In the pre-market on Wednesday, U.S. index futures show a positive trend. Investors are anticipating the quarterly earnings of Deere & Co (NYSE:DE), while analyzing the recent results of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, released the day before.
At 06:04 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) rose 49 points, or 0.14%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.15% and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.20%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was at 4.371%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for January fell 0.90%, to $77.07 per barrel. Brent crude oil for January fell 0.80% to around $81.79 per barrel. Iron ore with a concentration of 62%, traded on the Dalian exchange, rose 1.04%, to $134.65 per ton, the highest value since February 21.
On Wednesday’s economic agenda, investors await the October durable goods orders and weekly unemployment insurance claims at 08:30 am. At 10:00 am, data on final consumer sentiment for November will be awaited.
European markets are operating higher, with a focus on media and real estate stocks. Sage Group (LSE:SGE) hit a record after an 18% increase in annual operating profit, boosting sector shares with margin expansion to 20.9%.
Asian markets closed variably after the release of the Fed’s minutes, indicating restrictive monetary policy. The Japanese government foresees a moderate economic recovery, while Singapore’s GDP grew 1.1% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations. Market indices varied: Shanghai SE fell 0.79%, while Nikkei rose 0.29%.
Israel and Hamas agreed on a four-day pause in fighting for the release of 50 hostages in Gaza, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid. The agreement, mediated by Qatari and U.S. officials, may be extended with the further release of hostages.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones retreating 0.18%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.20%, and the Nasdaq yielding 0.59%. The pullback occurred as some traders sought to realize profits after recent gains, and as the Federal Reserve minutes indicated the maintenance of restrictive interest rates. Shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) fell 15.8%, despite better-than-expected results. Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) also saw declines due to lower-than-expected results. Airline and semiconductor sectors fell, while gold stocks rose with the price of the metal.
On Tuesday’s corporate earnings front, investors will be watching the reports from Deere (NYSE:DE), Tremor International (NASDAQ:TRMR), BaoZun (NASDAQ:BZUN).
Wall Street Corporate Highlights for Today
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) – OpenAI has agreed on the return of Sam Altman as CEO, ending uncertainties. The restructuring included appointments, praised by Microsoft. The threat of a mass employee exit pressured the board, resulting in Altman’s reinstatement. The outcome was celebrated by the team, highlighting unity.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Apple faces accusations from the National Labor Relations Board for not granting enhanced benefits to unionized workers at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland, allegedly violating federal labor laws. The union alleges discrimination and the use of benefits to discourage unionization at other locations. The complaint arises after the unionization of the Towson store and allegations of lack of good-faith negotiations by Apple.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, plans to sell a significant part of his shares, estimated at over $1 billion, after having sold about $240 million last week. He has been liquidating shares to fund Blue Origin, his space company, since stepping down as Amazon’s CEO.
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) – Broadcom plans to complete the acquisition of VMWare (NYSE:VMW) for $69 billion, after China approved the deal with restrictive conditions. The Chinese regulator stated that VMWare software could operate with local hardware without restrictions on purchasing Broadcom products. The deal’s closure was expected for November 26.
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) – Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, canceled his plans to sell 10 million shares of the company due to the recent fall in value. He believes in Alibaba’s growth potential and will not sell his shares, despite concerns about competition and the U.S.-China rivalry.
Foxconn (USOTC:FXCOF) – A subsidiary of Foxconn, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co., was fined $2,800 by Chinese tax authorities for inflating research and development expenses in 2021 and 2022. This comes amid a broader investigation into the company’s operations and suppliers of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in China. Foxconn founder Terry Gou, running for the presidency of Taiwan, stated that the Chinese government would not harm his business empire.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) – On Tuesday, Walt Disney revealed that new collective bargaining agreements with the Directors Guild of America, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA will result in increased content creation costs. The company anticipates capital expenditures of approximately $6 billion in fiscal 2024, with spending on produced and licensed content reaching about $25 billion.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) – The Strategic Organizing Center nominated three candidates for the Starbucks board, using a shareholder tactic. The annual meeting, on March 13, 2024, will decide on the candidates. Starbucks stated it has invested over $3 billion in the past three years in wage improvements, training, and technology, and has created a board committee to enhance stakeholder engagement, including employees.
Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) – Canada introduced fiscal measures to alleviate housing shortages, limiting tax deductions for short-term rentals, including Airbnb, starting in January. The change aims to control the housing crisis, while Airbnb argues that restrictions harm additional income and do not solve the structural problem.
Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) – Luminar Technologies canceled the acquisition of Forbes by CEO Austin Russell, as he failed to secure the necessary funding. Russell previously agreed to acquire 82% of Forbes in a deal valued at nearly $800 million. The cancellation will not affect Forbes’ day-to-day operations.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) – Warren Buffett donated approximately $866 million in Berkshire Hathaway shares to four family charities. In a letter to shareholders, he reaffirmed his commitment to donating over 99% of his fortune and indicated that Greg Abel will succeed as CEO. At 93, he highlighted his satisfaction with his health and peculiar eating habits. Since 2006, Buffett has donated more than half of his shares to charity.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Adevinta (USOTC:ADEVY) – The private equity consortium, led by Permira and Blackstone, plans to acquire eBay’s online classifieds group for $13.1 billion. The offer of 115 crowns per share, with a premium of 52.6%, is supported by shareholders, including Schibsted and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY). The deal involves selling half of eBay’s shares for $2.2 billion and exchanging the remainder for a 20% stake in the new private entity. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.
