This is what we look forward to leading up to Wednesday’s opening bell.
–US stock futures declined, while investors waited for a peak day of key earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting.
Futures on the S&P 500 fell 1%, while futures linked to the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 fell 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 1%.
What is coming
–Earnings updates expected: Tesla,
TSLA 0.26%
Apple AAPL 0.17%
and Facebook FB 1.45%
are due after closing. The electric car manufacturer is expected to make its first annual profit.
The Federal Reserve issues a policy statement at 2 pm and Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference at 2.30 pm
Market Movers to keep an eye on
–And then there is GameStop. The stock plunged once again, rising 55% in a hugely volatile trade. CNBC reported that Melvin Capital, a hedge fund that has suffered large losses so far this year, partly due to a bet against the video game retailer’s stock, closed its short position Tuesday afternoon. The report caused a stir on the online platform Reddit – popular with day traders battling hedge fund short sellers – where some members wrote that it was an attempt to persuade GameStop GME. 92.71%
share price down again. And Elon Musk weighed in on the stock again last night with a tweet: “Gamestonk !!“
–The show must go on: Another badly shorted stock, cinema operator AMC Entertainment Holdings,
AMC 12.22%
saw its shares reach a more than 220% premarket increase.
—Headphone maker Koss KOSS 66.67%
has also joined the party and its shares are up 97% in the premarket.
– Bed Bath & Beyond BBBY 20.18%
resumed its upward trajectory, up 11% before the bell. Online traders point to a management change in early 2020 and the fact that the company is buying back shares as a sign that the stock price will continue to rise.
– Microsoft MSFT 1.22%
shares are up 1.9% premarket. The software giant’s profits and sales soared, driven by pandemic demand for video games and accelerated adoption of its cloud computing services.
– Boeing BA -0.64%
Shares fell 3.4% in the premarket after the aircraft manufacturer reported its largest annual loss on record and took a massive financial hit on its new 777X jet as a result of the increasing toll of the pandemic.
– Abbott Laboratories ABT 0.01%
Shares added 1.1% premarket after posting solid earnings growth in the last quarter as strong demand for its Covid-19 diagnostic services contributed to higher revenues.
– Starbucks SBUX 1.20%
fell 2.9% premarket after the coffee chain reported sales declined during the holiday quarter, but showed signs of recovery, especially in China. Operational chief Roz Brewer is leaving to become CEO of Walgreens WBA 2.86%
Boots Alliance, where she will be the only black woman to run a Fortune 500 company. Walgreens shares were up 5%.
A Walgreens store in Tomball, Texas, January 16, 2021.
Photo:
Jeff Lautenberger for The Wall Street Journal
– AT&T T 2.20%
equities fell 0.4% in the premarket after reporting a loss in the fourth quarter as it posted a charge of $ 15.5 billion on its pay-TV business.
—Chip maker Texas Instruments TXN -0.84%
Shares fell 2.6% premarket, although its quarterly results and outlook both beat Wall Street’s estimates after Tuesday’s close.
Market fact
Retail order flows have reached 20% of the total US stock market, according to UBS research, twice as many as in 2010.
Chart of the day
GameStop shares have become a favorite of online traders looking to make money buying options.
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