To The Moon

US equity futures shrugged off a renewed surge in bond yields Tuesday as evidence mounted that still-elevated inflation has yet to succumb to aggressive central bank policy.

Market Snapshot

At 7:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 67 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.25 points, or 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.29%.

Pre-Market Movers

$Zoom Video Communications Inc(ZM)$ jumped 7% in premarket trading after it forecast annual profit above Wall Street estimates and said it will integrate more artificial intelligence into its products.

$Occidental Petroleum Corp(OXY)$ slipped 1% after the oil producer said it would sharply raise spending this year, including on its direct air capture carbon-reduction project, which has been delayed to 2025.

$Target Corporation(TGT)$ missed analysts’ expectations for guidance, but shares climbed 1% as quarterly earnings and sales impressed. The retailer said earnings per share would be between $1.50 and $1.90 for the first quarter, compared with average estimates collected by FactSet of $2.15.

Market News

Elon Musk Recruits Team to Develop OpenAI's ChatGPT Rival

Elon Musk has approached AI researchers in recent weeks about forming a new research lab to develop an alternative to OpenAI's ChatGPT, the Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the effort.

Tesla and Twitter chief Musk has been recruiting Igor Babuschkin, a researcher who recently left $Alphabet(GOOGL)$'s DeepMind AI unit, the report said.

Palantir Technologies Cuts About 2% of Workforce

$Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$ has eliminated about 2% of its workforce as a growing list of companies cut jobs.

A company spokeswoman confirmed the workforce reductions but didn't disclose the number of positions affected. As of Dec. 31, Palantir had 3,838 full-time employees, according to its latest 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Broadcom Set to Receive EU Warning on Planned VMware Takeover

$Broadcom(AVGO)$ is expected to receive a European Union antitrust warning concerning its planned $61 billion takeover of $VMware(VMW)$ in the coming weeks.

The European Commission will disclose its concerns about the deal in a statement of objections, according a Reuters report from earlier Monday, which cited people familiar. Broadcom is expected to offer potential remedies only after it receives the charge sheet from the European regulator, though no asset sales are likely to be offered.

EU Antitrust Regulators Narrow Case Against Apple

EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday narrowed their case against $Apple(AAPL)$, saying its App Store rules that prevent developers from informing users of other purchasing options violate the bloc's rules against unfair trading conditions.

The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the 27-country European Union, dropped an earlier charge that targeted Apple's rules which require developers to use its own in-app payment system.

Chevron Raises Share Buyback Guidance to $10 to $20 Billion Per Year

$Chevron Corp.(CVX)$ increased its annual rate of share buybacks in a show of confidence in its cash-generation goals, even after crude prices declined by more than 30% since June.

Chevron will repurchase stock at a rate of $17.5 billion annually beginning in the second quarter, up from a previously planned $15 billion, the San Ramon, California-based company said in a statement Tuesday.