U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, with investors bracing for consumer prices data that is expected to show an almost four-decade high in December, while big technology stocks bounced after a bruising selloff at the start of the year.
At 8:00 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 40 points, or 0.11%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.10% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 28.75 points, or 0.18%.
Growth and technology stocks, hit by rising Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve, have attempted to climb back this week, with investors watching a variety of metrics to decide whether to buy the rally or brace for more declines.
Mega-cap growth companies including Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc , Microsoft Corp , Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc extended their gains and edged up to 0.8% in premarket trading.
Big Tech recovered early losses and led gains on Tuesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powellsounded less hawkish in his testimony to Congress, easing concerns sparked by minutes from the central bank's December meeting.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
DoorDash – The stock added 2.6% in the premarket after Evercore upgraded it to “outperform” from “in line.” Evercore said the delivery service has strong fundamentals and the stock is at an attractive valuation. Separately,Meta Platforms(FB) named DoorDash CEO Tony Xu to its board of directors, the first new appointment to the Facebook parent’s board in nearly two years.
Didi Global – The ride-hailing company’s shares rallied 5.9% in premarket trading on reports that it is in talks for a second-quarter Hong Kong IPO as it continues the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Philips – Philips shares tumbled 15.6% in premarket action after predicting a roughly 40% drop in core profit for the fourth quarter. The Dutch health technology company’s results are being impacted by component shortages, its ventilator recall and other factors.
Ocugen – The biopharmaceutical company’s stock jumped 5.5% in premarket trading after a booster dose of its vaccine candidate Covaxin was shown to neutralize the Covid-19 omicron and delta variants.
Aerojet Rocketdyne – The FTC has postponed a vote onLockheed Martin’s (LMT) proposed takeover of the aerospace systems maker for at least two weeks, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke to Reuters. Opponents of the deal say it would give Lockheed a dominant share of the market for rocket motors. Aerojet Rocketdyne shares added 3% in the premarket.
Biogen – Biogen shares sank 9.1% in premarket trading after Medicare agreed to only partially cover the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. Medicare will cover the treatment only if patients are enrolled in clinical trials and have early-stage symptoms.
Dish Network – Dish and DirecTV are once again in merger talks, according to sources who spoke to the New York Post. The satellite TV companies have held on-and-off talks periodically over the past 20 years, with the latest round said to be pushed forward by DirecTV’s minority owner TPG Capital. Dish Network surged 7.4% in the premarket.
Just Eat Takeaway – The Grubhub parent rallied 4.3% in the premarket after the company maintained its 2022 forecast and said it was seeing a rise in order volume.
Ally Financial – The bank announced a 20% dividend increase, raising its quarterly payout to 30 cents per share, and also authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program. Ally Financial gained 2.9% in premarket trading.
Crocs – The casual shoe maker’s stock rose 1.5% in premarket action after Piper Sandler named it a “top pick” for 2022, calling it one of the most impressive consumer growth stories for several years to come.
Ambarella – Ambarella shares gained 2.7% in the premarket after Wells Fargo upgraded the chipmaker to “overweight” from “equal weight.” Wells Fargo said Ambarella has an attractive valuation after a recent pullback and called it one of the best ways to play the artificial intelligence market.