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Adobe drops after dour Q2 revenue forecast
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Micron Technology ( MU ) gains after Citi lifts PT
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All three major indexes set for weekly gains
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Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.18%
(Updated at 7 a.m. ET/ 1100 GMT)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan
March 15 (Reuters) -
Futures tracking Wall Street's main stock indexes were
marginally higher on Friday after U.S. Treasury yields took a
breather following a sharp rise in the last session, setting the
indexes up for weekly advances.
Wall Street was set to end slightly higher this week in
spite of hotter-than-expected consumer prices and producer
prices data pointing to sticky inflation, which had sent the
yield on the 10-year note to a two-week high.
Higher inflation adds pressure on the Fed to keep interest
rates elevated, pushing traders to rein in bets of a June rate
cut to 60% from 73% last week, according to the CME FedWatch
Tool.
All eyes are now on the Federal Reserve's meeting next week
for hints on the timing of the central bank's rate-easing cycle.
"At the Fed, the big question next week is what they'll
signal in their new dot plot, and whether the median dot still
points towards three cuts for 2024, as happened in December,"
Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank's global head of economics and thematic
research, said in a note.
Friday also marked the simultaneous expiry of quarterly
derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures,
also known as "triple witching".
At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 58 points,
or 0.15%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.19%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 33.75 points, or 0.18%.
Semiconductor stocks fell in the previous session and
were on track to snap their three-week winning streak as
investors took profits. The global GTC developer conference from
March 18 to 21 will be closely watched for AI-related
announcements.
Most megacap shares crept up in premarket trading, with
Tesla climbing 1.0% after two sessions of more than 4%
losses each.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals ( MDGL ) jumped 24.3% after the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug for a fatty
liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Micron Technology ( MU ) rose 3.0% after brokerage Citi
raised its price target on the company to $150, the highest on
Wall Street for the chipmaker, according to LSEG data.
Adobe shed 11.2% after it forecast second-quarter
revenue below analysts' estimates, following stiff competition
and weak demand for its AI-integrated photography, illustration
and video.
Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) slid 6.3% after forecasting full-year
profit below Wall Street estimates, as elevated supply-chain
costs and increased promotions hurt its margins.
Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), Marathon
Digital ( MARA ) and Coinbase Global ( COIN ) eased between 5.1%
and 5.5% as bitcoin fell.