round of sanctions on Russia. 

In Europe, the DAX index and the CAC-40 index declined 1.6% and the FTSE index fell 1.5% after the Bank of England yesterday estimated that the elevated energy prices are pushing the U.K. economy to a sharp slowdown. 

In Asian markets, the Nikkei index edged up 0.7% but the indexes in Hong Kong declined 3.8% and in Shanghai dropped 2.2%. 

Markets in China were on the defensive after top Chinese leaders issued strongly worded public comments in support of the zero-Covid policy.  

 China's premier Xi Jinping and other top leaders reiterated strong support for zero-Covid policy and sent strongest warnings to anyone doubting the government's commitment to zero-Covid policy. 

Dozens of cities in China are going through severe restrictions or lockdowns. 

In a broad sell-off in Mumbai, banks led the losers and small and mid-cap indexes also dropped more than 1%. 

The rupee declined 57 cents to 76.92 against one U.S. dollar.    

Papa John's North America Comparable Sales Growth Plunged to 1.9%

Papa John's International said first quarter 2022 revenues increased 6% to $542.7 million but net income declined 68% to $10.5 million. 

Diluted earnings per share fell to 29 cents from 82 cents a year ago. 

System-wide restaurant sales increased 5.2% to $1.3 billion and more than half of sales growth was driven by unit sales increase and the rest was driven by price hikes. 

Comparable sales in North America increased 1.9% and 0.8% at international locations following prior year gains of 26.2% and 23.2% respectively. 

Comparable sales growth turned negative and fell 1.2% at domestic restaurants owned by the company from a 23.3% surge a year ago. 

North American franchised restaurant comparable sales growth declined to 2.8% from 27.1% a year ago. 

In the last four quarters, the company opened 188 restaurants in international locations and 56 in North America of which 19 restaurants in the U.S. locations owned by the company and 39 franchisee owned.  

In the last quarter, the company opened net new 62 restaurants and revised higher its annual target range between 280 and 320 from the previous range of 260 to 300. 

The company also signed a deal with China-based FountainVest Partners to open at least 1,350 by 2040. 

The company also agreed to sell its majority stake in a joint venture with 90 restaurants to a franchisee Sun Holdings with 100 locations. 

Guidance and Outlook 

Papa Johns is now providing a new multi-year target of 6% to 8% annual net unit growth worldwide for fiscal 2023 through 2025. 

Company and Stock 

Papa John's International Inc is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and operates 5,524 restaurants in 49 countries. There are about 3,354 restaurants in North America and 2,170 located at international locations. 

Papa John's stock fell 6% to $89.82 after the release of earnings today and the stock has declined 34.8% in the year-so-far. 

DoorDash to Finalize $8.1 Billion Wolt Acquisition in Q2

DoorDash Inc confirmed the acquisition of Helsinki-based Wolt, European delivery company, announced in November 2021 for all-stock $8.1 billion is expected to close in the second quarter 2022. 

The company confirmed the closure period in the latest earnings released on May 5. 

With the acquisition of Wolt, the company will expand into 23 new countries in Europe including Germany, Poland, and Czechia and Kazakhstan and Cyprus.  

DoorDash Inc is headquartered in San Francisco, California and employs about 8,600 people. 

DoorDash stock after the earnings release increased 45 cents to $73.52 and for the year-to-date declined 49.4%.  

DoorDash Gross Orders and Revenues Jump, Holds $4 Billion Cash and No Debt

DoorDash Inc reported first quarter revenues increased 40% to $1.5 billion and net loss jumped 50% to $167 million. 

Diluted loss per share rose to 48 cents from 34 cents a year ago. 

In the quarter, total orders increased 23% to 404 million and gross marketplace volume increased 23% to $12.4 billion. 

Revenues in the quarter rose at a faster rate than in the gross market volume because of higher cost of delivery and extreme weather in the quarter a year ago. 

Revenue margin, revenues as a percentage of gross order volume, increased to 11.8% from 10.9% a year ago. 

