U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected inflation report.
The CPI, a broad measure of goods and services costs across the economy, rose 0.4% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 3.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 0.3% gain and a 3.4% year-over-year level.
Excluding volatile food and energy components, core CPI also accelerated 0.4% on a monthly basis while rising 3.8% from a year ago, compared to respective estimates for 0.3% and 3.7%.
Market Snapshot
At 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 439 points, or 1.12%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 68 points, or 1.29%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 259.25 points, or 1.41%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was last higher by more than 14 basis points at 4.507%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last at 4.941% after climbing more than 19 basis points.
Pre-Market Movers
Nvidia was down 1% in premarket trading. Shares of the maker of chips used in artificial-intelligence applications declined 2% on Tuesday and entered a correction, which is defined as a pullback of at least 10% from a recent high. Nvidia shares have fallen five of the past six trading sessions but remain up 72% in 2024.
Delta Air Lines topped first-quarter earnings expectations and reported record revenue. The carrier said it expects second-quarter profit of $2.20 to $2.50 a share, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.22. Shares of Delta were rising 4.8%.
Alibaba shares traded in the U.S. were up 3.2%. The Chinese e-commerce giant’s co-founder, Jack Ma, issued a long internal memo to employees that praised Alibaba’s current leadership, acknowledged past mistakes, and struck an optimistic tone on the company’s future growth.
U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rose 1.09% as the company, a major supplier to Nvidia and Apple, said revenue in the January to March quarter rose 16.5% from a year earlier to NT$592.64 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor said the revenue jump was the most in any previous quarter since 2022.
XPeng’s U.S.-listed shares rose 2.6%. Xpeng has reached an agreement with a distributor to offer its electric vehicle (EV) models in Hong Kong as it expands its international presence. The EV maker signed a deal with Malaysia's Sime Darby Group on April 9 at its headquarters in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, authorizing the latter to be Xpeng's official distributor for the Hong Kong market, according to a press release today.
PriceSmart, the operator of international warehouse club stores, reported a 13% jump in fiscal second-quarter revenue to $1.29 billion. Comparable net merchandise sales rose 8.8% in the period. The stock rose 4.6% in premarket trading.
Fiscal second-quarter profit at household-products company WD-40 fell from a year earlier but global net sales rose 7%. Sales rose just 1% in the Americas—which accounted for 46% of total net sales in the second quarter—but jumped 16% in Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa. WD-40 raised its fiscal-year earnings guidance, saying it now sees profit in the range of $5 to $5.30 a share, compared with prior guidance of between $4.78 and $5.15. Shares fell 2.6%.
Market News
Apple’s India iPhone Output Hits $14 Billion in Pivot From China
Apple Inc. assembled $14 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, doubling production in a sign it’s accelerating a push to diversify beyond China.
The US tech giant now makes as much as 14% or about 1 in 7 of its marquee devices from India, people familiar with the matter said, declining to be named as the information isn’t public.
Microsoft and NetEase to Re-Launch Warcraft Game in China, Ending Feud
Chinese video games giant NetEase said it is working with Microsoft to bring popular games including "World of Warcraft" back to the country after a public fallout that ended a decade-long partnership in 2023.
The two companies said in press release on Wednesday that they are working to bring games developed by Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of U.S. gaming giant Activision Blizzard which Microsoft acquired last year, back to the world's second-largest economy, starting this summer. NetEase was the publisher of Blizzard's games in China from 2008 to 2023.
Fed's Bostic Still Expects 1 Rate Cut in 2024 but Doesn't Rule Out 0 Or 2
Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic still expects one rate cut in 2024, but is not ruling out the possibility of two or zero depending on the direction of the US economy and inflation.
"At this point, I think it's one. But as months pass, I may move to two or I might move to zero and we'll just have to see where the chips fall," Bostic, a voting member of the Fed's interest-rate setting committee, said Tuesday.