Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
- Stock futures sink as tech names slide, bitcoin plunges
- Bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks; Tesla falls
- Bond yields rise ahead of minutes from Fed's April meeting
- Target, Lowe's beat on earnings but stocks move in opposite directions
- New York AG opens criminal probe of Trump Organization
1. Stock futures sink as tech names slide, bitcoin plunges
Dow futures fell 400 points, or 1%, on Wednesday. With tech stocks under pressure, bitcoin plunging and bond yields rising, Nasdaq futures sank roughly 1.5%. S&P 500 futures dropped 1%. Wall Street was set up for a third straight day of losses after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each lost just under 1% on Tuesday. In last week's roller-coaster ride, the three benchmarks had their worst weekly performance since February.
2. Bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks; Tesla falls
Bitcoin on Wednesday plunged below $40,000 for the first time in 14 weeks. In fact, the world's biggest cryptocurrency hit a morning low of below $35,000 per unit, an over 46% decline from last month's all-time high near $65,000. However, bitcoin was still up about 40% year to date and more than 300% in the past 12 months.
Shares of Tesla, which invested company cash in bitcoin, fell about 3% in Wednesday's premarket to around $561. One week ago, bitcoin dropped below $50,000 and Tesla shares dropped below $600 each after CEO Elon Musk suspended electric vehicle purchases using bitcoin over concerns about the environmental impact of digital currency mining. Tesla shares hit an all-time high of $900 on Jan. 25.
3. Bond yields rise ahead of minutes from Fed's April meeting
The 10-year Treasury yield topped 1.67% early Wednesday, ahead of the afternoon release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting. At that gathering, central bankers kept interest rates near zero and the pace of asset purchases steady. They acknowledged an uptick in economic activity as the U.S. recovers from Covid but insisted any inflation would be transitory. The 10-year yield went above 1.7% in last week's stock sell-off, the highest level in more than a month following a run of 14-month highs in March.
4. Target, Lowe's beat on earnings but stocks move in opposite directions
Shares of Target, already up nearly 17% in 2021, was ready to add another 3% after the retailer reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.69 per share on a revenue jump of 23% to $24.2 billion in the first quarter. Target benefited from a reopening economy and shoppers having extra cash due to government stimulus checks. The company sees modest growth for the rest of the year.
Shares of Lowe's, up 20% this year, was set to drop over 2% at Wednesday's open despite stronger-than-expected earnings of $3.21 per share on a nearly 24% jump in revenue to $24.4 billion in the first quarter. Worries crept in due to challenges facing the housing market, including a labor shortage and rising lumber prices.
5. New York AG opens criminal probe of Trump Organization
New York State Attorney General Letitia James' office — already conducting a civil investigation of former President Donald Trump's company — is now also probing the Trump Organization "in a criminal capacity" as well, her spokesman said Tuesday night. James' spokesman implied that the AG's probe is being done in conjunction with the ongoing criminal investigation of Trump and the Trump Organization by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
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