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U.S. equity futures edged higher in early Wednesday trading, while Treasury yields and the dollar resumed their recent climbs, as investors looked to tempering risks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict while prepping for a key earnings release from the world’s most-valuable company.
Updated at 6:43 AM EST
Off Target
Target shares plummeted in early trading after the retailer posted weaker-than-expected third quarter earnings and issued a muted forecast for the crucial holiday season.
Target, which has been losing market share to Walmart, said it sees fourth quarter profits in the region of $1.85 to $2.45 per share, well shy of Street forecasts, citing “soft discretionary trends and multiple cost headwinds”.
Target shares were marked 20.3% lower in premarket trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $124.00 each.
$TGT 2025 F/Y GUIDANCE
🔸 Sees ADJ EPS $8.30 to $8.90, saw $9 to $9.70, EST $9.57
GUIDANCE: Q4
🔸 Sees ADJ EPS $1.85 to $2.45, EST $2.65
RESULTS: Q3
🔸 Comparable sales +0.3% vs. -4.9% y/y, EST +1.48%
🔸 Comp digital sales +10.8%, EST +4.69%
🔸 Sales $25.23B, +0.9% y/y, EST…
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) November 20, 2024
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended higher on Tuesday following an afternoon rally that both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq into positive territory as Russia played-down changes to its nuclear doctrine following strikes by U.S.-made missiles from Ukraine.
The unwinding of safe-haven trades, which had pushed U.S. Treasury bond yields sharply lower, was also evident in overnight trading, where bitcoin prices hit a fresh all-time high and traded north of $94,000 each and gold price fell by around 0.3% per ounce amid the improving sentiment.
Treasury yields were back on the move heading into the New York trading session, with benchmark 10-year notes pegged at 4.418% and 2-year paper changing hands at 4.289%.
Nvidia, the world’s most-valuable company, reports its fiscal third quarter earnings after the close of trading.
Getty
On Wall Street, focus will likely shift to a busy corporate earnings slate, with updates from retailer Target TGT before the bell and Nvidia NVDA after the close of trading.
Nvidia, which represents around 7.5% of the weighting of the S&P 500 and around 9% of the Nasdaq, is expected to post a huge 83% surge in overall revenues, which are forecast at $33.1 billion, and guide investors to double-digit gains on the back of Blackwell GPU demand over the tech giant’s fiscal fourth quarter.
Related: Nvidia earnings on deck as AI kingpin tightens grip against rivals
“Nvidia heads into earnings with elevated expectations. The stock is up 172% {this year} and 5% over the past month, with anticipation of a beat and raise tempered by potential revenue deceleration as the market awaits the next-gen Blackwell product,” said Hightower’s chief investment officer Stephanie Link.
“Despite the stock trading at 37x, Nvidia remains the leader in AI, with accelerated bookings from cloud service providers and significant hyperscaler spend growth (17% Q/Q),” she added. “While I see early innings for AI, I’m more of a buyer on weakness than chasing here.”
With that update in focus, and options traders braced for price swings of around 9%, in either direction, for a $3.6 trillion stock after it reports, markets are set for a muted open to start the trading day.
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 10 point opening bell gain while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are priced for a 35 point bump.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile is called 13 points higher with Nvidia marked 0.25% in the green and changing hands at $147.35 each.
More Wall Street Analysts:
Walmart analysts reset stock price targets ahead of Black FridayAnalysts revamp Cisco stock price targets after earningsAnalysts revisit Applied Materials stock price targets after Q4 earnings
In overseas markets, a faster-than-expected reading for U.K. inflation put a cap on bets for a December rate cut from the Bank of England, and held down gains for the FTSE 100, which was marked 0.16% higher in mid-day London trading.
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 0.16% lower as the yen remained elevated against the U.S. dollar and tech stocks slipped ahead of the Nvidia earnings update.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
