Stock futures are little changed as Wall Street awaits Fed's preferred inflation reading: Live updates

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The S&P 500 fell slightly in light trading on Wednesday as investors took some risk off the table following big November gains.

The broad market index shed 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%, hurt in part by a slide of more than 3% in Nvidia shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87 points, or 0.2%, putting the blue-chip average on pace for another record close.

Investors followed the latest reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCE, released Wednesday morning. The Federal Reserve-favored inflation gauge rose 0.2% in October and 2.3% on an annualized basis, in line with expectations from economists polled by Dow Jones. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core measure increased 0.3% month over month and 2.8% compared with a year ago, also matching consensus forecasts.

“Today’s data shouldn’t change views of the likely path for disinflation, however bumpy,” said David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management. “But a lot of observers, probably including some at the Fed, are looking for reasons to get more hawkish on the outlook given the potential for inflationary policy change like new tariffs.”

That comes a day after the Fed issued the minutes from its November meeting. While central bank officials said they anticipate more interest rate cuts coming down the pike, they said the pace of cuts would happen “gradually.”

It’s a shortened trading week in the U.S., with the market dark for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and set to close early Friday. Trading volume was lighter than usual.

Still, it’s been a notable week as the Dow and S&P 500 rose to all-time highs. The Dow is now tracking to end the week 1.5% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are slated for gains of 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively.

The November trading month, which has been defined by a postelection rally on the back of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, also concludes this week. The Dow has climbed more than 7% in the month, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each jumped more than 5%.

HP heads for worst day in more than four years

HP sank 10% during Wednesday’s session, putting shares on pace for their worst day since May 2020.

The losses came after the personal computer maker issued disappointing earnings guidance for the current quarter. HP said it expects earnings, excluding items, to range between 70 cents per share and 76 cents per share, versus a FactSet estimate of 85 cents per share.

That came despite better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter revenues and in-line earnings.

— Samantha Subin

Inflation data matches expectations

The personal consumption expenditures price index, a broad measure that the Fed prefers as its inflation gauge, increased 0.2% in October and showed a 12-month inflation rate of 2.3%. Both were in line with the Dow Jones consensus forecast.

Excluding food and energy, core inflation increased 0.3% on a monthly basis for an annual reading of 2.8%. Both also met economists’ expectations. 

— Jeff Cox

S&P 500 opens slightly lower

The S&P 500 kicked off Wednesday’s session modestly lower as traders awaited key inflation data.

The broad index slid 0.2% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3%. The Dow ticked 0.1% higher.

— Alex Harring

Bank of America hikes price target on DataDog

Software company DataDog still has plenty of room to grow and boost its stock price, according to Bank of America.

Analyst Koji Ikeda hiked the price target on the stock to $175 per share from $156.

“Over the years, we’ve heard many software companies introduce new products to lots of fanfare that end up fizzling out. This is not the case with DataDog,” Ikeda said in a note to clients.

The analyst praised the company’s core offerings around observability, as well as newer products and potential growth related to artificial intelligence.

“If DataDog is anywhere near close to being as successful with its portfolio of 23 offerings as it has been with the three core pillars of observability, we are only at the beginning of the DataDog story,” added Ikeda, who has a buy rating on the stock.

The new price target is 13% above where the stock closed Tuesday. The stock is already up 27% year to date.

— Jesse Pound

U.S. weekly jobless claims fall by 2,000

Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 213,000 for the week ended Nov. 23, a sign that the U.S. labor market remains tight. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected claims to come in at 215,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 16 increased by 9,000 to 1.907 million, the Labor Department said.

— Fred Imbert

Dell Technologies, Urban Outfitters among the stocks making moves before the bell

Check out the names that are making big moves in the premarket:

• Dell Technologies — Shares fell more than 12% after the PC maker said it sees fourth-quarter revenue and earnings below Wall Street expectations. However, the company gave bullish commentary on artificial intelligence sales growth.
• Urban Outfitters — Shares popped nearly 12% after the retailer reported an earnings and revenue beat postmarket Tuesday. Its adjusted earnings were $1.10 per share, topping the 86 cents expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $1.35 billion versus the $1.34 billion consensus estimate.
• CrowdStrike — The cybersecurity stock slipped 4% after cautious guidance from the company. CrowdStrike said it expects between 84 cents and 86 cents in earnings per share in the fourth quarter, while analysts surveyed by LSEG had penciled in 86 cents. CEO George Kurtz said on an analyst call that the company expects an acceleration in net new annual recurring revenue in the back half of 2025, which may be further away than some investors were expecting.

