US equity futures and global markets were flat in listless trading as investors assessed the outlook for economic recovery and awaited the latest Federal Reserve minutes to gauge the direction of monetary policy while tracking the latest covid lockdown in New Zealand and on edge ahead of possible turbulence in Friday's OpEx.
Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.4% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.4% higher. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index was broadly unchanged. S&P 500 futures pointed to a small move lower at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.277%, oil rose and gold moved higher, while cryptos rebounded from a late Tuesday selloff.
At 7:55 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 64 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 4 points, or 0.09% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 8 points, or 0.05%.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
1. Lowe's – The home improvement retailer reported an adjusted quarterly profit of $4.25 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01. Revenue beat forecasts, and the same-store sales decline of 1.6% was less than the 2.2% decline predicted by analysts. Lowe’s also raised its full-year financial outlook, as spending by builders and professionals rose. Lowe’s rallied 4.60% in the premarket.
2. Target – The retailer beat estimates by 15 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $3.64 per share, and revenue slightly above analyst forecasts. Comparable store sales rose 8.9%, slightly above the 8.8% consensus estimate. Target shares added 2.42% in premarket trading.
3. Krispy Kreme, Inc. – The doughnut chain fell a penny shy of Street forecasts with an adjusted quarterly profit of 13 cents per share, though revenue did beat estimates. Krispy Kreme also gave a better-than-expected revenue forecast, based on projected strength from online ordering and new menu items. The stock added 2.9% in premarket action.
4. Alcon Inc. – The maker of eyecare and surgical products surged 9.89% in the premarket, after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and raising its full-year guidance. The quarter marked the debut of Alcon’s Vivity intraocular contact lens, which analysts say will help drive sales growth.
5. Moderna, Inc., BioNTech SE – Moderna rose 1.74% in premarket trading while BioNTech gained 1.38%, ahead of an expected announcement by the White House calling for a booster shot for Americans already fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
6. T-Mobile US – Following an investigation, the wireless carrier now says the personal information of about 7.8 million customers was compromised in a recent data breach. That included dates of birth, social security numbers and driver’s license information, although no financial information was stolen.
7. Viacom CBS – Shares of the media giant gained 2.77% in premarket action after Wells Fargo Securities upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “equal weight”. Wells Fargo said ViacomCBS is one of the players poised to benefit from industry consolidation and it is also impressed by the upcoming programming slate for the company’s Paramount+ streaming service.
8. BlackBerry – The communications software maker said it released software patches to fix an issue with older versions of its QNX operating system and has notified all customers. U.S. officials had said earlier yesterday that the software flaw could put cars and medical equipment at risk. BlackBerry shares gained 1.34% in the premarket.
9. Tilray Inc. – The Canada-based cannabis producer’s shares surged 9.22% in premarket trading, after striking a deal to buy $166 million in convertible debt of U.S. producer MedMen Enterprises. Canadian producers cannot yet directly own a U.S.-based marijuana business, but Tilray could be poised to benefit from the deal if and when U.S. laws change.
10. Agilent Technologies – Agilent gained 2.39% in the premarket after the life sciences company beat top and bottom-line estimates for its latest quarter and raised its full-year forecast. Agilent said its metrics were upbeat across all its units and added that its non-Covid diagnostics business has recovered beyond pre-pandemic levels.