What to watch today: Dow futures steady as bond yields rise but Nasdaq futures fall | | | WED, MAR 17, 2021 | | | AS OF WED, MAR 17, 2021 • 08:15 ET | Dow Jones Fut | 32,825.95 | Current: | 32,741.00 | Change: | 17.00 | Impl. Open: | 29.05 | | S&P 500 Fut | 3,962.71 | Current: | 3,939.25 | Change: | -13.25 | Impl. Open: | -13.46 | | NASDAQ 100 Fut | 13,152.28 | Current: | 13,001.25 | Change: | -140.00 | Impl. Open: | -142.03 | | Russell 2000 Mini | 2,319.52 | Current: | 2,302.50 | Change: | -14.20 | Impl. Open: | -7.82 | | Dow futures were steady Wednesday even as the 10-year Treasury yield jumped to a new 13-month high ahead of the Federal Reserve's post-meeting release of new economic and interest rate projections and Chairman Jerome Powell's news conference. However, Nasdaq futures slumped about 1%, in step with recent pressure when bond yields rise. (CNBC)
The Dow on Tuesday broke a seven-session winning streak, retreating from a record high close. The S&P 500 also fell from a record close, breaking five straight days of higher finishes. The Nasdaq bucked Tuesday's trend and finished higher. (CNBC) | | As bond yields rise on concerns about inflation, Powell needs to convince traders that easy current Fed monetary measures won't overheat a recovering economy that just got another Covid stimulus boost. The Fed concludes its two-day March meeting Wednesday afternoon, with no one expecting any change in policy. (CNBC)
Central bankers get a new batch of housing data to consider at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect February housing starts to drop 2.5% following a 6% decline in January. Building permits for February are seen falling 7% after January's 10.4% gain. (CNBC)
* Mortgage refinance demand tanks 39% as rates continue to climb (CNBC) | The White House is setting low expectations ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan's first face-to-face meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday. According to a senior Biden administration official, the two sides won't deliver a joint statement and no major announcements are expected. (AP)
Reflecting Washington's concern about the erosion of Hong Kong's rights, the U.S. sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing's ongoing crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city. China said the new sanctions expose America's "sinister intention to interfere in China's internal affairs, disrupt Hong Kong and obstruct China's stability and development." (AP)
* Chinese tech giant Baidu to raise $3.1 billion in Hong Kong listing (CNBC) | | Uber will reclassify all U.K.-based drivers as workers, in the wake of losing a major labor battle there earlier this year. Under the new designation, more than 70,000 drivers in the U.K. will get some benefits, including a minimum wage, holiday time and pension contributions. Shares of Uber fell 1.5% in U.S. premarket trading. (CNBC) | | Biden said in a new interview that Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if an investigation confirms allegations by multiple women that Cuomo sexually harassed them. "If those claims are confirmed, Biden said, "I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too." (CNBC) | | Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs last night left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, police said. (AP) | | Elon Musk withdrew his offer to sell one of his tweets as a non-fungible token Tuesday, even though a bidder had offered more than $1 million for the digital asset. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO reneged on his NFT offer, saying "Actually doesn't feel quite right selling this. Will pass." (CNBC) | Lands' End (LE): The apparel retailer reported quarterly earnings of 60 cents per share, topping the 56 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also topped analysts' forecasts. Lands' End forecast a smaller-than-expected loss for the current quarter and full-year earnings that exceed consensus. Its shares jumped 6.7% in premarket trading. | | Lennar (LEN): The homebuilder reported quarterly earnings of $2.04 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 a share. Revenue beat estimates as well, helped by low interest rates and solid demand. The company said that demand remains strong despite a recent rise in rates. Lennar added 1% in the premarket. | | Coupa Software (COUP): The provider of financial management software earned 17 cents per share for its latest quarter, compared to expectations of an 11 cents per share loss. Revenue came in above forecasts, in spite of what the company calls a difficult macroeconomic environment. Coupa shares rose 2% in premarket trading. | | CrowdStrike (CRWD): The security software company beat estimates by 5 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 13 cents per share. Revenue came in above estimates as well. CrowdStrike also issued an upbeat outlook. Its shares gained 4.9% in premarket action. | | Plug Power (PLUG): The maker of fuel cells shares plunged 18.6% in the premarket after it said it will restate its financial results for 2018 and 2019, as well as some recent quarterly filings. The company said it detected errors in how it accounted for a variety of non-cash items, but added that it did not find any misconduct. | | Coherent (COHR): The laser maker said it had received a revised takeover bid from optical components maker Lumentum (LITE) for $6.9 billion in cash and stock. This is the eighth bid for Coherent in a takeover contest involving Lumentum, II-VI (IIVI) and MKS Instruments (MKSI). Coherent's stock jumped 3.7% in premarket trading. | | Pinduoduo (PDD): The China-based e-commerce company reported a 146% surge in quarterly revenue that beat analysts' estimates. Pinduoduo also overtook Alibaba (BABA) as China's largest e-commerce company, with 788.4 million active users in 2020 compared to Alibaba's 779 million. Its stock initially surged in the premarket on the news, but then fell 5.8%. | | Baidu (BIDU): The China-based internet search company is set to raise about $3.1 billion in a Hong Kong listing, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke to Reuters. Baidu had previously been expected to raise about $3 billion from the listing. Baidu shares fell 1.9% in the premarket. | | Micron Technology (MU): The semiconductor maker plans to sell a Utah chip factory that made a type of memory chip called 3D Xpoint, which it jointly developed with Intel (INTC) in 2012. It plans to exit the 3D Xpoint market due to low demand from customers. | | FirstEnergy (FE): The utility confirmed that it struck a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn, giving him two seats on the board and avoiding a potential proxy fight. The agreement had earlier been reported by The Wall Street Journal. FirstEnergy rose 1.4% in premarket trading. | U.S. department store chain Nordstrom (JWN) plans to debut its own Livestream Shopping channel, as part of its broader ambitions to delve into e-commerce livestreaming, which is already a huge phenomenon in Asia. Nordstrom only decided late into this past holiday season to experiment with the channel. (CNBC) | | |
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