U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as megacap growth stocks offered support, while a flurry of corporate earnings and commentary from Federal Reserve policymakers also caught investors' attention for cues on the health of the economy.
Market Snapshot
At 8:20 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 81 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 14.75 points, or 0.29%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 30.75 points, or 0.17%.
Pre-Market Movers
United Airlines posted an adjusted first-quarter loss of 15 cents a share, much narrower than analysts’ estimates that called for a loss of 58 cents, and revenue jumped 10% to $12.5 billion on strong travel demand. The carrier also forecast second-quarter earnings of $3.75 to $4.25 a share, higher than analysts’ estimates, and maintained its full-year forecast for adjusted earnings of $9 to $11 a share. The stock was rising 5.3%.
ASML Holding was falling 5.1% after first-quarter orders missed analysts’ expectations. The Dutch company, which provides semiconductor-making equipment to chip makers, posted net bookings in the first quarter of €3.61 billion, or $3.84 billion, below consensus estimates of nearly €5.10 billion.
Alcoa gained 3.4% and Cleveland-Cliffs rose 1.7% after President Biden called for tariffs on imported Chinese steel and aluminum to be tripled from current levels.
Trump Media & Technology Group was up 0.4% in premarket trading at $22.92. Shares of the parent company of the Truth Social platform fell 14% on Tuesday and 18% on Monday, dropping the company’s market cap to about $3.1 billion. The company was worth roughly $9 billion shortly after it started trading in late March.
First-quarter earnings and revenue at J.B. Hunt Transport Services fell as demand weakened and trucking volumes declined. Operating income dropped 30% to $194.4 million “versus $277.5 million for the first quarter 2023. The decrease in operating income was “primarily due to a combination of lower volumes and yield pressure … as well as increases in equipment, insurance and claims, and bad debt expense,” the company said in a statement. Shares of the trucking and logistics company declined 7%.
Autodesk was down 5.9% after the design software company said an internal investigation of its accounting practices was ongoing and that it won’t be able to file its annual report for the year ended Jan. 31, within a 15-day extension period. Autodesk said it doesn’t believe the investigation will affect any previously issued financial statements.
Urban Outfitters dropped 4.8% to $36.20 after analysts at Jefferies downgraded shares of the retailer to Underperform from Hold and reduced their price target to $32 from $42.
Travelers was falling 2.9% after the property and casualty insurer first-quarter core earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and said catastrophe losses in the period rose to $712 million from $535 million a year earlier.
Shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 3.9% after the regional bank reported a drop in revenue and an increased provision for credit losses in its first quarter.
Videogame maker Take-Two Interactive Software said in a filing that it plans to cut 5% of its workforce under a program aimed at saving $165 million a year. The maker of the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise said it was “rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs.” The stock rose 0.7%.
Market News
Tesla's Megapack Plant in Shanghai to Begin Construction in May
Tesla's Megapack factory in Shanghai is scheduled to start construction in May and begin mass production in the first quarter of 2025, local media outlet The Paper said in a report today, citing sources at Tesla China.
The Megafactory will be Tesla's first energy storage system factory outside of its US domestic market. It's initially planned to produce up to 10,000 commercial energy storage batteries per year, with nearly 40 GWh of energy storage, and the products will be available to the global market.
XPeng and the Volkswagen Group Jointly Develope E/E Architecture
XPeng and Volkswagen Group will jointly develop Electrical/Electronic architecture (“E/E Architecture”) for Volkswagen’s EV platform for China, the companies said on Wednesday.
XPeng’s in-house developed E/E Architecture is core to its vertically integrated full-stack software and hardware technologies, and supports Gigabit Ethernet high-speed data transmission between the central domain and ADAS domain controllers.
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