The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to trade lower at noon on Wednesday. Traders awaited Fed Chair Jerome Powell's afternoon speech at the Brookings Institute. Powell is expected to confirm a slowing pace of rate hikes after four straight 75-basis-point hikes so far this year. The index is down 0.8% at noon.
The S&P 500 also traded lower in intraday trading and was down 0.4%. The Nasdaq, which had bucked the downtrend, also slipped.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index was down 0.3%.
Volume on the NYSE was higher and the Nasdaq lower compared to the same time on Tuesday.
Crude oil jumped 2.5% to trade at $80.19 per barrel. On Sunday, OPEC+ will meet to decide on production levels.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 3 basis points to 3.77%.
All eyes are turned to Fed Powell's speech at 1:30 p.m. ET. The CME FedWatch Tool sees a 67.5% chance of a 50-basis-point hike in December.
ADP private payrolls increased by 127,000 in November, falling off a cliff after October's 239,000. An updated reading on third-quarter GDP showed a healthy economy, growing at an annualized 2.9% rate. The data, along with Friday's nonfarm payrolls report, may determine the timing of the Fed's long-awaited pivot.
Analysts on Big Tech
In the Big Tech universe, Jefferies analyst Bill Thrill sees more downside for Amazon, posting a $51 price target. He forecasts EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of $60 billion.
Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss sees strong demand from commercial business for Microsoft. Weiss has an overweight rating and raised his price target to $307 for the Dow Jones component stock.
Both shares are lower at noon.
Late Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard beat revenue estimates, booking $7.9 billion while earnings of 57 cents per share met expectations. Shares are forming a cup base with a buy point of 17.86.
NetApp missed revenue estimates with $1.66 billion while earnings of $1.48 per share beat consensus. NTAP is down a steep 12% Wednesday morning. Shares are on their largest percentage decrease since Feb. 25, 2021's fall of 14.48%.
Workday shares are up 8%. The company topped both top and bottom-line views with revenue of $1.6 billion and earnings of 99 cents per share.
CrowdStrike saw revenue of $581 million and earnings of 40 cents per share. However, the software security provider missed on annual recurring revenue. Shares have fallen 20% and are on pace for their lowest close of 111.24 since Aug. 24, 2020.
Horizon Therapeutics surged over 27% after news that Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi are in acquisition talks.
Xpeng surged over 45% despite revenue of $958.9 million and a loss of 36 cents per share. The Chinese EV maker sees a delivery turnaround and 20,000 — 21,000 cars rolling off the assembly line in the fourth quarter.
Tesla China sales doubled in November but BYD stole first place with 152,863 cars sold. According to reports from Reuters, longtime leader in the Chinese auto market Volkswagen sold 143,602 vehicles. TSLA fell slightly on Wednesday while BYDDF rallied 15% with VWAGY down slightly.
Dow Jones Software Leader Earnings Watch
Dow Jones leader Salesforce, Snowflake, Box and Pure Storage are on earnings watch after the market close.
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