Wednesday, February 18

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise as AI worries recede, with Fed minutes ahead


US stock futures gained on Wednesday in a sign that AI fears are waning, as investors waited for a fresh batch of earnings and for Federal Reserve minutes to give insight into interest-rate cuts.

S&P 500 futures (ES=F) added 0.5^%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) moved roughly 0.6% higher. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) added 0.4% after the major US gauges closed Tuesday with modest gains.

Technology stocks are recovering composure after a turbulent stretch that saw software names in particular take a bruising. But while the pressure is easing, investors are still weighing the long-term impact of AI on business models and corporate competition, adding to the long-running debate over when AI spending will pay off.

Attention is turning now to the Fed’s January meeting minutes later Wednesday for insight into policymakers’ thinking on the economy and rates. Officials are expected to see three cuts, while markets are pricing in at least two reductions this year. Those bets could change with Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a key inflation input for the Fed.

On the corporate calendar, earnings from DoorDash (DASH), eBay (EBAY), and Analog Devices (ADI) are set for release Wednesday.

LIVE 6 updates

  • Brian Sozzi

    Inside the AI rout

    You might recall, shares of transportation logistics player CH Robinson (CHRW) were run over last week out of the blue. The company had no earnings report. Execs weren’t presenting at an investment banking conference.

    Instead the stock was swept up into the AI sell-off as some random company called Algorhythm Holdings said it created software that made transport logistics way more efficient. I think the sell-off was very overdone, and in no way reflective of CH Robinson’s impressive fundamentals.

    The company is at the forefront of using AI in its business! In fact, it has stripped a ton of costs from its business because of its first mover advantage on using AI.

    But you don’t have to take my word for it.

    I have CH Robinson CEO Dave Bozeman live on my show Opening Bid today at 9:45am. I expect Bozeman to fiercely defend his company, as he should.

    Tune in here or on the Yahoo Finance mobile app.

  • Berkshire cuts Amazon stake, makes bets on New York Times

    Shares of The New York Times Co. (NYT) popped in premarket trading after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) made a new multibillion-dollar investment in the publisher.

    The fourth quarter move was seen as a vote of confidence in the NYT’s strategy from Berkshire, which dumped holdings in dozens of newspapers in 2020. It’s also one of Berkshire’s last with Warren Buffett as CEO, after he handed the reins of the conglomerate to Greg Abel in January.

    From Bloomberg:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Premarket trending tickers: Palo Alto, Western Digital, Sandisk, and SSR Mining

    Palo Alto (PANW) stock fell 7% before the bell on Wednesday after the company cut its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday.

    Western Digital (WDC) stock rose 2% during premarket hours on Wednesday following its annoucment that it will raise $3.17 billion by selling its stake in Sandisk (SNDK). Sandisk stock fell by 2% during premarket trading today.

    SSR Mining (SSRM) stock rose by 7% before the bell on Wednesday after reporting higher fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue during prior days trading. The mining company said it expects to see a 10% increase in its gold-equivalent production of 450,000 to 535,000 ounces from its Marigold, CC&V, Seabee and Puna operations.

  • Nvidia and Meta expand their GPU team-up with millions of additional AI chips

    Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) rose in premarket trading as investors assessed fresh moves from the AI chip leader, including a boosted India AI build-out and the sale of its stake in chip tech firm Arm (ARM).

    The highlight is news that Meta (META) has agreed to buy millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs alongside other Nvidia processors in the next few years, deepening their multiyear, multi-generational partnership.

    Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:

    Read more here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Japan, US reach $36B of gas, mineral deals in Trump pact

    Japan has announced that it plans to invest up to $36 billion in US oil, gas, and critical mineral projects. This investment is part of Tokyo’s $550 billion commitment, which forms part of the trade agreement it struck with President Trump last year.

    “Our MASSIVE Trade Deal with Japan has just launched!” Trump posted on Tuesday on social media. “The scale of these projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS.”

    Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the projects will help build more resilient supply chains through partnerships in crucial areas for economic security.

    Bloomberg News reports:

    Read more here.

  • Tesla sales not suspended in California after judgement over ‘misleading’ self-driving ability

    AP Finance reports:

    Read more here.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *