Here is what you need to know.
Trump addresses America. Speaking before Congress, President Trump laid out his “America First” vision in an hour-long speech that touched on job creation, immigration, national security, and international trade.
Fed rate hike odds surge. The market sees an 80% chance the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points at its March meeting. That’s up from 50% on Tuesday and 34% on February 23.
China keeps chugging along.China’s manufacturing PMI, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, rose by 0.3 points to 51.6 in February, beating the slowdown to 51.1 that economists were anticipating. Additionally, non-manufacturing PMI came in at 54.2 in February, down from the January’s 54.6. Any reading above 50.0 indicates an expansion.
Snap’s IPO has a lot of demand. Strong demand could push Snap’s IPO price as high as $18 per share, giving it a valuation of $25 billion, Business Insider’s Rachael Levy and Portia Crowe report, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Shares are expected to begin trading on Thursday.
2 of the biggest local tv station owners in the US are talking about a deal. Sinclair Broadcast Group has approached rival Tribune Media about a potential combination, Reuters reports.
Hershey is eliminating 15% of its workforce. The chocolate maker says it is embarking on a multiyear program to improve profitability and that it expects that program to incur pre-tax charges of $375 million to $425 million and provide between $80 million and $100 million in benefits. Shares tumbled as much as 7% after Tuesday’s closing bell.
Weight Watchers explodes after beating on earnings and guidance. Shares rallied as much as 15% after the company announced earnings of $0.20 per share, swinging from a loss in the same period a year ago, and guidance that easily outpaced expectations.
Stock markets around the world are higher. Japan’s Nikkei (+1.4%) led the advance in Asia and Germany’s DAX (+1.5%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is on track to open up 0.6% near 2,377.
Earnings reports keep coming. American Eagle, Best Buy, and Dollar Tree are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell while Broadcom, Monster Beverage, and Shake Shack release their quarterly results after markets close.
US economic data is heavy. Personal income and spending and PCE prices will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before Markit manufacturing PMI and ISM Manufacturing cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. ET respectively. Then, at 2 p.m. ET, the Fed’s Beige Book is due out. US auto sales data will be announced throughout the day. The US 10-year yield is up 4 bps at 2.43%.
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