U.S. stock index futures jumped on Wednesday following two days of turbulent trading, helped by stellar results from Microsoft, while investors looked to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
The policy decision is due at 2 p.m. ET, where the U.S. central bank is likely to signal the start of an interest rate hike cycle beginning March.
The announcement will be followed by Fed chairman Jerome Powell's news conference, which will be parsed for clues on the magnitude and pace of hikes for the year and strategy for shrinking its roughly $9 trillion balance sheet.
Market Snapshot
At 7:57 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 340 points, or 0.99%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 58.75 points, or 1.35%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 276 points, or 1.95%.
Pre-Market Movers
Boeing (BA) – Boeing reported a loss of $7.69 per share for the fourth quarter, as it took $4.4 billion in charges relating to a variety of issues, including delivery delays for the 787 widebody jet. Analysts had expected a loss of 42 cents per share. Boeing generated positive cash flow for the quarter, the first time since the first quarter of 2019, and the stock rose 1.1% in the premarket.
AT&T (T) – AT&T gained 1% in the premarket after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue. AT&T beat estimates by 2 cents with an adjusted quarterly profit of 78 cents per share, helped by strong growth for its HBO Max unit.
Mattel (MAT) – Mattel surged 7.9% in premarket trading after the Wall Street Journal reported Mattel won back the rights to produce toys based on Walt Disney’s “Frozen” franchise from Hasbro (HAS). Hasbro fell 1.7%.
Corning (GLW) – Corning rallied 7.7% in premarket trading after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue. The materials science company also issued an upbeat forecast, as it sees growth in areas like optical components, life sciences and automotive.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB) – The consumer products company’s stock fell 4.4% in the premarket after issuing weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings guidance. Kimberly-Clark did, however, report better-than-expected profit and revenue for the fourth quarter.
DraftKings (DKNG) – The sports betting company’s stock jumped 6.7% in the premarket after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to “overweight” from “in-line.” The firm said the U.S. sports betting and gaming market is likely to be very large with only a few winners, and that DraftKings will be one of them.
Microsoft (MSFT) – Microsoft reported a quarterly profit of $2.48 per share, 17 cents above estimates, with revenue also beating Wall Street forecasts. Microsoft also gave an upbeat forecast for the current quarter, as cloud services revenue continued to post strong growth. Microsoft rallied 3.8% in premarket trading.
Texas Instruments (TXN) – Texas Instruments earned $2.27 per share for its latest quarter, compared with a consensus estimate of $1.94, and revenue above estimates. The chipmaker also issued an outlook that exceeded analyst forecasts amid continued strong demand for semiconductors. Shares jumped 4.3% in premarket action.
F5 (FFIV) – F5 slumped 13% in premarket trading after the cloud security company’s current quarter guidance fell below analyst forecasts. It also cut its full-year outlook, due in part to the impact of supply chain issues.
Navient (NAVI) – Navient tumbled 11.7% in the premarket after the student loan servicing company reported a quarterly loss amid higher expenses and falling revenue.
Market News
General Motors Co (GM.N) said Tuesday it will invest $7 billion in Michigan, much of that aimed at dramatically boosting production of full-size electric pickups, intensifying a battle with rival Ford Motor Co (F.N) for EV supremacy in North America.
Thailand on Tuesday became the first country in Asia to approve the de facto decriminalization of marijuana, though authorities have left a grey area around its recreational use.
Jinko Solar Co. more than doubled on its first day of trading in Shanghai, giving it a massive premium to its parent’s listing in the U.S.
U.S. listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc is exploring a secondary listing in Singapore as early as this year, cnEVpost reported.
Progenity (NASDAQ:PROG) announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued it a new patent related to the single-molecule detection assay platform currently undergoing studies.