Stock Market Today: Stocks lowStock Market Today: Stocks lower with inflation in focus and Apple higherer with inflation in focus, Apple higher
Stocks could see today's GDP data as a sign that inflation pressures carried over into the start of the year.
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U.S. equity futures slipped lower Wednesday, while the dollar extended gains against its global peers and Treasury yields inched higher, as investors braced for an update on fourth-quarter GDP ahead of a key inflation report later in the week.
Stocks ended modestly higher yesterday, with the S&P 500 eking out a 0.17% gain and the small-cap Russell 2000 index rising 1.3%, in an otherwise quiet session highlighted by solid demand for a $42 billion 7-year Treasury bond auction.
Benchmark yields were edging higher overnight, however, matching a move in the dollar, as investors looked to Thursday's reading of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE Price Index, to further establish the central bank's rate path.
Ahead of that reading also comes the latest update on fourth-quarter GDP growth, which was last estimated at 3.3% and follows the Atlanta Fed's latest real-time reading of 3.2% for the current quarter.
The solid growth, alongside a resilient labor market, suggests inflation pressure could remain elevated well into the spring.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury-note yields were marked 2 basis points higher at 4.291% while 2-year notes were little changed at 4.681%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.26% higher at 104.102.
In stocks, Ebay (EBAY) shares jumped 4.9% after the online marketplace posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, powered in part by solid holiday spending.
Beyond Meat (BYND) soared 66% after the plant-based-food company surprised investors with stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter sales and a boost in overseas revenue.
Apple (AAPL) shares were also in focus, slipping 0.16% after the tech giant unveiled plans to scrap its decade-long project to build an autonomous car, opting instead to shift the investment and talent to its nascent AI division.
Related: Analyst says Apple's latest move is a positive for Elon Musk's Tesla
AI-related stocks will also be in focus after the close of trading, with January-quarter updates from Snowflake (SNOW) and Salesforce (CRM) .
On Wall Street, stock futures suggest a modestly weaker open, with contracts tied to the S&P 500 indicating a 16 point decline and those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggesting a 115 point pullback.
Futures tied to the tech-focused Nasdaq, which is up 6.82% for the year, are priced for a 68 point decline.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.26% lower in Frankfurt, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.66% in London.
Overnight in Asia, China stocks turned lower after a budget report failed to confirm hopes of significant stimulus from Beijing.
A weaker yen was unable to help the Nikkei 225 close in positive territory, with the benchmark falling 0.08% to 39,208.03 points.
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