STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are flat after Monday's 241-point loss for the Dow, similar 0.6 percent decline for the S&P 500, and a 0.6 percent drop for the Nasdaq. Investors are back to taking a wait-and-see attitude this morning after Tuesday's Nvidia-dictated losses and ahead of Wednesday's consumer inflation report.
-The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is up to 4.21 percent.
-Gold is up to the $2,697 per ounce level. Bitcoin is at the $97,600 level.
-Asian markets closed mostly higher today. The Nikkei rose 0.5 percent, the Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent, and the Shenzhen rose 0.8 percent.
OIL/ENERGY
-U.S. crude prices are down and back to the $67 a barrel level.
-Gasoline prices are holding at $3.01 a gallon, national average.
CEO SHOOTING
-Police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania yesterday and prosecutors have now charged him with the murder of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan last week. Mangione held a B.A. and a Masters in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and was from a wealthy Baltimore-area family. Police say he had an anti-insurance industry manifesto on him at the time of the arrest that included specific complaints about UnitedHealthCare. The company's shares closed 2 percent higher Monday, but watch for how negative publicity about it may affect shares today.
AIR AMERICA
-Boeing (BA) has reportedly restarted 737 production a month after a seven-week machinists strike ended. Boeing shares are up slightly in the premarket, but are still down almost 40 percent from a year ago today.
-Alaska Airlines (ALK) is going to offer new non-stop flights to Japan and Korea as it invests $1 billion into a post-merger expansion of service. It merged with Hawaiian Airlines in September, giving it access to wider body jets. Alaska Airlines shares are up 2 percent in the premarket.
ORACLE'S PAUSE
-Oracle (ORCL) reported weaker than expected quarterly profits and revenues, even though sales were 9 percent higher than a year ago. Its shares are down 9 percent in the premarket, but are still up almost 80 percent for the year so far.
CHIPS AHOY!
The U.S. government has finalized $6.1 billion in funding to Micron Technology (MU) as part of the Chips Act plan to boost the number of domestic chip marking plants. Micron shares are up 2 percent in the premarket.
HOME WOES
-Home builder Toll Brothers (TOL) missed expectations on its quarterly profit margins. Its shares are down 4 percent in the premarket.
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