Shares in Tesla (TSLA) rose more than 5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after CEO Elon Musk said he was going to spend less time in Washington and more time at his electric vehicle company.
"Starting early next month, in May, my time allocation to DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] will drop significantly," said Musk in a post-earnings conference call on Tuesday.
Tesla's first quarter earnings missed estimates, with revenue of $19.34bn (£14.51bn) versus expectations of $21.43bn, according to Bloomberg consensus. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.27 also came in below estimates of $0.44.
Tesla shares have dropped 41% year-to-date, amid a backlash against Musk for his role heading up US president Donald Trump's DOGE, overseeing cuts to government agencies. Tesla sales have also fallen, with figures released earlier this month showing the company notched 336,681 deliveries in the first quarter, compared to expectations of 390,342.
Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said that on the earnings call "Musk tried to steer investors to focus beyond the near-term challenges to Tesla’s AI future, including large-scale autonomous cars and humanoid robots.
"While Tesla is making progress on these initiatives, we believe the market and management commentary are overly optimistic about the timing. The narrative around Tesla’s stock and valuation remains heavily dependent on these future prospects."
The struggling chipmaker is set to announce this week that it plans to cut more than 20% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported.
Intel shares were up 2% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, on the back of the report. The move is reportedly aimed at eliminating bureaucracy and is part of efforts to streamline management.
A spokesperson for Intel had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.
It comes a month after industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan took over as Intel's CEO. Reuters reported ahead of Tan's return that he was considering an overhaul of Intel's chip manufacturing methods and AI strategies.
The company's financial struggles have made it a takeover target in recent months, with shares having risen on reports of potential deals.
Intel is due to report its first quarter results on Thursday, with the chipmaker having guided to revenue between $11.7bn and $12.7bn.
Shares in crypto-linked stocks were up after bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged, rising 6.5% to $94,278.59, at the time of writing.
Bitcoin's rise earlier in the week came as US stocks sold off and the dollar fell, after Trump hurled criticism at Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for allegedly keeping interest rates too high, with concerns around the president's fast-moving tariff agenda also in focus.
However, Trump then told reporters on Tuesday that he has "no intention of firing" Powell. The president also said that he expects tariffs on China to come down "substantially" from the promised levy of up to 145%.
Following the jump in bitcoin, shares in investment platform Robinhood (HOOD) were up 7% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, while Strategy Incorporated (MSTR) – the world's largest corporate holder of bitcoin – was up nearly 4%.
On the UK market, precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE), with shares down 6.6%, after reporting a fall in silver and gold production in the first quarter.
Fresnillo said silver production of 12.4 million ounces was down 9.7% in the first quarter versus Q4, which it said was primarily down to lower ore grade and volume of ore processed at its Saucito mine, as well as the cessation of mining activities at its San Julián mine.
The company said gold production for the quarter of 156.1 thousand ounces was down 23.5% compared with the fourth quarter, primarily due to the decrease in volumes of ore processed and lower ore grade at its Herradura, Saucito, Fresnillo and Ciénega mines.
However, Fresnillo maintained previous guidance for the year, expecting silver production to be in the range of 49 to 56 million ounces. For gold production, the miner guided to a range of 525 to 580 thousand ounces.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L), whose brands include Vanish and Dettol, was among the other biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) on Wednesday.
Shares were down nearly 5% after the company warned "market conditions" could impact the timeline for the planned sale of its Essential Home cleaning products division.
In its first quarter results, Reckitt Benckiser posted net revenue of £3.68bn ($4.9bn), which was up 1.1% on a like-for-like basis.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The overhang of the delayed sales of two key businesses due to the current market turmoil grabbed investors’ attention, as opposed to any underlying progress which Reckitt continues to display.
"The separation of the Mead Johnson Nutrition and Essential Homes units are likely to provide a mountain to climb, and the current global economic uncertainty given the tariff traumas will likely impact on the timing of any sales.
"In the meantime, the two units account for around 30% of overall revenues, and this significant proportion muddies the waters for the prospects of what should eventually be a more focused and streamlined business."
Other companies in the news on Wednesday 23 April:
