U.S. stock index futures slipped on Wednesday, pointing to fresh losses on the second trading day of 2024, as Treasury yields extended gains ahead of data that could offer insights on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy easing plans.
The minutes of the Fed's December meeting, where policymakers opened the door to potential rate cuts this year, is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Market Snapshot
At 7:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 113 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18.5 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 104.5 points, or 0.63%.
Pre-Market Movers
Crypto Stocks (Marathon Digital, CleanSpark, Riot Blockchain, Coinbase, MicroStrategy) - Bitcoin fell to $41,000 on Wednesday, a new low since December 18th, with a drop of over 10% during the day. Crypto stocks dropped in premarket trading. Marathon Digital, CleanSpark, BIT Mining and Bit Digital fell about 10%; Riot Blockchain fell 8%; Coinbase and MicroStrategy fell 6%.
Apple (AAPL) - Apple extended losses, falling 0.4% to $184.90, after the iPhone maker closed down 3.6% Tuesday following a downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight by analysts at Barclays, who noted weakness in sales of iPhones and Mac computers. Apple’s growth has stalled, Barron’s has noted previously, despite the stock’s gain last year of 48%.
SoFi Technologies (SOFI) - SoFi Technologies was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette and the price target on shares of the financial-technology was reduced to $6.50 from $7.50. The stock was down 7.6% to $8.92.
Moderna (MRNA) - Moderna was rising 1% to $113.60, following on from the stock’s surge of 13% on Tuesday after the vaccine maker was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer with a price target of $142. On Wednesday, BofA raised its price target on Moderna to $120 from $110 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock.
Roku (ROKU) - Funds of Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased 190,370 shares of Roku, the streaming-media company, on Tuesday, according to a trade notification. The stock closed Tuesday at $89 and was down 1.8% to $87.40 on Wednesday.
Vinfast (VFS) - Vinfast gained 0.7% after BTIG initiated coverage on the Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker with a "buy" rating. The firm plans to set up its first Indian manufacturing facility in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Rocket Cos. (RKT) - Keefe Bruyette also downgraded Rocket Cos., the parent of home loan originator Rocket Mortgage, to Underperform from Market Perform and left the price target at $10.75. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, downgraded Rocket to Equal Weight from Overweight but raised its price target to $14 from $13. Rocket shares fell 5% to $13.56.
Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) - The owner of Outback Steakhouse, added two new members to its board as part of an agreement with activist investor Starboard Value. The stock rose 2.6%.
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) - AST SpaceMobile, which is building a space-based cellular broadband network, was up 6.2% after disclosing that it was seeking to close and fund a previously disclosed strategic investment this month with multiple parties. The company also said it had secured initial ground infrastructure orders from two customers.
Verizon (VZ) - Verizon Communications was upgraded by KeyBanc to Overweight from Sector Weight with a price target of $45. The analysts said the expect “wireless industry competitive intensity being low, which makes us want more wireless exposure,” and that the company should show “better postpaid phone net add performance” in 2024. Verizon was rising 1.2% to $39.33.
PGT Innovations (PGTI) - PGT Innovations received an unsolicited proposal from Miter Brands to acquire all outstanding shares of the windows and doors company for $41.50 a share in cash. The offer implies an equity value of about $2.37 billion. PGT had reached a deal last month to be bought by Masonite International for $33.50 in cash and $7.50 in stock. PGT said in a statement that it would review the Miter Brands’ proposal to determine if it was reasonably likely to lead to a superior proposal. Shares of PGT Innovations were up 3.6% to $41.68.
Rockwell Automation (ROK) - Rockwell Automation rose 1.5% after shares of the autonomous technology company were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
ABVC BioPharma (ABVC) - ABVC BioPharma and its Subsidiary received $460M From AiBtl BioPharma as the first milestone payment of global licensing fees. ABVC BioPharma shares soared 85% in premarket trading.
Dyne Therapeutics (DYN) - Shares of drug developer Dyne Therapeutics soared 70% in premarket trading on Wednesday after its experimental therapy for a muscle-wasting disorder showed promise in a small, early-stage trial.
Sigma Additive Solutions (SASI) - Sigma Additive Solutions shares soared 75% in premarket trading Wednesday after a shareholder vote.
Market News
Top Wall Street Bull Says US Stocks to Pause Briefly After Run
US stocks are likely to take a breather from their rapid gains before a potential fresh catalyst arrives in the form of the next earnings season, according to Oppenheimer Asset Management.
Investors itching to see the S&P 500 build on the 11% advance in the final three months of last year may not have long to wait, with US companies due to start reporting results at the end of next week.
“It’s not uncommon for markets to pause to digest a bull run of the magnitude experienced in the fourth quarter just ended,” Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus wrote in a note. “In fact it would appear to us to make good sense for markets to pause considering the run-up in stock prices” from their October lows through December, he said.
Tesla Falls Behind China's BYD in Quarterly EV Sales as Growth Slows
Tesla Inc. delivered more vehicles than expected in the fourth quarter, though not enough for the Elon Musk-led company to stay ahead of China's BYD Co. in global electric-car sales.
Tesla handed over 484,507 vehicles in the last three months, beating analysts' average estimate for 483,173 deliveries. BYD sold 526,409 fully electric vehicles in the quarter to become the new No. 1 in EVs, driven mainly by its much broader lineup of cheaper models in China.
Comments