Operating cash flow in the quarter was negative $20 million and free cash flow was negative $91 million. 

For the trailing 12 months, operating cash flow was $506 million and free cash flow was $252 million.

The company still expects positive cash flow in the full-year 2022 and at the end of the quarter held $4.2 billion in cash, cash equivalent, liquid investments and no debt. 

Guidance and Outlook 

The company guided second quarter gross market volume between $12.1 billion and $12.5 billion and adjusted operating earnings between breakeven and $100 million. 

The company revised higher full-year 2022 gross market volume range to between $49.0 billion and $51.0 billion from the previous estimate of $48.0 billion and $50.0 billion. 

The company reiterated its adjusted operating earnings range between breakeven and $500 million. 

Company and Stock

The company also confirmed that the acquisition of Helsinki-based Wolt, European delivery company, announced in November 2021 for all-stock $8.1 billion is expected to close in the second quarter 2022. 

With the acquisition of Wolt, the company will expand into 23 new countries in Europe including Germany, Poland, and Czechia and Kazakhstan and Cyprus.  

DoorDash Inc is headquartered in San Francisco, California and employs about 8,600 people. 

DoorDash stock after the earnings release increased 45 cents to $73.52 and for the year-to-date declined 49.4%.  

Movers: Cigna, Clouflare, DraftKings, DoorDash, Live Nation, Under Armour, Shake Shack

Cigna Corp increased 4.7% to $263.09 after the health insurance company reported first quarter revenues rose nearly 10% to $44 billion and net income increased 18% to $1.9 billion or $3.68 a share. 

Specialty pharmacy business recorded a strong revenue growth of 10% to $33.5 billion in the quarter. 

Cloudflare Inc fell 19.7% to $62.21 after the internet security company reported first quarter revenues rose 54% to $212.2 million and net loss increased slightly to $41.4 million or 13 cents a share from a year ago. 

The company guided second quarter revenues between $226.5 million and $227.5 million and non-GAAP earnings between a loss of 1 cent and breakeven. 

Full-year revenues between $955 million and $959 million and non-GAAP earnings between 3 cents and 4 cents a share.  

DraftKings Inc declined 5.7% to $13.73 after the sports betting company reported March quarter revenues soared 34% to $417 million and monthly unique paying customers increased 29% to 2 million. 

The company lifted its fiscal year 2022 revenue guidance from a range of $1.85 billion to $2.0 billion to a range of $1.925 billion to $2.025 billion.

The company also improved its fiscal year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA guidance from between a loss of $825 million and $925 million to between a loss of $760 million and $840 million.

DoorDash Inc dropped 11% before rebounding 3% after the food delivery company reported strong quarterly results. 

Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion and orders delivered rose 23% to 403 million from a year ago. 

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc rebounded to unchanged after dropping as much as 9% after the concert ticketing company reported first quarter revenues increased six-fold to $1.8 billion and profit was $27.1 million compared to a loss of $303 million a year ago. 

The company sold about 11 million tickets in the first quarter compared to 15 million in the similar quarter in 2019. 

Gross ticket volume in the first quarter was the second best in the company's history. 

Cvent Holding and Eventbrite Inc fell as much as 10%. 

Shake Shack Inc decreased 5.2% to $53.16 after the fast food restaurant chain reported first quarter sales increased 31% to $203.4 million and comparable stores sales rose 10.9%. 

The company reported a quarterly loss of $10.2 million or 26 cents a share compared to profit of $0.6 million or 3 cents a share. 

Under Armour Inc plunged 27.2% to $10.44 after the apparel retailer reported March quarter revenues rose 3% to $1.3 billion and gross margin declined 350 basis points to 46.5% 

The fashion retailer guided fiscal year 2023 revenues to increase between 5% and 7% to $5.7 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share between 63 cents and 68 cents compared to 68 cents in the baseline period. 

The company recently changed its fiscal year from December 31 to March 31 and there will be no fiscal year 2022. 

