U.S. index futures signal a muted opening in Wednesday’s pre-market as investors assess the impact of the recently released inflation rate in Germany and review corporate earnings results. The market is on hold, awaiting remarks from Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman, which could provide new clues on the direction of monetary policy.

As of 06:29 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) were up 24 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.03%, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.03%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.575%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for December fell 0.79%, to $76.76 per barrel. Brent crude oil for January was down 0.65% near $81.08 per barrel. Iron ore with a 62% concentration, traded on the Dalian exchange, rose 1.03% to $128.35 per ton.

On the economic agenda this Wednesday, investors await at 07 AM, last week’s mortgage rate, while wholesale inventories, which are expected to show stability for September, are out at 10 AM. The U.S. government will conduct another Treasury auction at 1 PM.

Powell’s speech is awaited with some anticipation, as it may confirm bets that U.S. interest rates will not rise further or could even begin to fall by mid-2024. At 1:40 PM, a speech by the New York Fed President, John Williams, is scheduled, while at 2 PM, it will be the turn of Michael Barr, vice-chair of supervision at the monetary authority. Finally, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks at 4:45 PM.

In Asia, markets closed down, attentive to U.S. interest rate policy and the upcoming inflation indicators from China, which could reveal the impact of recent economic stimuli. In focus in the country’s real estate sector, giant Country Garden is facing liquidity issues, with insurer Ping An Insurance Group being urged to step in.

In Europe, German inflation remained stable in October, indicating a slowdown compared to the rise in September. Retail sales in the eurozone experienced a sharp decline in September, signaling challenges in the bloc’s economic recovery.

Speeches by European Central Bank officials are anticipated today: Hernández de Cos at 7:30 AM and Andre Enria at 09 AM, which could provide insights on the future direction of the bloc’s monetary policy.

The stock markets in the United States recorded another day of gains following conciliatory statements from members of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones increased by 0.17%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite went up by 0.28% and 0.90%, respectively. Specifically, Christopher Waller, one of the Fed’s leaders, described the rise in long-term interest rates as a “jolt” in the bond market. Concurrently, Michelle Bowman, also a Fed official, expressed a dissenting opinion, advocating for a sharper increase in interest rates. However, the impact of their statements was limited, as their positions were already previously known. In Europe, Huw Pill, the Chief Economist of the Bank of England, indicated that interest rate cuts could occur in 2024.

On the corporate earnings front for Wednesday, investors will be watching for reports from Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), Oatly (NASDAQ:OTLY), Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR), Yeti (NYSE:YETI), Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) before the market opens. After the closing bell, reports are expected from Unity (NYSE:U), TheTradeDesk (NASDAQ:TTD), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), Navitas (NASDAQ:NVTS), Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), among others.

Wall Street Corporate Highlights for Today

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Block (NYSE:SQ) – The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed to regulate digital payments and smartphone wallet services provided by tech giants like Alphabet, Apple, PayPal, and CashApp, subjecting them to bank-like supervision for consumer protection.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) – A former Meta employee testified before a US Senate subcommittee, alleging that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram was aware of the harassment and harm faced by teenagers on its platforms but did not take action. He revealed that 51% of Instagram users reported bad or harmful experiences, including unwanted sexual advances.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon’s chief lawyer, David Zapolsky, outlined the company’s defense against the US FTC’s antitrust lawsuit in an internal meeting. Zapolsky expressed confidence in Amazon’s practices, citing Taylor Swift, and defended the company against allegations of monopoly and illegal conduct. Additionally, Amazon is investing millions in “Olympus,” an LLM with 2 trillion parameters, aiming to compete with OpenAI and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Led by Rohit Prasad, the team seeks to bolster AWS offerings with high-performance in-house models. Training LLMs is expensive, but Amazon is committed to its generative AI while reducing its retail presence.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft’s stock reached a record high of $360.53, ending an eight-day streak of gains, on the path to match its previous winning streak. The company is an investor in OpenAI, and UBS analysts expressed optimism after OpenAI’s developer conference, highlighting potential benefits for Microsoft, especially for the Azure cloud service.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) – Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference will remain in San Francisco next year, following threats of relocation. CEO Marc Benioff announced that the world’s largest enterprise technology conference will return to the city, emphasizing San Francisco’s importance as the World Capital of AI. This year’s conference generated approximately $89.3 million in the local economy.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) – Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software rose by 7.9% in pre-market trading after news of a possible announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI later this week. The company’s gains have reached 31% this year.

Enovix (NASDAQ:ENVX) – Enovix’s shares rose by 14.3% in pre-market trading after the company forecasted fourth-quarter sales between $3 million and $4 million, well above expectations, driven by an acquisition and demand from the US Army.

Sleep Number (NASDAQ:SNBR) – Sleep Number’s shares plunged more than 30% in pre-market trading following an unexpected quarterly loss and a full-year loss forecast. The company also initiated a cost-cutting plan, including layoffs and store closures, in response to weakened demand. Additionally, it appointed two new board members as part of an agreement with shareholder Stadium Capital Management LLC.

WeWork (NYSE:WE) – The $3 billion debt-for-equity swap of WeWork with its creditors is an effort by its major shareholder, SoftBank, to revitalize the company. Success depends on renegotiating burdensome lease contracts that led to its near-collapse. While WeWork has renegotiated some contracts, it still faces financial challenges. SoftBank, despite its limited exposure, has an interest in restructuring the company. Its stake may be affected by the debt-for-equity swap agreement.

