U.S. stock index futures inched up on Wednesday after big banks kicked off the reporting season with a mixed bag of earnings, while shares of United Airlines rose after it forecast at least a four-fold jump in full-year profit.
Market Snapshot
At 7:55 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 62 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 13.5 points, or 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 44.25 points, or 0.38%.
Pre-Market Movers
Moderna (MRNA) gained 7.5% in U.S. premarket trading after the biotech company announced late Tuesdaystrong results from a large trialof its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. RSV is a common virus and, to date, no vaccine is approved to prevent it.
Tesla (TSLA) shares continued to jump around, lifting 3.7% in the premarket to build on a 7.4% rally on Tuesday. The stock dived more than 6% last Fridayafter news of U.S. price cutsand has since more than rebounded.
United Airlines (UAL) rose 3.6% in premarket trading as it also reportedfourth-quarter earningsthat topped Wall Street estimates on robust travel demand.
Oatly (OTLY) jumped 7% following an upgrade by analysts at Mizuho, citing improving liquidity. After a difficult 2022, the firm also said Oatly should benefit from resilient demand plant-based beverages.
International Business Machines (IBM) slid 2% early Wednesday after the information technology company was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Exact Sciences (EXAS) declined 1.8% after the cancer-testing company was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by analysts at Raymond James.
Charles Schwab (SCHW) rose 1.1% in the premarket, withthe financial services giantdue to report earnings before the opening bell.
PNC Financial (PNC) fell more than 4% after PNC's fourth quarter results missed Wall Street estimates. PNC reported $3.49 in adjusted earnings per share on $3.68 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had penciled in $3.95 per share on $3.74 billion of revenue.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) slid 1.4% after being downgraded by Bank of America to neutral from buy. The Wall Street firm said it sees 20% downside to earnings per share estimates for the first half of the year and is uncertain that denim demand will improve in the second half.
GoDaddy (GDDY) gained about 4% following an upgrade to outperform from and line at Evercore ISI. Analysts said the company’s business model should hold up well even in a recession.
Market News
Microsoft Reportedly Denies Plan To Lay Off Thousands, Calling It A "Rumor"
Microsoft Corporation has reportedly denied that it plans to lay off thousands of staff in its engineering and human resources departments.
The denial was made in an email to Gizmodo, with a Microsoft spokesperson calling reports of the impending layoffs a “rumor.”
“Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” said the spokesperson, reported Gizmodo.
Tesla, Shareholders to Lay Out Arguments in "Funding Secured" Fraud Trial
Attorneys for Tesla Inc and for investors will make opening arguments in a San Francisco court on Wednesday in a case to decide whether CEO Elon Musk's 2018 tweet that funding was "secured" to take the company private damaged shareholders.
The case is a rare securities class action trial, and Musk and his company are bucking the norm of settling claims that clear high legal hurdles, making for a potentially dramatic trial at which Musk himself may testify.
Tesla investor Glen Littleton is seeking "billions" in damages on behalf of shareholders who traded the company's stock in the days after Musk posted his plan to take the company private on Twitter in August 2018.
A jury of nine will decide whether the tweets artificially inflated Tesla's share price by playing up the status of funding for the deal, and if so, by how much.