Benzinga Market Movers: Beyond Meat, Intel, Newmont — Inflation Data Raises Expectations for Rate Cuts
Market Overview: Markets experienced gains this week due to softer-than-expected inflation figures, with major indexes reaching all-time highs, while strong earnings from the auto sector also contributed to the bullish sentiment.
Bullish Stocks: Notable stock performances included Beyond Meat, which surged over 24% after a debt swap reduced bankruptcy risk, Intel, which reported strong Q3 earnings driven by AI demand, and Alphabet, whose shares rose after Anthropic expanded its use of Google Cloud technologies.
Bearish Stocks: Newmont Corp's stock declined despite beating Q3 expectations due to production concerns, while AST SpaceMobile's shares fell after announcing a convertible note offering that raised dilution fears among investors.
Clean Energy Performance: The Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF outperformed both the VanEck Semiconductor ETF and NVIDIA, rising 44% year-to-date, despite challenges posed by the Trump administration's policies on clean energy.
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- Reasons for Gold Price Drop: Concerns over rising inflation and oil prices may prompt the U.S. Treasury to raise interest rates, leading to a decline in gold prices, with gold stocks like Newmont down over 4% this year and Barrick down over 22% this month.
- Strong Financial Performance: Newmont reported an EPS of $6.39 in 2025, up 123%, with free cash flow of $7.3 billion, a 150% increase, allowing the company to reduce debt by $3.4 billion, leaving it with $2.1 billion in cash, indicating robust financial health.
- Attractive Dividends: Newmont raised its dividend by 4% to $0.26 per share, yielding about 1.05%, while Barrick increased its dividend by 140% to $0.42 per share, yielding around 2.28%, both companies having long histories of dividend payments at 38 and 39 years, respectively.
- Operational Streamlining Plans: Newmont is focusing on high-quality Tier-1 assets, predicting lower production this year, but its Ahafo North mine in Ghana is ramping up production, expected to yield between 275,000 and 325,000 ounces annually; Barrick plans a $42 million spinoff of its North American and Caribbean assets to focus on high-growth copper and gold projects.
- Fertilizer Price Fluctuation: CF Industries' shares fell nearly 4% as reports indicated that negotiations surrounding the U.S.-Iran war could signal an end to commodity shortages, despite a 27% increase since the conflict began.
- Chip Innovation: Arm's stock rose 13% after unveiling its first in-house chip, projecting $15 billion in revenue by 2031, highlighting its strong growth potential in the semiconductor market.
- Acquisition Deal: Terns Pharmaceuticals saw shares gain over 5% after Merck agreed to acquire the biopharma company for $53 per share in cash, valuing the deal at $6.7 billion, expected to close in Q2.
- Stock Buyback Plan: Robinhood's stock jumped 4% after announcing a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan, set to be executed over three years, aimed at enhancing shareholder value.
- Stock Market Movement: Stock futures were rising on Wednesday, indicating positive investor sentiment.
- Cease-Fire Talks: Investors are hopeful for progress in cease-fire discussions between the U.S. and Iran.
- Middle East Conflict: There is an expectation for a swift resolution to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
- Investor Sentiment: The potential for peace is influencing market trends and investor confidence.
- Market Recovery: European stocks opened higher on Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising 1.4% as the U.S. reiterated efforts to de-escalate the war with Iran, reflecting optimism about reduced geopolitical risks.
- Sector Performance: All sectors except oil and gas saw gains, particularly in mining and real estate, with FTSE 100-listed Fresnillo and Hochschild Mining rising 3.5% and 4.8% respectively, indicating a rebound in investor confidence in these industries.
- Stable Inflation Data: The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the U.K. inflation rate held steady at 3% in February, with core inflation rising to 3.2% from 3.1% in January, aligning with economists' expectations and demonstrating economic resilience.
- Trump's Negotiation Statement: President Trump stated that negotiations with Iran are ongoing and revealed a 15-point plan sent to Iran to end the war, which boosted market sentiment despite Iran's denial of direct talks.










