Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Gain Ahead Of Nvidia Earnings—Constellation Energy, Target, DoorDash In Focus

U.S. stock futures were steady on Wednesday after Tuesday’s declines. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher.

Investors await Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) highly anticipated earnings report on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the minutes of the Fed’s October FOMC meeting will also be released later today.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.12% and the two-year bond was at 3.58%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 46.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates during its December meeting.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Dow Jones	0.09%
S&P 500	0.23%
Nasdaq 100	0.24%
Russell 2000	0.32%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.22% at $661.56, while the QQQ advanced 0.24% to $597.74, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Stocks In Focus

Nvidia

• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose 0.42% in premarket on Wednesday as analysts expect it to report earnings of $1.25 per share on revenue of $54.84 billion after the closing bell.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NVDA maintains a stronger price trend over the long and medium terms but a weak trend in the short term, with a solid quality ranking. Additional performance details are available here.

Constellation Energy

• Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:CEG) gained 3.49% after it secured a $1 billion Department of Energy loan to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center. This is expected to create 3,400 jobs.

• CEG maintained a weaker price trend over the short term, but a strong trend in the medium and long terms, with a moderate value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

DoorDash

• DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) advanced 2.20% after a Jefferies upgrade from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ and a partnership with Family Dollar to offer on-demand delivery of convenience items, household goods, and more at everyday low prices.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings shows that DASH maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth ranking. Additional information is available here.

Baidu

• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) slipped 2.50% despite beating both topline and bottom line as its online marketing revenue, or ad revenue, dropped 18% year-over-year to $2.16 billion.

• It maintained a weaker price trend over the short term but a strong trend in the medium and long terms, with a strong value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Target

• Target Corp. (YSE: TGT) was 0.034% higher as analysts expect it to report earnings of $1.72 per share on revenue of $25.34 billion before the opening bell.

• TGT maintained a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor quality ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.

Cues From Last Session

While energy, health care, and real estate stocks recorded the strongest gains on Tuesday, consumer discretionary and information technology closed the session lower. Although most S&P 500 sectors finished positively.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	-1.21%	22,432.85
S&P 500	-0.83%	6,617.32
Dow Jones	-1.07%	46,091.74
Russell 2000	0.31%	2,348.74

Insights From Analysts

Professor Jeremy Siegel maintains a constructive long-term view on the economy and the stock market, asserting that the “macro still argues for resilience rather than recession”.

Despite recent volatility, he does not believe the market has entered a bear cycle, though he remains critical of the Federal Reserve’s “misguided” hawkishness regarding inflation drivers that are unresponsive to interest rates.

He anticipates the Fed will shift to a “clearer easing bias into Q1” if economic activity continues to cool.

Looking forward, Siegel advises caution regarding high valuations in the U.S. tech sector, warning investors that they “should not bank on further multiple expansion doing the work”.

Instead, he suggests “selective quality-value tilts” and highlights international opportunities in Japan and Europe, where valuations are significantly cheaper than in the U.S.

Ultimately, Siegel views the consumer as the “fulcrum” for near-term performance; while he acknowledges a “textbook 5-10% correction is in play” if consumer resilience fades, he affirms he would “be a buyer into that magnitude of weakness”.

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Wednesday;

• November’s Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey data, October’s housing starts and building permits data, and August’s U.S. trade deficit data will be released by 8:30 a.m. The minutes of the Fed’s October FOMC meeting will be out by 2:00 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.46% to hover around $60.39 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.88% to hover around $4,103.63 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.15% higher at the 99.6960 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.10% higher at $91,283.92 per coin.

Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, except China’s CSI 300 and India’s NIFTY 50 indices. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Australia’s ASX 200, and South Korea’s Kospi indices fell. European markets were also lower in early trade.

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