Barclays (NYSE:BCS) – Barclays no longer expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in January, reversing a previous forecast of a 25 basis point increase. The brokerage now projects stable rates until December 2023, with possible cuts in 2024, depending on progress in disinflation.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) – Citigroup implemented appointments in Asia-Pacific as part of a global reorganization. Jan Metzger will lead the investment bank for the North Asia, Australia, and South Asia cluster. Kaleem Rizvi and K Balasubramanian were appointed heads of corporate banking for specific regions. Citi plans to reduce layers of management as part of a significant reform announced on Monday.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Morgan Stanley Co-President Andy Saperstein revealed in an internal memo that he has been diagnosed with cancer. Saperstein, who leads wealth and investment management, assured employees that he will limit travel but plans to continue working during treatment.
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) – Rio Tinto agreed to pay a $28 million fine to end a six-year SEC investigation into its problematic acquisition of a coal mining company in 2011. Rio Tinto also hired an independent consultant to guide its compliance policies. The SEC had accused the company of inflating the value of Mozambique coal assets and hiding significant losses from investors.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) – Ford Motor will reduce investments, capacity, and jobs at its electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, following criticism for using CATL technology. Ford plans to resume construction, producing iron-lithium batteries starting in 2026. The original investment of $3.5 billion will be reduced to about $2 billion.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) – General Motors plans to provide a business update on November 29 following the ratification of labor agreements in the U.S. and Canada. With rising costs due to new union agreements and challenges in the autonomous unit Cruise, GM is cutting fixed costs and adjusting its electric vehicle launch strategy.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) – Hackers exploited a flaw in Citrix Systems software called Citrix Bleed to attack Boeing and other companies. The LockBit 3.0 ransomware group was responsible for the attack, which held systems hostage and demanded payment to unlock files. Boeing shared information with affected third parties.
Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) – Palantir Technologies led a group that secured a contract from the National Health Service of England, though the contract value was lower than expected and involved more partners than previously thought.
Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) – Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary criticized Italy’s antitrust investigation into the airline’s flight prices, calling it a “joke” and attributing it to Italian populist leadership. He claimed the investigation overlooked the fact that most bookings occur on desktop computers.
Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) – Virgin Galactic was downgraded from “Equal Weight” to “Underweight” by Morgan Stanley, and the price target was revised from $4 to $1.75, according to Fly. This resulted in a 5.63% drop in Wednesday’s pre-market, with shares now trading at $2.01.
Earnings
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) – Nvidia is down 0.8% in Wednesday’s pre-market after reporting third-quarter results with an adjusted profit of $4.02 per share and revenue of $18.12 billion. Market estimates were a profit of $3.37 per share on revenue of $16.18 billion. For the fourth quarter, Nvidia forecasts fiscal revenue of $20.00 billion, above the consensus estimate of $17.86 billion.
HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) – HP shares fell 2.7% in Wednesday’s pre-market due to below-estimate fourth-quarter revenue performance. HP reported revenue of $13.82 billion, below the LSEG consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. However, earnings were in line with projections.
Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) – Analog Devices projected first-quarter revenue and profit below market estimates due to semiconductor industry oversupply. The company expects first-quarter revenue of $2.50 billion compared to LSEG estimates of $2.68 billion. The company anticipates normalizing growth in the second half, reducing inventories and slowing capacity expansion. Revenue fell 16% to $2.72 billion but beat estimates. Adjusted earnings were $2.01 per share, largely in line with expectations.
Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) – Autodesk is down -4.7% in the pre-market despite the software company beating analysts’ expectations for third-quarter revenues and earnings. Adjusted earnings of $2.07 per share were higher than analysts’ estimate of $1.99 per share, according to LSEG. Revenue was $1.41 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion.
dLocal (NASDAQ:DLO) – dLocal shares fell 13% due to the CFO’s departure and below-expectation third-quarter revenue results. Although earnings were in line with estimates, revenue of $163.9 million fell short of the $165.5 million predicted by analysts. The company adjusted its earnings outlook and maintained its revenue forecast for the year.
Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) – Jack in the Box reported fourth-quarter operating earnings that did not meet expectations and issued a full-year operating earnings forecast below expected, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) – Urban Outfitters exceeded third-quarter expectations with a net profit of $83 million and revenue of $1.28 billion. Same-store sales increased by 5.6%.
Guess (NYSE:GES) – Shares fell 14.8% in Wednesday’s pre-market after the clothing company reported disappointing adjusted third-quarter earnings and revenues, according to FactSet consensus estimates. Excluding unusual events, the company announced an earnings per share projection between $2.67 and $2.74, a decrease from the previous estimate of $2.88 to $3.08 per share.
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) – The department store chain reported third-quarter revenue of $3.32 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $3.40 billion, according to LSEG. The retailer announced an adjusted third-quarter earnings of 25 cents per share, surpassing analysts’ forecasts of 13 cents per share.
Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) – Burlington Stores shares jumped on Tuesday after the company reported a third-quarter net profit of $48.6 million, nearly tripling from the previous year, with adjusted earnings per share of 98 cents. Total revenue was $2.29 billion, with same-store sales growing 6.0%. The company expects adjusted earnings per share between $3.04 and $3.19 in the fourth quarter and projects 5% to 7% sales growth.