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Novavax slumps on flagging going concern doubts
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Kohl's slides after gloomy forecast
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Futures up: Dow 0.17%, S&P 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.37%
(Adds comment, updates prices)
March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on
Wednesday, putting Wall Street on course for a positive start to
March, as strong manufacturing data from China outweighed
concerns about the Federal Reserve's tighter monetary policy.
Asian and European stocks rose after data showed China's
manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than
a decade, infusing optimism in gloomy global markets.
"A recovery in the world's second-largest economy could
feed into the 'soft landing' or 'even no landing' narrative
which has done much to stoke the move in risk assets since the
October lows," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The main U.S. stock indexes ended February with declines as
investors braced for the possibility that the Fed will hike
rates more than initially thought, on signs of resilience in the
economy.
Traders are pricing in expectations that the Fed will raise
rates in coming months to a 5.25%-5.50% range, from the current
4.50%-4.75% range. That's higher than where Fed policymakers in
December signaled they would need to raise the policy rate.
U.S. monthly payrolls and consumer prices reports in the
coming days will further help investors gauge the path of
interest rates ahead of the Fed's March 21-22 meeting.
Money market traders see an about 80% chance of a
25-basis-point rate hike later this month, but the odds of a
bigger 50 bps rate hike have grown recently. At 7:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 56 points, or
0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9 points, or 0.23%, and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 44.75 points, or 0.37%.
The Institute for Supply Management's factory activity data
for February is due at 10:00 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Fed President
Neel Kashkari, a voter in the rate-setting committee in 2023,
will speak before the opening bell.
Novavax Inc slumped 25.3% in premarket trading
after the COVID-19 vaccine maker raised doubts about its ability
to remain in business and announced plans to slash spending as
it prepares for a fall vaccination campaign.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc slid 8.5% after the
theatre chain posted a more than 15% fall in fourth-quarter
revenue.
Kohl's Corp fell 7.8% as the retailer forecast
full-year profit below analysts' estimates due to weak demand
for clothing and accessories.
Tesla Inc rose 0.8% ahead of its investor day
event. The electric automaker is readying a production revamp of
its top-selling Model Y, Reuters reported, citing people
familiar with the plan.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)