Zillow Group declined 11.3% to $35.29 after the company guided softening market conditions in the second quarter. 

The real estate platform and a brokerage group reported 211 million unique visitors in the month. Consolidated revenues increased about 10% to $536 million, excluding the home flipping business.  

The company guided core business - Internet, media, and technology segment - revenues in the June 1uarter between $472 million and $492 million.

U.S. Employers Added 428,000 Jobs, Labor Participation Rate Falls

U.S. employers added jobs at a slower pace in April broadly and a sustained recovery in the labor market extends to the 12th month in a row. 

Non-farm payroll increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate held at 3.6% from March. 

Hospitality and leisure sector led the job growth in the month with 78,000 additions, manufacturing added 55,000, and transportation and warehousing jobs increased by 52,000. 

Financial activities added 35,000 jobs and healthcare employment increased 34,000. 

Average hourly earnings rose 10 cents or 0.3% to $31.85 or increased 5.5% on a 12-month basis. 

March payroll increase was revised down 36,000 to 714,000 and February data was revised lower 3,000 to 428,000. 

Labor force participation rate held at 62.2% and the employment-population ratio stayed nearly unchanged at 60.0% compared to a month ago.  

Civilian labor force unexpectedly shrank 363,000 to 164.04 million and labor force participation rate declined 0.2 percentage point from March to 62.2%. 

The latest jobs report is not likely to sway the Federal Reserve from its stated policy of slow tightening. 

Month-to-month decline in labor participation rate may be a one-month noise or indicate a trend reversal, but the rate data will be closely watched in the months to come. 

The Fed is hoping to cool the labor demand by slowing the economy if not enough people join the labor market in the coming months. 

Prior to the pandemic, the civilian labor force peaked at 164.5 million in February 2020 with the participation rate peaking at 63.4% in the month. 

U.S. Indexes Drop 1% After Strong Jobs Report

U.S. market indexes turned lower at the opening and accelerated declines after 20 minutes of trading.  

The S&P 500 index fell 1.8% or 73.8 points and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 2.4% or 289 points.

The U.S. stock decline on Thursday erased more than the gains in Wednesday's trading on the worries that the Fed's response to the latest bout of inflation is not going to be adequate and labor markets conditions remain tight. 

The latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor indicated employment increased 428,000 in April and jobless rate was 3.6% matching the rate in March. 

UnderArmour plunged more than 19% after the apparel company reported adjusted profit of 1 cents below the estimated range between 3 and 6 cents. The company also issued a weaker-than-expected outlook. 

Zillow Group fell 15% after the real estate broker reported strong quarterly results but issued weak annual outlook. 

DoorDash Inc gained 2% after the delivery company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and the orders delivered rose 23% from a year ago to 402 million. 

Revenues rose 35% to $1.5 billion and gross marketplace volume increased 25% to $12.4 billion. 

In Europe, the DAX index and the CAC-40 index declined 1.2% and the FTSE index fell 1% after the Bank of England yesterday estimated that the elevated energy prices are pushing the U.K. economy to a sharp slowdown. 

In Asian markets, the Nikkei index edged up 0.7% but the indexes in Hong Kong declined 3.8% and in Shanghai dropped 2.2%. 

Markets in China were on the defensive after top Chinese leaders issued strongly worded public comments in support of the zero-Covid policy.  

 China's premier Xi Jinping and other top leaders reiterated strong support for zero-Covid policy and sent strongest warnings to anyone doubting the government's commitment to zero-Covid policy. 

Dozens of cities in China are going through severe restrictions or lockdowns. 

In a broad sell-off in Mumbai, banks led the losers and small and mid-cap indexes also dropped more than 1%. 

The rupee declined 57 cents to 76.92 against a dollar and crude oil edged up 2% in international trading to $113.46 a barrel.   

Etsy Net Income Falls 40% After Platform Sales Volume Drops

Etsy, Inc, the online marketplace, reported first quarter revenues increased 5.2% to $579.2 million and net income fell 40.1% to $86.1 million from a year ago. 

