Wholesale inflation, as measured by the producer price index, declined to 0.9% for the year ending in November as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates high.
The new numbers were released on Wednesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The decline came after a notable decrease the month before and is welcome news for the economy, which has been strained under the burden of inflation.
On a month-to-month basis, the wholesale price index was flat at 0%.
Market Snapshot
At 8:39 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 51 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 48 points, or 0.29%.
Pre-Market Movers
Pfizer was tumbling 7% after the drug company revised its guidance for 2024, saying it anticipates adjusted earnings in the range of $2.05 to $2.25 a share. Analysts had been calling for adjusted profit of $3.16 a share. Pfizer said it expects to close the acquisition of Seagen on Thursday. The guidance includes the oncology drug developer.
LifeMD Inc. ’s stock soared 13% early Wednesday, after the virtual primary care provider said it’s teaming up with Medifast Inc., a wellness company known for its habit-based and coach-guided lifestyle service Optavia, to create a clinically supported weight management program that will include the new class of weight-loss drugs called GLP-1.
Mynaric AG surged over 17% in premarket trading. It has entered into a definitive agreement with Northrop Grumman for the delivery of optical communication terminals in the framework of the U.S. Government's Space Development Agency Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Alpha space vehicles program. The contract, with a value of around US $33 million, foresees payment milestones starting early 2024 and continuing throughout 2025 with product deliveries beginning in 2024 and continuing until 2026.
C4 Therapeutics, Inc. stock surged over 14% after rocketing 98% on Tuesday. C4 forged an exclusive license deal with Merck (NYSE:MRK) to develop degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs) for cancer.
Tesla Motors was down 1.3% after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the electric-vehicle maker was recalling more than 2 million vehicles because of control issues with its driver-assistance system Autopilot.
Take-Two Interactive Software was rising 3.5% after Nasdaq announced that the videogame publisher would be added to the Nasdaq-100 index, effective Dec. 18.
Caribou Biosciences ’ lymphoma trial design was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Shares of the gene-editing pharmaceutical company rose 6%.
Cal-Maine , the largest U.S. producer of eggs, said a company facility in Kansas recently tested positive for avian influenza. The virus has affected about 684,000 laying hens, or roughly 1.6% of Cal-Maine’s total flock. Shares rose 0.6%.
TE Connectivity , the electrical components supplier, said its board its authorized an increasing the size of its stock buyback program by an additional $1.5 billion.
Blend Labs, Inc. rose 6.9% to $1.87 after Keefe Bruyette raised its price target on shares of the fintech company to $1.85 from $1.50 and maintained a Market Perform rating on the stock.
Market News
Tesla Recalls 2 Million Cars to Fix Autopilot Safety Flaws
Tesla Inc. filed a recall covering more than 2 million vehicles after the top US auto-safety regulator determined its driver-assistance system Autopilot system doesn’t do enough to prevent misuse.
The move is the result of a years-long defect investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that will remain open as the agency monitors the efficacy of Tesla’s fixes. A NHTSA spokesperson said the probe found that Tesla’s means for keeping drivers engaged were inadequate and could lead to foreseeable misuse.
OPEC Leaves Global Oil-Demand Views Unchanged
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries left its expectations for global oil demand unchanged for this year and next and raised its 2023 global economic growth forecast, against a backdrop of falling oil prices the cartel has been unable to halt.
The Vienna-based oil-producers’ cartel said in its monthly oil-market report that it expects oil demand to grow by 2.2 million barrels a day next year, in line with its previous estimates. Its forecast for 2023 was also steady at 2.5 million barrels a day.
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