Labor Day holiday, Fed decision

The outlook is starting to look bright for biotech stocks, according to some.

With markets now expecting the first rate cut to be in September rather than June or July, as previously thought, biotech stocks could start to do well.

Biotech encompasses many different areas, but Citi has identified one with a $2.9 billion market — which it says is set for even more growth. According to Citi, the market for it is set to grow by mid-single digit over the next five years.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Only two European stocks have positively surprised markets every quarter for the past five quarters, according to analysis by CNBC Pro.

CNBC Pro screened for Stoxx 600 stocks that report EPS figures and have analysts’ estimates available on FactSet.

One of the stocks stood out for several large share price jumps following quarterly earnings releases. Most recently, the company beat earnings estimates by 6.1% and shares rallied by more than 8% in the following session. Similarly, the stock rallied by 12.8% in a single session four quarters ago.

CNCB Pro subscribers can read more about the stocks here.

—Ganesh Rao

Bitcoin continued its month-long slide to close out April, falling 4% and at one point trading just below the $60,000 level.

The flagship cryptocurrency is on pace to end the month down 15% and post its first negative month in the past eight. It would be its worst month since November 2022, when FTX collapsed. It’s still up 43% for 2024.

See Chart…

Bitcoin (BTC) over the past month

Stocks whose performance is tied to the price of bitcoin tumbled with the cryptocurrency. Crypto exchange Coinbase fell 6%, while MicroStrategy lost 15%. The software company and self-described Bitcoin development company also reported a loss for the first quarter.

In the mining sector, Marathon Digital dropped 10.5%, while Riot Platforms lost 8.5%. IREN and CleanSpark were each lower by 7%.

For more on what’s in store for bitcoin in the month ahead, read our investment outlook here.

— Tanaya Macheel

People shop at the Macy’s store on Herald Square in New York City.

Michael M Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Consumer confidence hit its lowest level since mid-2022 in March as fears grew about employment and inflation, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The board’s main index registered a reading of 97, below the downwardly revised 103.1 in March and missing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 103.5. This was the lowest level for the index since July 2022, though board officials said their measure of current conditions is still at a fairly healthy level and the headline index has been in a “relatively narrow range” for more than two years.

Still, there were concerns about where things are headed. Respondents answers reflected that “elevated price levels, especially for food and gas, dominated consumer’s concerns, with politics and global conflicts as distant runners-up,” said Dana M. Peterson, the board’s chief economist.

—Jeff Cox

Total compensation costs for workers rose by more than expected in the first quarter, providing another sign that inflation pressures are not going away.

The employment cost index increased 1.2% for the period, faster than the 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 1%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The index is watched by Federal Reserve officials as a sign of underlying inflation.

On a year over year basis, the index for civilian workers rose 4.2% after having increased 4.8% for the same period in 2023.

—Jeff Cox