Wall Street futures are wavering after Wall Street suffered its worst day in more than two years.
The producer price index, a gauge of prices received at the wholesale level, declined 0.1%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday. Excluding food, energy and trade services, core PPI increased 0.2%.
Market Snapshot
At 8:46 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 52 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 46.75 points, or 0.39%.
Pre-Market Movers
Starbucks– Shares of Starbucks gained nearly 1% after the companyboosted its long-term forecast and said it expects double-digit growthfor revenue and earnings per share over the next three years.
Palo Alto Networks– Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks rose slightly following a three-for-one stock split, which took place on Tuesday. In addition,CEO Nikesh Arora told CNBCthat the company is not seeing the same macro impact slowdown on cybersecurity that other sectors are experiencing.
Nucor—Nucor fell 5% after the steel producer issued disappointing third-quarter earnings guidance. The company expects earnings per share to range between $6.30 and $6.40, well below a StreetAccount forecast of $7.56. “We expect the steel mills segment earnings to be considerably lower in the third quarter of 2022 as compared to the second quarter of 2022, due to metal margin contraction and reduced shipping volumes,” Nucor said.
Nikola— Nikola shares rose slightly after BTIG upgraded the EV maker to buy from neutral. BTIG noted that it sees “the potential for increasing demand for green hydrogen driven by increasing wind and solar power generation.”
SoFi Technologies— SoFi rose more than 2% after Bank of America upgraded the fintech stock to buy from neutral. “We see potential for a meaningful catalyst path over the next few quarters as SoFi benefits from the student loan payment moratorium ending and its high-profile NFL-aligned marketing investments drive user growth and engagement,” BofA said.
Moderna– Shares of Moderna rose 0.6% after the company’s CEO said itwould be open to supplying covid vaccines to China.
Bristol-Myers Squibb– Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb slipped 0.7% afterBerenberg downgraded the company to hold from buy.The firm said the stock is running out of room to gain.
Merck & Co– Shares of Merck rose 0.7% afterBerenberg upgraded it to buyfrom hold and boosted its price target, signaling it could climb another 17%.
Railroad stocks – Shares of railroad company stocks slumped Wednesday as the sector contends with a potential strike that could limit service.Union Pacificfell 1.9% whileCSX, Northern Southern Corp. also slipped ahead of market open.
Market News
Biden to Announce Approval of $900 Million in U.S. EV Charging Funding
President Joe Biden on Wednesday will announce the approval of the first $900 million in U.S. funding to build EV charging stations in 35 states as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure law approved in November.
Congress approved nearly $5 billion over five years to give grants to states to build thousands of electric vehicle charging stations. At an appearance at the Detroit auto show, Biden will also announce that U.S. government purchases of EVs have risen dramatically.
Johnson & Johnson Announces $5 Billion Share Repurchase Program
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that the Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $5 billion of the company's common stock.
“The last few years have demonstrated the resilience of Johnson & Johnson. With continued confidence in our business and pipeline, the Board of Directors and management team believe that Company shares are an attractive investment opportunity,” said Joaquin Duato, Chief Executive Officer. “With our strong cash flow and lowest level of net debt in five years, we have the ability to invest in innovation, grow our dividend, execute strategic acquisitions, and take this action to deliver shareholder returns and drive long-term growth.”
Google Loses Most of Appeal of EU Android Decision
AlphabetInc.’s Google lost most of its appeal to overturn a $4.33 billion antitrust decision imposed by the European Union for allegedly using its Android operating system to squash competition—but got a roughly $215 million reduction in the fine.
The ruling on Wednesday is a vote of confidence for the European Commission, the bloc’s antitrust enforcer, which has been aggressive in targeting big U.S. tech companies over concerns about anticompetitive behavior. The Android case was the biggest of three antitrust fines totaling more than $8 billion that the Commission has levied against Google since 2017—and it focused on mobile phones, one of the company’s fastest growth areas.
SoftBank Considers Launching a Third Vision Fund
Global tech investor SoftBank Group Corp. is considering the launch of a new giant startup investment fund, part of a plan to turn a new leafafter the poor performance at its two earlier funds, according to people familiar with discussions at the company.
The Tokyo-based tech conglomerate, by far the world’s largest startup investor in recent years, would likely use its own cash for what would be the third SoftBank Vision Fund if it moves ahead with the plan, some of the people said.
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