U.S. futures were looking to bounce on Wednesday as investors await further clues from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell about the state of the economic recovery.
Dow and S&P futures were up around 0.4% at the time of writing while Nasdaq futures tried to claw back some of Tuesday’s losses, climbing 0.71% in the pre-market.
Investors are waiting for earnings results from EON SE (EONGY), Huazhu (HTHT) and Api Group (APG) before the bell, while RH (RH), Signify Health (SGFY) and KB Home (KBH) are expected to report after the market closes.
Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment (HOFV) was both the most actively traded stock and the biggest pre-market gainer after announcing that it has signed a partnership agreement with Dolphin Entertainment (DLPN) to offer non-fungible tokens (NFTs) allowing sports entertainment fans to trade exclusive content developed by HOFV and its partners.
HOFV was trading 77% at the time of writing with DLPN following close behind, up 73%.
Benitec Biopharma (BNTC) was the weakest share in the premarket falling 22%, followed by Second Sight Medical (EYES) and GameStop (GME), who were down 17% and 14%, respectively.
In corporate earnings news, GameStop (GME) fell 6.5% on Tuesday after reporting worse-than-expected Q4 results. Adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share missed Street estimates by $0.01, while net sales of $2.12 billion came in lower than the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. GameStop’s game-plan for 2021 will focus on transformation and navigating its way out of the pandemic.
IHS Markit (INFO) reported better-than-expected Q1 results primarily driven by a growth in revenues. Revenues grew 3.6% to $1.12 billion beating analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion while adjusted earnings of $0.71 per share rose 8% year-over-year coming in ahead of Street estimates of $0.70 per share. The company anticipates total revenue of between $4.535 billion and $4.635 billion for 2021, with adjusted EPS forecasted to be in the $3.11 to $3.16 range.
At Home Group (HOME) looked set to start the day over 2% stronger following a 7.3% decline on Tuesday. The home décor store chain operator reported better-than-expected Q4 results with adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share coming in nearly three times higher than the year ago period. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.70 per share. Net sales rose 41.3% year-on-year to $562 million and topped Street estimates of $525.8 million.
Postal Realty (PSTL) bounced 2.4% in Tuesday’s extended trading session after reporting Q4 results that exceeded analysts’ expectations. Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) increased 64.7% year-on-year to $0.28 per share while revenues of $7.58 million grew by 96.4% year-on-year and beat consensus estimates of $6.21 million.
Intel (INTC) was trading over 4% higher at the time of writing after announcing a $20 billion expansion project to set up two new factories in Arizona. “We are grateful for our partnerships with the State of Arizona and the Biden administration for creating a business environment that encourages investment in semiconductor innovation and helps make this new expansion possible,” said Dr. Randhir Thakur, President of Intel Foundry Services.
