Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 16, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday, as investors parse through another slate of quarterly results halfway through the corporate earnings season.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.03% while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.04%.
Tuesday’s results marked the halfway point of the fourth-quarter earnings season. Shares of Snap pulled back more than 31% after the social media company missed analyst revenue estimates and provided weak forecast. Automaker Ford gained more than 6% after beating Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates and issuing higher-than-expected full-year guidance. Ford also announced plans to issue a special dividend.
A strong earnings season, coupled with expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, has been a source of strength on Wall Street. But doubts have crept in after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that investors may have to wait longer-than-expected for a central bank pivot. Then, in an interview with “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Powell reiterated that more positive data on inflation was needed before rates could come down. His comments also led many to believe that there may be fewer cuts this year than some had hoped. Stocks pulled back from recent record-highs to start the week, but closed higher on Tuesday.
“I think this is a temporary disruption, but it doesn’t really alter the broader trajectory of policy, which is that we are going to get rate cuts this year, [and] we’re most likely going to get them before the second half of the year,” Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday.
Investors will now turn their attention to a fresh batch of quarterly results from media company Disney as well as Uber and PayPal on Wednesday.
ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox plan joint sports streaming service later this year
Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox and Disney’s ESPN are planning on launching a joint sports streaming service later this year, the companies said on Tuesday.
Each company will own a one-third stake in the new platform, which has yet to have a name or price. Consumers will also have the option to either subscribe via a new app or through a bundle with the companies’ other streaming products including Max, Hulu and Disney+.
Shares of Disney were about 1% lower in extended trading, while Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery stock added 6% and 3%, respectively.
— Brian Evans