Read the full list here.

— Sean Conlon

Loop says investors can ‘hide’ in these retailers until tariffs become clearer

Despite expectations of a rosy holiday shopping season, investors in retail stocks may want to take some cover amid the uncertainty of new tariffs.

The U.S. macroeconomic backdrop, including the strong labor market, rising consumer prices and falling gasoline costs, provide a healthy tailwind for retailers this holiday season, Loop Capital analyst Anthony Chukumba said in a note Wednesday.

“That said, we believe President-elect Trump’s continued fixation on tariffs provides a substantial overhang to the retail industry,” he wrote.

Trump said Monday he plans to raise tariffs on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S. by an additional 10%. He also wants to place a 25% levy on all products from Canada and Mexico.

“We believe retailers with as little international sourcing as possible — including Dollar General, Grocery Outlet, and Savers Value Village — may be a good place for investors to ‘hide’ until the tariff picture becomes clearer,” Chukumba said.

— Michelle Fox

Citi upgrades Urban Outfitters to buy

Citi liked what it saw from Urban Outfitters’ latest earnings report.

The bank upgraded the retailer to buy from neutral. Analyst Paul Lejuez also raised his price target on the stock to $59 from $42, implying upside of 47% from Tuesday’s close.

Urban Outfitters on Tuesday posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The company also issued strong fourth-quarter guidance.

“While 3Q comps of -9% were weak overall, there were several signs that the brand is moving in the right direction. Profitability improved for the first time in many qtrs, comps/traffic improved sequentially throughout 3Q and exited the qtr in better shape, driving mgmt to guide to a 4Q comp improvement to -MSD with stronger margins (vs LY),” the analyst wrote. “Momentum in key categories, including denim, accessories, home and lounge are driving the comp improvement into holiday with more broad-based improvements expected in the assortment in spring ’25 as the brand refocuses on their core 16-28 yr old demo.”

— Fred Imbert

European markets subdued as traders assess the tariff threat

European markets traded lower Wednesday as investors continued to assess the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump‘s plans to hike tariffs.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.2% lower by mid-morning, with most sectors in negative territory.

Shares of Easyjet were up 1.5% after the budget airline posted a 25% rise in full-year operating profit but shares of Aston Martin were down 4% after the luxury carmaker issued another profit warning. Shares of Just Eat Takeaway fell 1% after the company announced it would delist from the London Stock Exchange.

Global markets have traded mixed since Trump said Monday that one of his first acts in office would be to impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods entering the U.S., and threatened a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, ending a regional free trade agreement.

— Holly Ellyatt

Small-cap benchmark takes a breather but remains on track for big November gains

It was a less-than-stellar session for the Russell 2000, as it clipped a six-day winning run on Tuesday.

The small-cap index lagged the three major averages, slumping about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to fresh record closes.

Nevertheless, the Russell 2000 is enjoying a strong November, as investors have snapped up cyclical stocks since Donald Trump won a second term in the White House earlier this month.

The Russell is on track for a 10.4% jump month to date, besting the 5.5% gain the S&P 500 is carrying this month. The small-cap benchmark has also topped the Nasdaq Composite‘s nearly 6% advance in November and the Dow’s 7.4% jump.

—Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

Dell Technologies, Workday among the names making moves in overnight trading

Some stocks are making big moves in extended trading:

• Dell Technologies – The stock tumbled more than 10% on the heels of the company posting weaker-than-expected revenue for the fiscal third quarter. Dell posted $24.37 billion for the period, which is lower than the $24.67 billion that analysts had penciled in, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings, however, beat Wall Street’s expectations.
• HP – Shares slid 7% after the personal computing company offered weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for its fiscal 2025 first quarter. HP expects to earn between 70 cents and 76 cents, excluding items, while analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating 85 cents per share for the period.
• Workday – The stock slid 10% after the human resources software company announced that it sees its subscription revenues and its operating margin coming in lower-than-expected for the fourth quarter. Workday forecasted $2.025 billion in subscription revenues and an operating margin of 25% for the period, while analysts polled by StreetAccount estimated $2.04 billion in subscription revenues and an operating margin of 25.5%.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Stock futures are little changed

Stock futures opened little changed on Tuesday evening.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures likewise moved 0.04% higher, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.03%.

— Sean Conlon