U.S. stocks fell before the bell on Wednesday as investors tried to read the rune on a rate cut and weighed new earnings reports for insight into a possible comeback promoted by American companies.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell about 0.2% after a fourth consecutive day of wins. Futures prices for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) were almost unchanged, while futures prices for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index (NQ=F) fell 0.2%.
Stocks have posted a series of gains in recent days, but some of the gains came as Federal Reserve policymaker Neel Kashkari signaled that interest rates are likely to remain at historic highs for some time. I lost momentum. Comments by the Minneapolis Fed president that there was no chance of a rate hike also dashed hopes for early easing that other Fed speakers had been pushing for. Fed officials Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson are scheduled to speak Wednesday.
There was also uncertainty about corporate performance, and some investors held back as the season entered its final stages. While the technology industry has largely lived up to high expectations, the focus is now on whether other sectors can match them.
Wednesday’s filing showed that predictions for Uber’s key booking metrics were off the mark, sending the company’s stock down nearly 7% in premarket trading. Shopify (SHOP) stock fell as much as 19% after the e-commerce platform predicted quarterly sales growth would be the slowest in two years.
Fox’s (FOXA) earnings are going to be in the spotlight after Disney (DIS) won in profits but still missed Wall Street’s expectations. After hours, quarterly updates from AMC Entertainment (AMC) and Robinhood (HOOD) will be watched for signs of a meme stock-like rally.
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