Here are five things you must know for Wednesday, March 8:
1. -- Stock Futures Surge As Investors Swoop Back Into Global Markets
U.S. equity futures powered higher Wednesday, while crude prices eased and Treasury bond yields crept north, as investors looked to add beaten-down stocks following last night's close in correction territory for major American indices.
Headline risk from the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces continue their march towards the capital Kyiv as fighting enters its thirteenth day, remains elevated, however, as does the ongoing financial impact linked to scores of corporate boycotts, a U.S. ban on Russian energy exports and a warning from Fitch Ratings that the Russian government could be close to an 'imminent' default of some of its debt as a result of sanctions placed on its central bank's access to U.S. dollar reserves.
A pullback in global oil prices, following yesterday's comprehensive ban on Russian energy imports from President Joe Biden, looks to have helped bullish sentiment Wednesday, as investors eye a plethora of U.S. stocks trading in correction territory -- a figure that represents a 10% fall from a recent peak -- and an easing in the CBOE Group's benchmark VIX volatility gauge.
WTI futures for April delivery were marked $2.03 lower at $121.67 per barrel while Brent contracts for May fell $1.77 to $126.17 per barrel during London trading.
In U.S. markets, futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are indicating a 430 point opening bell gain while those linked to the S&P 500, which is down 12.5% for the year, are priced for a 63 point surge.
Nasdaq Composite futures are indicating a solid 245 point gain, although the advance is again limited by the ongoing rise in 10-year Treasury note yields, which hovered just over 1.9% in overnight trading.
2. -- Oil Prices Ease Ahead of Energy Department Data; Gas Hits $4.26 a Gallon
Global oil markets remained volatile in overnight trading, with Brent crude trading as high as $130 a barrel before retreating later in the overnight session following yesterday's move by President Joe Biden to ban Russian energy imports.
Investors Wednesday will be closely tracking data from the Energy Department, expected at 10:30 am Eastern time, that will detail the state of domestic crude stockpiles. Last week's data showed inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as the lowest levels since 2002, with overall stockpiles holding at the levels last seen in 2014.
In the meantime, U.S. gas prices are holding at record highs, with Gasbuddy.com, a consumer-focused website, reporting a national average of $4.26 per gallon.
WTI futures for April delivery were marked $2.03 lower at $121.67 per barrel while Brent contracts for May fell $1.77 to $126.17 per barrel during London trading..
3. -- Federal Prosecutors Probing Trades Linked to Microsoft-Activision Takeover
The U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, is investigating three entertainment industry executives over potential insider trading violations linked to Microsoft's $68 billion takeover of videogame maker Activision, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Barry Diller, Alexander von Furstenberg and David Geffen are being probed over options trades that netted profits of around $60 million, the Journal reported, following purchases made on January 14 when Activision was trading at $63 a share.
Four days later, Microsoft unveiled its $95 per share bid for Activision, prompting JPMorgan to report the trades to U.S. authorities, the paper said.
Diller served on the board of Coca-Cola Co. KO with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick prior to Kotick's departure earlier this month.
Microsoft shares were marked 2.23% higher in pre-market trading at $282.00 each while Activision rose 0.7% to $81.60 each.
4. -- Bumble Shares Soar On Q4 Earnings Beat, Russia Exit
Bumble (BMBL) shares surged in pre-market trading after the online match-making app posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings while announcing it will cease offerings services in Russia and Belarus.
Bumble said adjusted earnings for the December quarter came in at 8 cents per share, with revenues per user rising 14% to $22.83. Overall sales passed $200 million, Bumble said, with paying users rising 29% to 1.6 million, mostly thanks to growth outside of the United States.
Looking into the current financial year, Bumble said it sees revenues in the region of $934 million to $944 million, with its ban on Russian activity trimming the topline by around $20 million.
For Bumble, discontinuing Russia swiftly addressed a building risk," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon. "Catalysts should be driven by the Bumble app and include international expansion milestones and new bundle launches, while new advertising/sponsorship opportunities will be tested over the NTM (likely on BFF first) supporting multiple re-expansion."
Bumble shares were marked 22.5% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $20.57 each.
5. -- Stitch Fix Shares Plunge On Q2 Loss, Full Year Outlook
Stitch Fix (SFIX) shares plunged lower in pre-market trading after the online fashion retailer posted a wider-than-expected second quarter loss and cautioned that sales would likely decline from last year as shopping habits continue to evolve following the lifting of pandemic era restrictions.
Stitch Fix said its loss for the three months ending in January was pegged at 28 cents per share, down from a loss of 20 cents over the same period last year and just outside the Street consensus forecast. Group revenues, Stitch Fix said, rose 3% to $511 million. Stitch Fix reported nearly 4million active clients, up 4% from a year earlier. Net revenue per active client fell 15.1% to $549.00.
"We are not yet where we want to be with new client acquisitions and conversion, which will weigh on our outlook," CFO Dan Jedda told investors on a conference call late Tuesday.
"The lower net client adds we have experienced in the first half of the year have impacted our revenue and are driving our revised outlook for the back half due to the compounding nature of fewer new clients buying," she added. "However ... we are confident in our long-term strategy, and we're seeing clear signals that we are taking the right steps for the future of the business."
Stitch Fix shares were marked 22.6% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $8.52 each.
