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All major market indexes slid back into negative territory after the market opened today, once Consumer Confidence numbers came out at an 8-month low. Only the Dow was able to sustain a recovery by the closing bell, managing a +157-point gain, +0.37% for the day. The S&P 500 dropped -0.28% and the Nasdaq fell another -260 points, -1.35%. The small-cap Russell 2000 slipped -0.38%.

It had been looking like the past week or so of downward moves on the indexes might turn around today, but this will have to wait. We’ve basically sold off the rally from the November 5th election last year, even as the Dow and S&P 500 remain in positive territory year to date. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 are -1.4% and -2.7% since the start of the year, respectively.

Consumer Confidence on the Wane
 

The Conference Board’s February headline on Consumer Confidence came in at 98.3 this morning, below the 102.4 analysts were expecting and 7 points below the prior month’s tally of 105.3. It’s the third-straight downward move for this metric, which cites continued high prices and fears about forthcoming trade and tariffs joining the sentiment that finding a new job has become more difficult.

On Friday morning, we’ll see Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, where analysts expect Spending to have shrunk 60 basis points month over month to +0.1% from +0.7% in December (seasonally adjusted) — a clear sign of the American consumer shying away from opening their pocketbooks. This would go with today’s Consumer Confidence numbers, but we’ll wait for Friday’s release to determine whether this is truly what we’re currently seeing.

Big Moves Follow Q4 Earnings Releases After-Hours
 

Instacart parent Maplebear (CART - Free Report) shares are -8% following mixed results in its Q4 report after today’s closing bell. Earnings of 53 cents per share easily surpassed the 37 cents expected in the Zacks consensus, and swinging to a gain year over year from 44 cents per share reported in the prior year’s quarter. Revenues of $883 million, however, were light of the $887.5 million analysts were looking for. The company also sees Average Order Value declining.

Workday (WDAY - Free Report), on the other hand, outpaced expectations on both top and bottom lines this afternoon, with earnings of $1.92 per share surging past the $1.75 expected, on revenues of $2.2 billion more narrowly bettering the $2.18 billion estimate, with +17% subscriber revenue year over year. This is the 11th straight earnings beat for the “human capital management” firm. Shares were up +7% on the news.

Burgeoning EV maker Lucid (LCID - Free Report) shares have also gained +7% in late trading on its Q4 results today, with a better-than-expected loss per share of -22 cents ending a string of 9 straight bottom-line misses. Revenues in the quarter of $234 million outshone the $223.5 million analysts were looking for. CEO Peter Rawlinson announced he will be stepping down, and replaced on an interim basis by current COO Mark Winterhoff.

Restauranteur Cava Group (CAVA - Free Report) is selling off -3% (it had been a deeper cut initially on its earnings release) on its first-ever quarterly earnings miss, by a penny to +$0.05 per share, on $227 million in revenues which outperformed the $225.5 million in the Zacks consensus. The company continues its growth initiatives with 15 new openings in the quarter, and guidance for same-store sales is +6-8%.

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