Wall Street Today: Affirm skyrockets after it reports 71% revenue growth

Asian stocks set for steady open on growth caution
Asian stocks looked set for a steady start Friday as traders weigh the prospect of reduced central bank stimulus as well as challenges to economic reopening from the delta coronavirus variant.

Futures for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong pointed to modest gains. U.S. contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 posted its longest losing streak since June. Reports showed lower U.S. jobless claims but also more virus disruption, including $Microsoft(MSFT.US)$'s move to scap plans to fully reopen its offices.

Goldman, Citi see Aluminum rally raging on as bears flag caution
Aluminum's run-up to a 13-year high has some analysts doubling down on forecasts for further gains. Others warn the peak is already here.

But the rally may sow the seeds of its own demise, according to the China Nonferrous Metals Association, which said last week that supply isn't in a notable shortfall and consumption isn't strong enough to warrant such prices. Aluminum may retreat quickly once the high prices dent demand and substitutions emerge, it said.

Oil prices fall after China says it plans to release stockpiles
Oil prices fell Thursday after China's plans to release stockpiled crude increased worries that global supply could grow even as a resurgence in the pandemic drags on demand.

The move adds to pressures swaying the oil market. U.S. crude dipped as much as 2.5% after a Chinese government agency said it would strategically release oil from reserves. West Texas Intermediate ended the day down 1.7% at $68.14 a barrel, its lowest level in two weeks. Brent, the global benchmark, lost 1.6% to $71.45.

Affirm stock skyrockets after company reports 71% revenue growth and strong guidance
$Affirm Holdings(AFRM.US)$, one of the leading players in the burgeoning buy now, pay later space, reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell Thursday, including solid guidance and 71% revenue growth. The stock soared more than 20% in extended trading following the report.

The blockbuster earnings report comes after Affirm last month announced it's teaming up with Amazon to launch the e-commerce giant's first partnership with an installment payment player.

Ford to spend $2 billion to restructure operations and close plants in India
$Ford Motor(F.US)$ will stop manufacturing vehicles in India, shutting down its two large plants there that employ thousands of people. The restructuring actions are the latest under CEO Jim Farley to restructure the automaker's operations. Ford's decision to end vehicle production in India comes four years after its crosstown rival $General Motors(GM.US)$ exited the market, where Asian automakers dominate.

The company said Thursday the changes will cost about $2 billion, including about $600 million in 2021 and $1.2 billion in 2022 and the remainder in the following years.

US airlines cut revenue forecasts as Delta variant slows bookings
$United Airlines(UAL.US)$ plans to put fewer planes in the air for the US holiday season, showing the far-reaching effects of a slowdown in travel demand that began when the Delta coronavirus variant spread this summer.

United was one of several US carriers to cut quarterly revenue forecasts on Thursday. $American Airlines(AAL.US)$, $Delta Air Lines(DAL.US)$, $JetBlue Airways(JBLU.US)$, $Southwest Airlines(LUV.US)$ and United all said in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that demand pulled back in August.

Hedge funds muscle in to Silicon Valley with private deals
Hedge funds are elbowing their way into Silicon Valley at an unprecedented rate with a record-smashing $153bn worth of investments in private companies in the first six months of 2021. The push into private investments coincides with a broader revival in the hedge fund industry, which last year reported its best returns since the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2009 after years of weak performance.

A report from Goldman Sachs has found that hedge funds have done 770 deals so far this year, already beating the record number set in the whole of 2020, when 753 deals reached a total of $96bn. Just under three-quarters of this year's agreements were "venture" bets on companies in their infancy.

Tougher SPAC disclosure rules endorsed by SEC advisory group
A group of executives and academics that advises the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants better SPAC disclosures -- the latest sign that tougher rules are coming for booming blank-check companies.

The recommendations from the SEC's investor advisory committee will likely help agency staff as they craft new regulations for special purpose acquisition companies, which have drawn bipartisan criticism from lawmakers after attracting a record $80 billion last year.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, Financial Times