Diluted earnings per share fell to 68 cents from $1.14 a year ago. 

Consolidated gross market sales increased 3.5% to $3.3 billion and sales on the Etsy platform decreased 2.0% to $2.8 billion from a year ago 

Consolidated gross market sales fell 20% from $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter 2021.  

Active sellers in the quarter increased 63% to 7.6 million and buyers rose 4.9% to 95.1 million. 

The company repurchases 420,398 shares for $68 million in the first quarter and the quarter with $1.0 billion in cash and cash equivalent and marketable securities. 

Guidance and Outlook 

The company guided between $540 million and $590 million revenues in the second quarter and gross marketplace sales between $2.9 billion and $3.2 billion and adjusted operating earnings margin of 25%.

Company and Stock 

Etsy Inc is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and employs about 2,400 people. 

In today's trading, Etsy, Inc plunged 16.8% to close at $90.93 and has declined 57% in the year-so-far.   

Stock Indexes Plunge On Fears Rates Will Lag Inflation For Months

U.S. indexes opened lower and accelerated declines after investors digested Fed action and comments and reassessed the Fed's plan in combating inflation. 

Fed Chairman Powell's comments suggested that the larger monetary tightening is not on the table unless the new economic data requires.  

The S&P 500 index plunged 3.6% to 4,146.87 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 5% to 12,317.69. 

10-year U.S. Treasury yield jumped to close at 3.09% and crude oil advanced 50 cents to close at $108.34.

Chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference after the rate decision yesterday highlighted the need to bring down the inflation from the current 8.5% rate to the Fed target rate of 2%. 

However, Powell also added "our tools do not do well" with supply side shocks. 

Chairman Powell added that the Fed is powerless in impacting the Inflation emanating from the rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to China's Covid-19 lockdowns. 

Powell went on to add that the "economy is strong" and "labor markets are stronger" and the labor market imbalance needs to be reduced using monetary policy tools.

The JOLT report released by the U.S. Department of Labor indicated there are at least 11.5 million job openings and 6.5 million people are looking for work. 

Yet, the labor participation rate is held steady between 61% and 63% and the rate is expected to decline. 

In a broad sell-off, tech stocks led the losers and e-commerce stocks plunged more than 15%. 

Ebay, Etsy, Wayfair, Shopify dropped between 11% and 26%. 

Large tech companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Alphabet declined between 4%and 6%. 

European markets traded higher but turned negative after the U.S. indexes accelerated losses. 

The DAX index fell 0.5% in Frankfurt, the CAC-40 index declined 0.4% in Paris, and the FTSE 100 index closed up 0.1% after rising as much as 1.3%. 

The U.K. pound tumbled after the Bank of England lifted the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1%. 

The central bank raised rates for the fourth time in a row and highlighted the risk of economic slowdown and added that the inflation is likely to peak around 10%. 

The pound dropped 2% and fell to $1.23. 

Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed today.

Market indexes in Mumbai surged at opening after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key rate 50 basis points and said that the faster rate increase of 75 basis points is not discussed at least for the next couple of meetings.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.4% after China's service sector contracted at the second fastest pace in April and on the ongoing China lockdowns and tech sector crackdown worries. 

The ASX 200 index in Sydney rose 0.8%.

Shopify Swings to Quarterly Loss After Growth Skids

Shopify Inc, the online merchant services provider, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenues of $1.2 billion, an increase of 22% from a year ago. 

Monthly recurring revenues increased 17% to $105.2 million.

Net loss in the quarter was $1.5 billion compared to $1.3 billion of net income. Diluted loss per share was $11.70 compared to net income of $9.94.   

Subscription revenues increased 8% to $344.8 million as more merchants joined the platform. 

Gross merchandise volume increased 16% to $43.2 billion and gross payment volume rose 46% to $22 billion. 

Merchant solutions which include the fees received for processing payment increased 29% to 858.9 million from a year ago. 

