Futures were down this morning, and it’s hard to forecast what direction Wall Street will take in the next few hours. The question on everyone's mind is whether tensions between Moscow and the West will continue to ease, or if something new will come up.

Yesterday saw the departure of part of some Russian troops massed on the border. Well, at the same time, Ukraine was the victim of a vast cyberattack. You have to get used to it, the master of the Kremlin is also a chess grandmaster: it is his declarations, and not those of his rivals, that make markets shake and diplomats break out in a cold sweat. But a negotiated outcome remains possible.

Today's trading session is dominated by a battery of indicators in the United States in various fields. Yesterday, the US producer price figures for January showed that the economy is still overheating and that the Fed will be looking to get inflation under control. Moreover, the yield on US 10-year government bonds rose sharply above 2% in response. There is also a flurry of corporate results, with big names such as Walmart and Nvidia.

In addition, new data released today shows that US retail sales rose by seasonally adjusted 3.8% in January from the prior month. This is till the highest monthly gain since last March. Vehicles, furniture and e-commerce were among the biggest contributors. This comes as inflation reached a 40-year high.

While these retail figures are good news for the U.S. economy, this is not really the case for markets, since it strengthens the case for a double rate hike in March.

The VIX index, which has been high for the past few days, retreated yesterday, while remaining in an uncomfortable zone which shows that volatility is still present. Both because of the damage caused by inflation everywhere and because of the uncertainty surrounding the crisis in Ukraine.

 

Economic highlights of the day:

US with retail sales, industrial production, NAHB housing index, business inventories, oil inventories and the minutes of the last Fed meeting. China announced this morning an inflation of 0.9% in January, for a consensus of 1%. Producer prices showed an annual growth of 9.1%, for 9.5% expected.

The dollar/euro pair is stable at USD 0.8798. The ounce of gold is losing altitude at USD 1862, oil is up with Brent at USD 95.12 and WTI at USD 93.81. The T-Bond yield is climbing back up to 2.03% over 10 years. Bitcoin is down to USD 43,597.

 

On markets:

* AirBnb - The short-term lodging services platform said Tuesday night it expects better-than-expected revenue for the current quarter after reporting strong results for the last three of 2021. The stock is up 3.2% in trading before the Wall Street opening.

* ViacomCBS - The media conglomerate, which reported quarterly earnings below analysts' expectations Tuesday night, said it wants to rename itself Paramount in anticipation of accelerating development of Paramount+, its streaming service.

* Kraft Heinz - The U.S. food company reported Wednesday quarterly sales above Wall Street expectations, supported by higher prices and solid demand.

* Hilton on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue up 106% as increased COVID-19 vaccine coverage and travel demand boosted occupancy at its hotels.

* Barrick Gold - The mining group, which reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, gained 1.5% in premarket trading after announcing a $1 billion ('878 million) share buyback plan and an increase in the dividend paid to shareholders.

* Devon Energy - The oil and gas producer advanced 3.9% in premarket trading, buoyed by the release of a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, a higher dividend paid to shareholders and a share buyback plan.

* Wynn Resorts - The casino operator is down 2.6% in premarket trading after mixed quarterly results.

* Seaworld Entertainment announced Tuesday that its $3.4 billion offer to buy CEDAR FAIR was rejected by the latter and that it did not see a way to reach a deal with the theme park operator. Cedar Fair's share price fell by 12% in pre-market trading.

* Meta Platforms - Facebook's parent company announced Tuesday evening that it had closed the acquisition of Kustomer, a customer relationship management startup, as the European Commission gave the green light to the $1 billion acquisition project launched in November 2020.

* Roblox - The online video game platform reported bookings, a measure equivalent to revenue, below analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter on Tuesday, sending the stock down 13% in after-hours trading.

* BioNTech - The German pharmaceutical company announced Wednesday it is developing a laboratory made up of containers that it wants to send to Africa in the form of kits to be assembled, in order to alleviate what the World Health Organization (WHO) has described as immense disparities in access to vaccination against COVID-19 in the world.

 

Analyst recommendations:

AirBnb: Piper Sandler adjusts price target to $194 from $169, maintains neutral rating.

Apple: Tigress Financial lifts price target to $210 from $198, reiterates strong buy rating

AstraZeneca: Jefferies remains Hold with a price target reduced from GBp 9100 to GBp 8800.

BAE Systems: Morgan Stanley moves from Overweight to Equal-weight with a target of GBp 642.

British American Tobacco: Cowen keeps market perform with a price target raised from GBp 2850 to 3500.

CarMax: Evercore ISI downgrades to inline from outperform. PT up 5.9% to $120.

Celanese: Piper Sandler cut the recommendation to neutral from overweight. PT up 14% set to $180.

Continental Resources: Keybanc raises price target to $61 from $57, maintains overweight rating

Ecolab: J.P. Morgan raised the recommendation to neutral from underweight. PT up 4.2% to $191.

Evraz: Citigroup resumes its Buy rating, targeting GBp 490.

General Motors: Sinara FC initiated coverage with a recommendation of overweight. PT up 31% to $65.

Leidos: Cowen downgrades to $105 from $119. Maintains outperform rating.

Masimo: Piper Sandler downgrades to neutral from overweight. PT down 13% to $200.

Segro: Goodbody upgrades from hold to buy targeting GBp 1400.

Steel Dynamics: Goldman Sachs raises steel dynamics' price target to $80 from $75, maintains buy rating

The Gym Group: Jefferies starts tracking as Buy, targeting GBp 340.

The Home Depot: OTR Global upgrades to positive from mixed.