By Peter Bergman (MoneyAmped.com)
U.S. stock futures remain steady as markets evaluate the possibility of Federal Reserve interest rate reductions in the coming months. On Wednesday, we can expect to see the release of several quarterly earnings reports, including those from Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM). Toyota’s yearly earnings almost doubled due to strong demand for its hybrid vehicles, but the company cautions about a 20% decline in income for the upcoming fiscal year.
Futures Remain Stagnant
U.S. stock futures remained relatively unchanged on Wednesday as traders contemplated the potential for Federal Reserve interest rate reductions in the coming months and closely monitored the continuous stream of corporate earnings.
The Dow futures agreement, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 futures all showed tiny movement at 03:28 Eastern Time (07:28 GMT).
The major indexes on Wall Street had a varied performance in the previous session, dampening some of the momentum from the recent surge in stocks. Encouraged in part by a less-than-expected monthly U.S. jobs report last week, numerous investors had advanced their estimated timeline for a Fed rate cut to September from November. This would mark the initial reduction since the central bank raised interest rates to the highest level in over twenty years in an effort to curb high inflation.
Nevertheless, in an essay published on Tuesday, Neel Kashkari, the President of the Minneapolis Fed, pointed out that a range of recent economic indicators might indicate that monetary policy is less tight than initially believed by officials. According to Kashkari, price growth may be “stabilizing” above the Federal Reserve’s stated 2% target.
Uber and Arm Holdings Are Set to Release Their Financial Reports
Uber Technologies and Arm Holdings, along with several other well-known companies, will announce their most recent quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
Investors will undoubtedly be closely monitoring Uber’s revenue and booking numbers as they strive to assess the company’s trajectory of expansion. Arm, a U.K.-based company, generates revenue by licensing its designs to other semiconductor businesses. The company will closely examine its royalty and license revenues.
During after-hours trading, stocks in the social media company Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) experienced a significant surge following its optimistic revenue forecast for the current quarter, which was supported by solid user expansion. In addition, it disclosed a loss of $575.1 million for the first quarter, which has increased compared to the same period last year. This can be attributed to the costs associated with its IPO in March.
Rivian Automotive, based in California, has restated its commitment to producing 57,000 electric vehicles in 2024. Nevertheless, the reported figure fell short of what analysts had predicted, with a Visible Alpha poll cited by Reuters indicating a forecast of 62,277. Rivian’s stock experienced a slight decline during after-hours trading.
Toyota Reports a Decrease in Earnings Despite Nearly Doubling Its Annual Profit
Toyota Motor Corp, the largest automaker globally in terms of vehicle sales, reported a significant rise in its yearly profit on Wednesday. This surge in profit can be attributed to the growing demand for its hybrid vehicles, which has boosted sales.
However, the car manufacturer presented a less optimistic view for the current year, as less favorable economic conditions in its largest markets indicated a decline in overall sales.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, the Japanese car manufacturer recorded an operating income of 5.35 trillion yen ($34 billion), a significant increase from the previous year’s profit of 2.73 trillion yen.
The rise was primarily fueled by more robust overall earnings, which were also boosted by the depreciation of the Japanese yen.
Licenses to Sell to China’s Huawei Reportedly Revoked by U.S.
Media reports indicate that the U.S. has revoked licenses allowing companies like Intel and Qualcomm to supply chips for Huawei Technologies’ laptops and handsets.
According to insiders, Intel and Qualcomm received notification on Tuesday that their licenses had been revoked, effective immediately. Earlier today, the U.S. Commerce Department confirmed that specific licenses were revoked without disclosing the names of the affected companies, according to media reports.
The decision is made as the Biden administration, which has already implemented limitations on the export of American technology to Huawei, is experiencing mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers to intensify their actions against the company. Officials in Washington have expressed worries about the use of Huawei’s equipment by Beijing for cyber espionage purposes, a claim that Huawei has refuted.
Crude Prices Decline
Crude prices declined on Wednesday due to industry data indicating a rise in U.S. oil inventories, suggesting a lack of demand in the largest energy consumer globally.
In the United States, oil futures fell 1.1% and were priced at $77.50 per barrel at 03:27 Eastern Time (ET), while Brent also declined 1.1% and reached $82.24 per barrel.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, the latest data reveals that U.S. oil inventories increased by 0.5 million barrels during the week ending May 3. This result was unexpected, as analysts had predicted a decrease of 1.4 million barrels.
The Energy Information Administration is set to release the official U.S. government data on stockpiles later in the session.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its military operation in Rafah, located in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, following reports that Hamas officials had agreed to a fresh ceasefire offer. However, U.S. officials remain optimistic that a ceasefire is still possible as representatives from both parties convene in Cairo for talks.
