A daily newsletter, Stocks @ Night, provides insights into the market, highlighting key data and corporate earnings that investors should monitor. For Wednesday’s trading session, market participants are focusing on several important economic indicators and earnings reports set to be released.
Upcoming data includes the ADP jobs report, scheduled for 8:15 a.m. ET, with expectations of an increase of 40,000 jobs. Industrial production figures are expected at 9:15 a.m., followed by the ISM non-manufacturing PMI numbers at 10 a.m. The current yields on government bonds show the 10-year yielding 4.09%, the 2-year at 3.51%, the 3-month at 3.79%, and the 1-month at 3.85%. Additionally, the dividend yields for key ETFs are noteworthy: the SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) stands at 6.58%, while the SPDR Bloomberg Short Term High Yield Bond ETF (SJNK) offers a dividend yield of 7.18%.
One company making headlines is Macy’s, which is set to report earnings in the morning. The retailer’s stock has surged nearly 70% over the past three months, recently reaching a 52-week high, although it closed slightly down on Tuesday. Financial analysts anticipate the earnings report and its subsequent stock response will be covered early on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” starting at 6 a.m. ET.
Dollar Tree is also on the radar, with earnings being revealed on “Squawk Box” as well. The discount retailer has experienced a 2% decline in stock price over the last three months, now 7.7% below an August peak.
Salesforce’s earnings report will follow later in the day, after the market closes. The tech company’s stock is nearly 30% lower than it was a year ago and has declined 7% since its last earnings announcement.
On the topic of technological competition, “Mad Money” with Jim Cramer discussed the ongoing dynamics in the AI sector, particularly the implications of OpenAI’s warning about Alphabet’s capabilities. Despite a slight rise of 0.29% on Tuesday, Alphabet’s stock dropped 1.4% this week. However, it has shown strong performance year-to-date, up 67%, surpassing other major companies in the so-called “Magnificent Seven.” Amazon and Tesla have also gained but at lower percentages compared to Alphabet’s impressive hikes.
In other industry news, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang will be meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss the company’s plans to sell more chips to China, highlighting a concern regarding national security. Although Nvidia’s stock is down 14.5% from a late October peak, it has recovered significantly, showing a year-to-date gain of 35%.
Other semiconductor stocks are also performing well; the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) increased nearly 7% in the past week, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is up close to 6%. Notably, Intel has surged by 21% over the last five days, hitting a new 52-week high, and NXP Semiconductors has gained about 13%. Synopsys, which recently announced a major deal with Nvidia, also experienced a substantial rise of nearly 12% in a week.
As the market prepares for a new day of trading, all eyes will be on the awaited economic data and earnings reports, which are likely to guide investor sentiment and stock movements.
