The Dow led the decline in U.S. stock futures on Wednesday as doubts about a rate cut weighed on investors as they braced for a busy day of earnings headlines for Boeing (BA) and Tesla (TSLA).
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.5% and S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell 0.3% after the benchmark posted consecutive losses for the first time since September. The contract for the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, fell by about 0.3%.
Stock prices have stalled as investors debate how quickly the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates over the next year. Pessimism about the outlook for interest rates to remain high for an extended period of time has pushed bond prices lower in recent days, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) to its highest level since July. Yields rose slightly on Wednesday, staying firmly above the 4.20% level.
Read more: What Fed Rate Cuts Mean for Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans, and Credit Cards
Meanwhile, Boeing and Tesla are both struggling with headwinds and are awaiting results. The aircraft maker posted huge losses in its quarterly report before the bell, but on the same day it will find out whether striking factory workers voted to accept the pay deal.
Tesla’s financial results, which will be released after the market closes, are attracting a lot of attention amid questions about the company’s long-awaited low-cost EVs, details of its robotaxis, and its AI transition. More broadly, Wall Street is trying to determine whether Big Tech giants will continue to accelerate their share price gains and what the AI arms race will mean for their performance.
Coca-Cola (KO), AT&T (T), and IBM (IBM) also top the earnings reports, accounting for more than a quarter of the earnings reports.
Investors are wary of surprises after Starbucks (SBUX)’s shocking sales decline and guidance reversal. The coffee chain’s stock price fell nearly 5% premarket.
On the corporate side, McDonald’s (MCD) stock price fell by as much as 10% after it was officially announced that the company’s Quarter Pounder burger has been officially linked to an E. coli outbreak in some states.
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Live stock market coverage for Tuesday, October 23, 2024
