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What to Watch Today: Stock Futures Drop, a Day After Wall Street Had Resumed Its Upswing

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures dropped Wednesday, one day after Wall Street rebounded from Monday's Federal Reserve-driven decline, which broke multiday winning streaks for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up Wednesday, trading at nearly three-year highs around 2.38%. (CNBC)

* Mortgage refinance demand plunges 14%, as interest rates spike higher (CNBC)

Investors are coming to grips with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Monday comments signaling that bigger-than-typical interest rate hikes may be necessary to fight "too high" inflation Veteran investor Carl Icahn, expressing market concerns about inflation and Russia's war against Ukraine, told CNBC on Tuesday the U.S. economy could be heading into a "recession or even worse." (CNBC)

GameStop's (GME) stock, which surged nearly 31% on Tuesday, jumped another 12.5% in premarket trading Wednesday after the video game retailer's chairman, Ryan Cohen, bought another 100,000 shares. The purchase bring his ownership to 11.9% as the activist investor, who also co-founded online pet retailer Chewy, tries to move GameStop into e-commerce. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

President Joe Biden is set to depart Wednesday for Europe to meet this week with key allies in Brussels and Warsaw, Poland, as world leaders try to prevent Russia's Ukraine attack from spiraling into an even greater catastrophe. There are fears that Russia could use chemical or nuclear weapons. Humanitarian challenges are growing as well. (AP)

* Zelenskyy says 100,000 people trapped in Mariupol; German leader says Putin destroying Russia's future (CNBC's live blog)

Moderna's (MRNA) two-dose Covid vaccine was about 44% effective at preventing infection from the omicron variant in children 6 months to under 2 years old and about 38% effective for children 2 years to 5 years old. None of the kids developed severe illness and the majority of breakthrough cases were mild. Moderna plans to ask the FDA for emergency clearance. (CNBC)

* Omicron ‘stealth’ subvariant BA.2 could go ‘wild’ in Europe, top epidemiologist says (CNBC)

One of the two black boxes from Monday's China Eastern Airlines plane crash has been found, Chinese state media said Wednesday. Officials said the black box was "heavily damaged." A Boeing (BA) 737-800 jet carrying 132 people nose-dived Monday in rural, mountainous part southern China. While China has not confirmed any fatalities, authorizes said rescue workers haven't found any survivors. (CNBC)

Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday the administration was ready to dole out $2.9 billion in grants for state and local infrastructure projects, such as highway, bridge, freight, port and public transit expansions and repairs. The money is part of the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law four months ago. (CNBC)

The CEOs of American semiconductor giants Intel (INTC) and Micron (MU) are set to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday to make the case for $52 billion in U.S. subsidies for chip manufacturing. A persistent industrywide shortage of chips has disrupted production in the automotive and electronics industries. (Reuters)

* Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson takes senators' questions (CNBC)

Starbucks (SBUX) baristas at a Seattle location Tuesday unanimously voted to unionize, a first in the company's hometown. Only one location, in the Buffalo area, has voted against unionizing, giving Starbucks Workers United a win rate of 88%. (CNBC)

* Amazon union vote to begin in New York, which has challenged company in past (WSJ)

STOCKS TO WATCH

General Mills (GIS) gained 1.6% in the premarket after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raising its full-year outlook. The food maker earned an adjusted 84 cents per share, 6 cents above estimates, with revenue essentially in line with analyst forecasts. General Mills said demand for food at home continues to be elevated.

Winnebago (WGO) reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $3.14 per share, beating the $2.94 consensus estimate, and revenue also topped Street forecasts. Results were helped by strong consumer demand and higher prices. However, the recreational vehicle maker's shares lost 2.4% in the premarket.

Adobe (ADBE) beat estimates by 3 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $3.37 per share. The software maker's revenue was slightly above estimates. However, Adobe cut its forecast for a key subscription revenue measure, expecting a $75 million hit for existing business in Russia and Belarus. Adobe slid 2.7% in the premarket.

U.S.-listed marijuana stocks, including Tilray (TLRY), Canopy Growth (CGC), Aurora Cannabis (ACB) and Sundial Growers (SNDL) jumped in the premarket following news of two takeover deals in the industry.

Okta (OKTA) said a preliminary investigation found no evidence of ongoing malicious activity, following news of a hacker breach. The digital authentication company said up to 366 customers may have been impacted by the breach, but noted hackers gained only limited access. Okta dropped 3.6% in premarket trading.

Private equity firms Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and Elliott Investment Management are considering raising their offer for Nielsen Holdings (NLSN), Bloomberg reports. Nielsen had rejected a prior offer of $25.40 per share, saying it undervalued the company.

Poshmark (POSH) slid 9.4% in the premarket after the operator of a new and used clothing marketplace gave weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter. Poshmark reported better-than-expected revenue for its most recent quarter, along with a slightly smaller-than-expected loss.

WATERCOOLER

Top-ranked Ash Barty shockingly announced Wednesday that she's retiring from professional tennis. The Australian Barty, just 25 years old, said in an Instagram video, "I am spent" and it's time to "chase other dreams." She won three women's Grand Slam singles titles. (AP)

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