U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday with the focus shifting to December's inflation reading due later in the week, which would provide clues on how aggressive the Federal Reserve could be in its monetary tightening in this year.
Market Snapshot
At 8:04 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 65 points, or 0.19%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.5 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 19.75 points, or 0.18%.
Pre-Market Movers
CarMax— Shares of the used car seller slid 4.8% after JPMorgan downgraded them to underweight, saying investorsaren’t fully pricing in the riskssurrounding the company and hope for a recovery looks “premature.” CarMax fell 53% in 2022 but has risen 18% since its disappointing quarterly results in December.
Salesforce— The software giant fell about 3% after Bernsteindowngraded the sharesto underperform from market perform, saying they’re falling into a “growth purgatory” and could have difficulty climbing out of it. That comes a week after the company announced its plan to reduce staff. Shares could fall another 20%, according to Bernstein.
Coinbase— Shares of the crypto services provider fell about 3% following adowngrade from Bank of America, which said consensus estimates on Coinbase are “way too high” given the current crypto outlook. That came a day after the company announced a second round of layoffs comprising about 950 jobs, of a fifth of the company. Coinbase shares dropped 86% in 2022 as macro conditions and scandal dragged down the crypto market.
Tesla— Tesla shares rose 2% after the EV maker registered with the state of Texas to expand its electric vehicle factory in Austin this year. Separately, Goldman Sachs also named the stock a top pick for 2023.
Levi Strauss & Co— Shares of the clothing company slipped 2.2% after Citi downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. The firm cited weaker denim trends that could pressure the company in the near to medium term.
Warner Bros Discovery— Guggenheim upgraded the media company to buy from neutral Wednesday, citing an attractive risk/reward and narrative for the first half of the year. Warner Bros. Discovery rose 1.75% in the premarket, following an 8% gain Tuesday.
Toll Brothers— Shares of the homebuilder rose nearly 2% after Bank of America upgraded Toll Brothers to buy from neutral, noting: “TOL will face incremental headwinds from incentives and mix shift through the year, but this will be offset by tailwinds lower input costs, especially lumber.”
Wells Fargo— Wells Fargo is shrinking its footprint in the mortgage market as the bank manages regulatory pressure and the impact of higher rates on housing. The company was once the biggest mortgage lender in the country. It will now limit home loans to existing customers and borrowers from minority communities. Shares were higher by less than 1% premarket.
Southwest Airlines— Susquehanna downgraded the airline to neutral from positive, citing the operational meltdown during the recent winter storm. Southwest lost 1.55% in the premarket.
Walt Disney— Disneyrevised its pricing policiesat its domestic theme parks, making a number of modifications to its reservation and ticketing system, as well as its annual pass membership perks, to make it easier for loyal customers to attend. Shares were higher by less than 1% premarket.
Market News
US Flights Grounded After Outage of Key FAA Advisory System
The failure of a key pilot notification system operated by the Federal Aviation Administration disrupted air travel in the US early on Wednesday morning, with United Airlines Holdings Inc. temporarily grounding flights to all destinations.
Scores of passengers due to fly domestically reported delays on social media, and there was no estimate available for the restoration of the Notice to Air Missions system, or Notam, which conveys urgent advisory information essential for flight operations. Tracking website FlightAware already listed more than 1,160 US delays.
AMTD Digital Stock Pops As Traders Cheer Two-Year Lockup Period
AMTD Digital received further confirmation of the previously announced undertakings from the relevant parties that key shareholders will not sellany of their HKD shares in the open market before the August 2024 expiration.
Those shareholders include AMTD Group, Calvin Choi (together with his holding company Infinity Power Investments), AMTD IDEA Group (NYSE:AMTD) and the executive officers of AMTD Digital (HKD), it said.
Tesla Files for $776 Mln Expansion of Texas Gigafactory
Tesla Inc has applied to expand its gigafactory in Austin, Texas, with an investment totaling $775.7 million, according to filings on the Texas state department of licensing's website on Monday and Tuesday.
The electric vehicle maker plans to add five new facilities, including a cell test lab and a unit named "Cathode", the filings showed.
Several Top Rivian Executives Depart the Electric-Vehicle Startup
Several top executives at Rivian Automotive Inc., including the vice president overseeing body engineering and its head of supply chain, have left the EV startup in recent months, as the company exits a year in which it fell short of its production targets.
The departures, confirmed by a Rivian spokeswoman, are the latest developments in what has been a challenging period for Rivian, which has been rolling out its first all-electric models but last year missed a critical milestone of manufacturing 25,000 vehicles. The company said it was off its goal by about 700 vehicles in part because of difficulty getting parts.