December S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESZ24) are up +0.36%, and December Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQZ24) are up +0.40% this morning, signaling a partial rebound from yesterday’s slump, while investors awaited further comments from Federal Reserve officials, with all eyes on Thursday’s key U.S. inflation report and the start of earnings season.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indexes closed lower. Amazon.com (AMZN) fell over -3% after Wells Fargo Securities downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight. Also, insurance companies offering property and casualty insurance in Florida slumped as Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm, with Heritage Insurance Holdings (HRTG) plummeting more than -23% and HCI Group (HCI) plunging over -17%. In addition, Apple (AAPL) dropped more than -2% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy with a price target of $212.92. On the bullish side, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) surged over +15% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after the server company reported strong shipments of its graphics processing units, fueled by artificial intelligence demand. Also, Pfizer (PFE) rose more than +2% after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Starboard Value acquired a roughly $1 billion stake in the drugmaker.
