US markets are trading unevenly in early Wednesday trading.
Center stage is this evening’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. The market will be looking for future communication on monetary policy. The rate is expected to be left unchanged.
Oil prices are rising on Wednesday following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery.
The broad S&P 500 index was up 0.1 percent at 7,730.18 at around 15.06. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was unchanged at 26,483.88.
By sector, healthcare is showing the best performance, up 0.49 percent, while real estate is showing the weakest performance, down 1.09 percent.
Giants Microsoft and Alphabet will release their quarterly results after the close. Microsoft fell while Alphabet rose ahead of the reports..
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported operating profit that increased by a massive 632 percent in Q3. Operating profit came in at 83.33 trillion won, clearly above the expected 76.72 trillion. The company cited strong demand for memory chips and announced shareholder returns totaling 100 trillion won, equivalent to just over 75 billion dollars. Last summer, the company listed a depositary receipt on Nasdaq, which surged 10.2 percent.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund Trian Fund Management, together with several partners, has offered to buy fast-food chain Wendys for around 1.4 billion dollars, equivalent to 13.9 billion kronor. The Wall Street Journal reported this, citing sources. Wendys shares surged 14.6 percent.
Card giant Visa rose 0.2 percent after presenting quarterly figures in line with expectations.
Online broker Robinhood fell 3.7 percent after reporting earnings per share below expectations and a 55 percent decline in crypto revenue. The company lowered the upper end of its full-year forecast for adjusted operating expenses, including share-based compensation, to 2.75 billion dollars, from the previous 2.775 billion. The lower end remains at 2.675 billion dollars.
Computer equipment company Logitech’s adjusted operating profit beat consensus in Q3. Logitech said the impact of a factory closure at a semiconductor supplier is expected to be smaller than previously feared. The expected sales loss has been reduced to 70–80 million dollars, from previously up to 200 million dollars. Logitech fell 10.1 percent.
Cloud storage service Dropbox announced that it is reducing its global workforce by approximately 9 percent to align the organization and investments with the company’s most important product and growth areas. Dropbox is trading unevenly.
The yield on the US 10-year bond rises 3 basis points to 5.02 percent.
Brent crude rises 1.91 percent to 111.50 dollars and WTI crude increases 2.17 percent to 102.07 dollars.
IndexPriceChange todayChange this yearS&P 5007 730,180,10%12,92%Nasdaq Composite26 483,880,02%13,95%Consumer discretionary1 901,33-0,23%-1,41%Consumer staples973,27-0,37%12,53%Energy1 047,830,03%52,45%Financials929,610,02%1,98%Healthcare2 098,760,49%16,22%Industrials1 420,91-0,02%8,21%Materials647,26-0,56%12,68%Real estate267,42-1,09%4,86%IT7 117,710,24%25,22%Utilities433,86-0,36%0,01%Telecom431,670,33%-4,58%Source: Factset