Adjusted operating earnings were $31.9 million or 3% of revenues in the quarter compared to $210.8 million or 21% of revenues in the quarter a year ago.  

The company also announced plans to acquire San Francisco-based merchant fulfillment services provider Deliverr for $2.1 billion paid 80% in cash and 20% in Shopify Class A Subordinate Voting Shares.

Deliverr ships over one million orders a month across the United States. 

At the end of the quarter, Shopify had $7.25 billion in cash equivalent compared to $7.77 billion a year ago. 

Guidance and Outlook 

The company guided lower revenues in the first-half compared to the period a year ago after eliminating certain revenue sharing fees with smaller merchants with less than one million in revenues. 

Subscription revenues growth are estimated to match the 2021 growth levels and merchant revenues are estimated to be twice the rate of subscription revenues growth. 

The company estimates capital expenditure of $200 million and stock-based compensation including payroll taxes of $800 million. 

Shopify Inc is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and employs about 10,000 people. 

In today's trading, Shopify stock declined 15.8% to $409.37 and has fallen 70% in the year-so-far. 

Tripadvisor Revenues Double as Travel, Dining Pick Up

Tripadvisor, Inc reported first quarter 2022 revenues increased 113% to $262 million and net loss declined to $34 million from $80 million.  

Revenues in the quarter were 70% of the comparable period in 2019. 

Diluted loss per share declined 75% to $13 million from a loss of $75 million a year ago. 

Hotels, media, and platform segment revenues soared 82% to $160 million and experiences and dining segment revenues surged 229% to $92 million. 

In the first quarter average monthly unique users on Tripadvisor-branded websites rose 27% from a year ago and reached 71% in the comparable period in 2019.  

The company appointed media veteran Matt Goldberg as its chief executive officer replacing long-time CEO and co-founder Stephen Kaufer.

Tripadvisor Inc is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. 

Tripadvisor stock increased 2.4% to $25.14 and has declined 11.4% in the year-so-far. 

Wayfair Swings to Quarterly Loss, Orders Plunge 33%

Wayfair Inc, the online home furnishing platform reported March quarter total net revenues declined 13.9% to $3.0 billion and the U.S. net revenues fell 9.9% to $2.5 billion. 

The company also reported a quarterly loss of $319 million compared to $18 million a year ago. 

International revenues fell 31.4% to $500 million and the decline in constant currency was 29.6%. 

Revenues per customer in the last 12 months increased 12.8% to $520 and order per customer decreased to 1.87 from 1.98 in the period ending in the first quarter 2021. 

Number of active subscribers fell 23.4% to 25,6 million and orders delivered plunged 33% to 10 million from a year ago. 

Average order increased 21% to $287 from $237 a year ago and about 60% of all orders were placed using mobile 

Wayfair Inc is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and employs about 18,000 people. 

Wayfair stock fell 24.25% to $68.73 and has fallen 65% in the year so far. 

Movers: EPAM, Etsy, Shopify, Sprouts, Tripadvisor, Wayfair

EPAM System, Inc surged 13.6% to $354.72 after the tech support services for social media marketing said first quarter revenues rose 50.1% to $1.2 billion but net income decreased 18% to $89.7 million. 

The company also guided second quarter revenues of at least $1.14 billion and diluted earnings per share of at least 73 cents. 

Etsy, Inc plunged 14.8% to $92.80 after the online marketplace reported consolidated gross market sales increased 3.5% to $3.3 billion. 

First quarter revenues increased 5.2% to $579.2 million and net income fell 40.1% to $86.1 million from a year ago. 

Active sellers in the quarter increased 63% to 7.6 million and buyers rose 4.9% to 95.1 million. 

The company guided between $540 million and $590 million revenues in the second quarter and gross marketplace sales between $2.9 billion and $3.2 billion and adjusted operating earnings margin of 25%. 

The Hain Celestial Group dropped 18.2% to $27.46 after the organic food maker reported March quarter revenues rose 2.1% to $502.9 million and net income fell about 30% to $24.5 million from a year ago. 

