Stock Market Today: Tech leads markets lower, bitcoin nears record

Check back for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures edged lower Tuesday, matching a modest move higher in both the dollar and Treasury bond yields, as investors looked through outsized declines in some Magnificent 7 tech stocks while eyeing a series of key economic data releases later in the week.

Updated at 7:12 AM EST

Target-Beating

Target  (TGT)  shares powered higher in early Tuesday trading after the retailer posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings while forecasting solid near-term profits and hinting at the rollout of a new paid membership program.

Target shares were marked 7.5% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $161.80 each.

Related: Target surges as earnings top forecasts, teases new membership plan

Stock Market Today

The S&P 500 hit an intraday peak yesterday but ended the session modestly lower amid a nudge higher in Treasury yields and a set of big declines for Magnificent 7 peers Apple  (AAPL) , Tesla  (TSLA)  and Alphabet  (GOOG) .

Comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic also rattled markets as he forecast the first rate cut of the year as coming only in the third quarter, well past the current market forecasts of a June reduction.

"Only when I gain that confidence will I feel the time is right to begin lowering the federal funds rate," Bostic said. "The good news is the labor market and economy are prospering, furnishing the [rate-setting committee] the luxury of making policy without the pressure of urgency." 

Benchmark 10-year-note yields were last marked at 4.188%, around 2 basis points higher from yesterday's levels, with 2-year notes pegged at 4.583%. The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, was marked 0.04% higher at 103.885 against a basket of its global peers. 

Elsewhere, bitcoin came within $150 of a record in overnight trading, topping out at $68,800 each, as the world's largest digital currency continues to benefit from the launch of exchange-traded funds earlier this year.

Bank of America's weekly 'Flow Show' report, meanwhile, notes that around $2.4 billion found its way into crypto funds last week, following inflows of $1.2 billion and $2.6 billion over the prior two weeks.

On Wall Street, Tesla shares were back in the red, falling 2.4% after a fire, which police are suspecting as arson, forced the temporary closure of its newly completed gigafactory in Berlin.

Apple shares were also extending declines, falling 1.6% to an early November low of $172.24, following a report that suggested iPhone sales in China have slumped more than 24% from last year.

Advanced Micro Devices  (AMD)  was another notable mover, falling 2.3% amid reports the chipmaker has failed to win U.S. permission for the sale of some advanced technologies to China.

Heading into the start of the trading day, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 12 point opening-bell decline ahead of ISM services sector and factory order data later in the session.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are indicating a 47 point pullback while those linked to the Nasdaq suggest a 95 point decline for the tech-focused benchmark.

In overseas markets, stocks in Europe were mixed, and largely tracking U.S. equity futures, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.2% in Frankfurt and Britain's FTSE 100 rising 0.05%.

Overnight in Asia, China stocks were mixed as well, as Premier Li Qiang unveiled the country's official 2024 economic targets, including a GDP growth rate of 5%, which largely matches last year's tally.

In a nationally televised address from the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, Li vowed to "transform" the world's second-largest economy with what he called "structural adjustments, improving quality, and enhancing performance." 

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