1. Dow to open steady ahead of US-China trade deal signing
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a steady Wall Street open ahead of the U.S. and China signing their phase-one trade agreement Wednesday at the White House. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Wednesday morning that more U.S. tariffs on China would be rolled back if a phase-two trade deal were to be reached. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped from intraday all-time highs Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that Washington would not move to change existing tariffs for at least 10 months. CNBC's Kayla Tausche reported that the countries had not agreed upon a path forward for tariffs, citing an administration source. The Dow managed to close higher Tuesday but not at a record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished lower.
2. Target shares sink after the retailer reports soft holiday season sales
Shares of Target were losing about 8% in the premarket after the retailer early Wednesday reported holiday sales that missed estimates. Target said that same-store sales during November and December were up just 1.4%. Toy sales were flat and electronics were down. Apparel and grocery sales were up. Digital sales rose 19%. Despite missing the overall sales mark during November and December, Target maintained its prior outlook for fourth-quarter earnings, with Q4 still tracking to be the company's 11th consecutive quarter of same-store sales gains.
3. Strong bond trading revenues boosts Q4 bank results
Bank earnings continued to pour in before-the-bell Wednesday, with Bank of America posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of 74 cents per share. Revenue fell 1% to $22.5 billion, but still edged out estimates on a rebound in bond trading. Dow component Goldman Sachs saw fourth-quarter revenue top expectations, also on strong bond trading. On Tuesday, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup both posted profits that beat expectations, both on surging bond-trading results. Wells Fargo missed estimates with its earnings on costs tied to its fake accounts scandal.
4. Trump tweets that US helps Apple on trade so it should help authorities
President Donald Trump slammed Apple, suggesting in a tweet that the tech giant should unlock password-protected iPhones used by the shooting suspect at a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida in December.
On Monday, Attorney General William Barr said Apple had not provided "substantive assistance" in unlocking the alleged Pensacola shooter's two iPhones.
5. House to finally send Trump impeachment articles to the Senate
The House of Representatives will vote Wednesday to send two articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate. The House resolution is expected to serve three functions: To transmit the articles to the Senate, to name the House members who will serve as managers of the impeachment trial, and to fund the Senate trial itself. The handover will mark the end of a nearly monthlong delay in transmitting the documents, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi orchestrated in an attempt to force trial-rules concessions out of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