Frontier Communications Parent (NASDAQ:FYBR) – Cerberus Capital Management is now the second-largest shareholder of Frontier Communications Parent, with a 10% stake. Jana Partners has also invested in Frontier and is seeking its sale. Ares Management, with a 16% stake, plans to influence the company. Frontier’s stock price has risen by 26.6% in the last month.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) – The utility company announced a proposal to issue $1 billion in common stock through Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs plans to divest its General Motors (NYSE:GM) credit cards, and the automaker will initiate a process to find a new card issuer. Goldman seeks to focus on its traditional strengths, such as investment banking and trading.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) – GM’s Cruise is recalling 950 autonomous cars in the US due to collision detection software issues following an accident. The company will deploy a software update and make repairs before returning the vehicles to service.

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) – Toyota will extend its production reduction in its China joint venture for three months, facing increased competition. The goal is to relieve pressure on dealerships. Production will continue to be reduced from December to February. Toyota’s sales to dealers will decrease to 66,000 units in December, 60,000 in January, and 38,000 in February. Sales fell by 9% in the first nine months of this year.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) – Rivian has increased its production forecast to 54,000 vehicles due to strong demand. Rivian has focused on in-house motor manufacturing, avoiding price cuts, and delivered above expectations in the third quarter. Additionally, the company will end its exclusivity agreement with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for electric delivery vans, opening doors to more customers while maintaining the commitment to fulfill Amazon’s order for 100,000 vans by 2030.

Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) – Lucid Group has reduced its production forecast to 8,000-8,500 vehicles this year, down from the previous estimate of over 10,000, aligning with deliveries. Its shares fell 3.5% in pre-market trading, and third-quarter revenue fell short of analyst estimates, reaching $137.8 million compared to estimates of $183.8 million.

Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) – Spirit AeroSystems announced a $200 million stock sale and a $200 million convertible debt issuance to raise capital. Its shares fell by 14.1% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. The company faces quality production issues, delivery delays, and rising costs.

Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) – Embraer is seeking to promote its E195-E2 jet as a “small narrowbody” for North American carriers, even with demand focused on its first-generation E175-E1 model. The company expects the E195-E2 to complement the operations of larger narrowbody aircraft in the US.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) – Virgin Galactic plans to cut personnel to focus on developing its new Delta spaceplane class, which is expected to be more cost-effective and profitable. The cuts reflect the need to reduce reliance on volatile capital markets.

Earnings

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) – Occidental Petroleum’s shares increased by 1.4% in pre-market trading after the energy sector company announced an adjusted profit of $1.18 per share in the third quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 88 cents per share, according to FactSet. Additionally, Occidental raised its full-year production outlook.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) – Devon Energy’s shares fell by 1.2% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. In the third quarter, Devon reported an adjusted profit of $1.65 per share, exceeding analysts’ forecast of $1.56 per share, according to FactSet. The company issued a new full-year production forecast, setting it at 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, a slight variation from the previous guidance range of 643,000 to 663,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ:UPST) – Upstart’s shares dropped by 23.2% in pre-market trading due to the announcement of an adjusted loss of 5 cents per share in the third quarter, worse than analysts’ expectation of a 2-cent loss. Additionally, revenue of $135 million fell short of the $140 million market expectations. The company also provided fourth-quarter revenue projections that did not meet market estimates.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) – The stock of the major e-commerce company fell by 6.4% in pre-market trading after releasing third-quarter results. eBay generated $2.5 billion in revenue, meeting analysts’ expectations, as reported by LSEG. Additionally, adjusted earnings per share reached $1.03, surpassing analysts’ forecast of $1 per share.

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) – The shares of the company behind the trading app declined by 7.5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. In the third quarter, Robinhood reported revenue of $467 million, which was below analysts’ expectations of $478 million, as reported by LSEG.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) – The cloud services company reported an adjusted profit of $1.63 per share in the third quarter, along with revenue of $965.5 million. This exceeded analysts’ forecasts, which expected a profit of $1.50 per share and revenue of $943.9 million.

Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) – Extra Space Storage announced $748 million in revenue for the third quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $680.6 million.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) – Gilead Sciences reported a third-quarter profit of $2.29 per share, excluding items, with revenue of $7.1 billion, primarily driven by lower taxes. Sales of the HIV drug Biktarvy increased by 12%, while sales of the COVID drug Veklury fell by 31%. The company raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast and estimated a 16% tax rate for 2024.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) – The healthcare company announced an adjusted profit of $2.85 per share, with revenue of $3.1 billion in the third quarter. These results exceeded analysts’ estimates of a profit of $2.01 per share and revenue of $3.02 billion, according to FactSet. Additionally, the company revised its full-year adjusted profit projection, now expecting a range between $7.80 and $8.30 per share, surpassing its previous guidance of $7.00 to $7.80 per share.

Kyndryl (NYSE:KD) – Kyndryl’s shares are up by 10.1% in pre-market trading after the company reported $4.1 billion in revenue for the third quarter, exceeding analysts’ estimates by approximately $100 million. Kyndryl also reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $574 million, well above Wall Street’s consensus.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) – Toast, a company that provides point-of-sale systems for restaurants, saw its shares drop by 17.3% in pre-market trading. Toast reported a loss of 9 cents per share in the third quarter, falling short of analysts’ expectations of a 10-cent profit per share, as reported by LSEG. Revenue reached $1.03 billion, in line with market estimates.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) – Upwork’s shares saw a 19.9% increase in pre-market trading after the company exceeded Wall Street expectations for third-quarter earnings and revenues on its freelancing platform.

Array Technologies (NASDAQ:ARRY) – Array Technologies’ shares fell by 11.8% in pre-market trading due to its outlook for the full year falling below expectations. The company projected revenues for 2023 in the range of $1.525 billion to $1.575 billion, while analysts estimated revenues of $1.64 billion.

Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) – Bumble forecasted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations, citing inflation and increased competition. The company faces competition from rival Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) and notes a $1 million impact due to the Middle East crisis. Bumble expects revenue between $272 million and $278 million for the fourth quarter, below analyst estimates.