Stock futures were little changed Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate hike decision in its effort to crush inflation.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 2 points, or less than 0.1%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were also roughly flat.
The Fed will conclude its December meeting and is expected to deliver a 50 basis-point rate hike. That’s a smaller bump after four consecutive 75 basis point hikes. A basis point is equal to one hundredth of one percent.
Chair Jerome Powell will also speak Wednesday, giving further clues about what’s coming from the Fed in 2023. In previous meetings this year, traders have been sensitive to Powell’s language, interpreting his tone as hawkish or dovish.
“While we expect the Fed to slow the pace of rate rises at its Wednesday meeting, policymakers are likely to stress that the job of curbing inflation is not yet over,” UBS’ Mark Haefele wrote in a Wednesday note. “A slowing of job creation and wage growth will be needed before the Fed can stop hiking.”
Stocks rose for a second day Tuesday, fueled by a cooler-than-anticipated inflation report. The November consumer price index was 7.1% on the year, less than the 7.3% gain expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The 0.1% increase from the previous month was also less than forecast.
The signal that inflation may have peaked was positive for stocks as it means the Fed may be one step closer to halting interest rate hikes or switching to cuts, which would fuel equities.
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(CLICK HERE FOR TODAY’S DIVIDEND CALENDAR!)
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THIS MORNING’S STOCK NEWS MOVERS:
Delta Air Lines (DAL) – Delta jumped 3.8% in the premarket after the airline raised its current quarter forecast and issued an upbeat 2023 outlook, citing robust travel demand.
STOCK SYMBOL: DAL
Tesla (TSLA) – Goldman Sachs cut its price target for Tesla to $235 per share from $305, citing softer demand. Tesla shares are down about 40% since the end of September, and briefly dipped below $500 billion in market value Tuesday.
STOCK SYMBOL: TSLA
Moderna (MRNA) – Moderna rose another 1.6% in premarket trading on top of yesterday’s 19.6% gain. The Tuesday advance followed a successful study of a skin cancer treatment involving an experimental Moderna vaccine in combination with Merck’s (MRK) cancer drug Keytruda.
STOCK SYMBOL: MRNA
Best Buy (BBY) – The electronics retailer’s stock dropped 3% in premarket action after BofA Securities downgraded it to underperform from neutral, citing a challenging environment for achieving earnings growth.
STOCK SYMBOL: BBY
Aspen Group (ASPU) – Aspen Group rallied 14.8% in premarket action after the online education company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and improved profit margins.
STOCK SYMBOL: ASPU
ABM Industries (ABM) – ABM Industries reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for its latest quarter. But the provider of facility services gave an outlook that fell below consensus estimates. The stock slid 3.9% in premarket trading.
STOCK SYMBOL: ABM
Darden Restaurants (DRI) – The parent of Olive Garden and other restaurant chains was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Wedbush on expectations of market share gains for Darden amid an uncertain consumer environment. Darden rose 1% in the premarket.
STOCK SYMBOL: DRI
Paccar (PCAR) – Paccar gained 1.6% in the premarket after the truck maker’s stock was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, which also raised its price target to $136 per share from $91. The firm said Paccar is among the industrial stocks poised to benefit from a sector recovery.
STOCK SYMBOL: PCAR
FULL DISCLOSURE:
/u/bigbear0083 has no positions in any stocks mentioned. Reddit, moderators, and the author do not advise making investment decisions based on discussion in these posts. Analysis is not subject to validation and users take action at their own risk.
DISCUSS!
What’s on everyone’s radar for today’s trading day ahead here at r/stocks?
I hope you all have an excellent trading day ahead today on this Wednesday, December 14th, 2022! 🙂
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