What happened
Quarterly reports have given electric vehicle (EV) investors plenty to look at recently. Many stocks in the sector have been heading lower in recent weeks. Tesla (TSLA 4.96%) has led the way, perhaps for non-business-related reasons. Even with a bounce in the stock today, Tesla shares are down almost 17% just so far in November.
A jump in several stocks in the EV sector today may be due to more general economic news, but some of those are outperforming even the mammoth 6% gain the Nasdaq Composite index is seeing. As of 1:45 p.m. ET today, Tesla shares were up 6.1%. But Lucid Group (LCID -3.92%) and Fisker (FSRN 57.50%) were higher by 7.1% and 21.6%, respectively.
So what
Today's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data showed that inflation slowed last month as the metric climbed at a 7.7% annual rate. That was below expectations and down from September's 8.2% annual rate. Investors believe that's a significant data point that could lead the Federal Reserve to slow or pause interest rate hikes. That resulted in today's heavy buying of technology and growth stocks, including the EV sector.
Image source: Tesla.
Now what
The move higher marks a reversal for Tesla shares, which have been on a slide recently. Investors found out on Tuesday that the downtrend was likely partially due to CEO Elon Musk selling almost $4 billion in his Tesla stock. Over a recent four-day span, Musk sold 19.5 million shares, raising about $3.95 billion. It's still unclear if those sales were related to his Twitter purchase, since they occurred after that transaction closed. But it seems likely that it was in some way related.
Lucid's bounce today follows a 17% drop yesterday after the company reported its third-quarter results. Investors were not happy to see a decline in reservations for Lucid's luxury EVs. But there were also positive takeaways from that report. The drop in reservations can be explained by the production delays that have plagued the company along with competitor vehicles entering the market.
Lucid also told investors it was planning to raise another $1.5 billion through stock sales. Investors don't want to see that dilution to existing shareholders, but Lucid had previously filed to potentially sell enough shares to raise up to $8 billion over three years. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise, and the money will go toward growing the company's international presence.
Fisker hasn't begun production yet, but it expects to just one week from now. That stock will likely remain volatile based on how its electric Ocean SUV is received, along with what the company says about production volumes.
Today, these risky names got a boost from the macroeconomic news regarding inflation. Technology names in general will also likely continue to react to future data as it relates to where interest rates will head. Investors should be prepared for days like today -- in either direction.