Earnings per share declined to 24 cents in the quarter compared to 34 cents a year ago. 

The company guided fiscal year fourth quarter 2022 adjusted revenues to increase in low to mid-single digit and adjusted annual net sales to be flat.  

Shopify Inc plunged 17.6% to $399.10 after the online merchant services provider reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenues of $1.2 billion, an increase of 22% from a year ago. 

Monthly recurring revenues increased 17% to $105.2 million.

Adjusted operating earnings were $31.9 million or 3% of revenues in the quarter compared to $210.8 million or 21% of revenues in the quarter a year ago.  

The company also announced plans to acquire San Francisco-based merchant fulfillment services provider Deliverr for $2.1 billion.  

Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc plunged 24% to $23.83 after the organic food retailer said first quarter revenues increased 4% to $1.6 billion and net income increased 6% to $88.3 million. 

Earnings per share increased to 80 cents from 70 cents a year ago. 

The food retailer also said its annual earnings per share, earnings, and revenues outlook is more likely to be near the low end of the previous guidance. Rising inflation is forcing more customers to buy fewer items in the store. 

The company also guided second quarter comparable store sales to be "relatively flat" and earnings per share between 49 cents and 53 cents. 

Tripadvisor, Inc rose 5.6% to $25.93 after the travel support services provider reported first quarter revenues increased 113% to $262 million and net loss declined to $34 million from $80 million.  

The company also appointed media veteran Matt Goldberg as its chief executive officer.  

Wayfair Inc plunged 18% to $75.05 after the online home furnishing store reported March quarter total net revenues declined 13.9% to $3.0 billion and the U.S. net revenues fell 9.9% to $2.5 billion. 

The company also reported a quarterly loss of $319 million compared to $18 million a year ago. 

Number of active subscribers fell 23.4% to 25,6 million and orders delivered plunged 33% to 10 million from a year ago. 

Indexes Fall 4% On Fed's Inabilities In Controlling Supply Shocks

U.S. stocks turned negative at the opening and began erasing most of the gains logged a day ago after the Fed lifted rates as widely anticipated and for now rejected the need for faster rate hike. 

The S&P 500 index gained 1.1% to 4,249.34 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.8% to 12,738.02. 

Chairman Jerome Powell at a press conference after the rate decision yesterday highlighted the need to bring down the inflation from the current 8.5% rate to the Fed target rate of 2%. 

However, Powell also added "our tools do not do well" with supply side shocks. 

Chairman Powell added that the Fed is powerless in impacting the Inflation emanating from the rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to China's Covid-19 lockdowns. 

Powell went on to add that the "economy is strong" and "labor markets are stronger" and the labor market imbalance can be brought in sync using monetary policy tools.

The JOLT report released by the U.S. Department of Labor indicated there are at least 11.5 million job openings and 6.5 million people are looking for work. 

Yet, the labor participation rate is held steady between 61% and 63% and the rate is expected to decline. 

European markets traded higher and the pound tumbled after the Bank of England lifted the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1%. 

The central bank raised rates for the fourth time in a row and highlighted the risk of economic slowdown and added that the inflation is likely to peak around 10%. 

The pound dropped 2% and fell to $1.23. 

Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed today.

Market indexes in Mumbai surged at opening after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key rate 50 basis points and said that the faster rate increase of 75 basis points is not discussed at least for the next couple of meetings. 

Benchmark indexes soared as much as 2% after 20 minutes of trading and traded in a tight range for the next two hours but erased most of the gains near close. 

Tech stocks led the gainers followed by the strength  in auto, steel, real estate and banks.

Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy, Nestle India, Maruti Suzuki and Ultratech Cement led gainers. 

Life Insurance Corporation public offering was subscribed 91% with policyholders nearly three times and employees nearly two times subscribing the allocated quota. 

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.4% after China's service sector contracted at the second fastest pace in April and on the ongoing China lockdowns and tech sector crackdown worries. 

The ASX 200 index in Sydney rose 0.8%.