Futures for Canada's resources-heavy main stock index fell tracking Wall Street
U.S. stock futures slipped and global stocks tumbled, signaling a fresh round of selloff spurred by worries that the Federal Reserve's rate-hike cycle is far from over as the central bank hinted at smaller rate hikes
The U.S. dollar rose, buoyed by a sharp rise in Treasury yields, while the pound fell ahead of a Bank of England policy meeting
Gold prices fell to a near two-week low
Oil was down on increased fears of a global recession that would crimp fuel demand, although losses were capped by concerns over tight supply
Building permits and trade balance data are scheduled for release later today
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
Source: Thomson Reuters
Adobe Inc (ADBE):
The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to open an investigation into Adobe's $20 billion takeover of Figma, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing four people with knowledge of the matter and a document it viewed
The DOJ has been reaching out to customers and competitors of Adobe and Figma, as well as Figma's venture capital investors, in recent weeks, according to the report
Adobe's $20 billion bid for Figma had sparked investor concerns about the rich price tag the company was paying for the cloud-based design platform that is widely popular among tech firms including Zoom Video Communications and Airbnb Inc
Lithium Americas Corp (LAC): :
The company said it will separate its North American and Argentine business units into two independent lithium-focused public companies
The company said the decision was made after months of review, along with its advisors and the Board of Directors, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023
After the separation, each shareholder will retain their proportionate shares of the company, which would become Lithium International, and receive newly issued shares of Lithium Americas in similar proportion
Lithium International will own interests in Lithium assets in Argentina, including the near-production Caucharí-Olaroz lithium brine project.
Twitter Inc (TWTR):
Elon Musk plans to cut about 3,700 jobs at Twitter or half of the company's workforce in a bid to cut costs, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter
Twitter's new owner will inform the staff affected on Friday, according to the report
Bloomberg also reported that Musk intends to reverse the social media company's existing work from anywhere policy and will require employees to work from office though some exceptions could be made
Separately, Elon Musk promised advertisers he would keep Twitter from turning into a "free-for-all hellscape"
This week, advertisers are beginning to demand details on how he plans to uphold the commitment
EARNINGS SPOTLIGHTS
Source: Thomson Reuters
Albemarle Corp (ALB):
The world's largest producer of lithium, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and lifted its annual forecast on Wednesday, citing surging prices and demand for the electric vehicle battery metal
Albemarle reported third-quarter net income of $897.2 million, or $7.61 per share, compared with a net loss of $392.8 million, or $3.36 per share, in the year-ago period
Excluding one-time items, Albemarle earned $7.50 per share
Sales for the quarter rose 152% to $2.09 billion. Analysts had expected sales of $2.25 billion
Lithium sales more than quadrupled to $1.5 billion on higher prices and the opening of new processing plants
For the full year, Albemarle raised the bottom end of its profit forecast to $3.3 billion from a previous $3.2 billion, and kept the high end at $3.5 billion
The company trimmed its 2022 sales forecast at the high end to $7.4 billion from $7.5 billion due to the weak bromine sales
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ):
The company reported a 28% rise in third-quarter profit, buoyed by higher crude prices as Western sanctions on major exporter Russia after its invasion of Ukraine squeezed an already tight energy market
Rivals Imperial Oil Ltd and Cenovus Energy Inc have also posted huge profits, as crude oil supplies worldwide remain tight due to disruption from the war in Ukraine and moves to cut output during the pandemic
Its quarterly production stood at 1.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), above last year's 1.24 million boepd
The Calgary, Alberta-based company's net earnings rose to C$2.81 billion, or C$2.49 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, from C$2.20 billion, or C$1.86 per share, a year ago
Qualcomm Inc (QCOM):
The company's forecast for holiday-quarter revenue fell about $2 billion short of Street estimates, as the chipmaker struggles with a slump in sales to smartphone customers, sending its shares down in after-hours trading
The company also projected a lower-than-expected profit for the quarter, and said it expected a low double-digit percentage decline in handset volumes this year, compared with its prior forecast of a mid-single-digit percentage drop
Revenue from Qualcomm's handsets business, which accounts for more than half its total sales, rose 40% in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 25, although revenue from chips that enable WiFi and Bluetooth connections fell by a fifth
Qualcomm forecast current-quarter revenue between $9.2 billion and $10 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $12.02 billion, according to Refinitiv
It expects adjusted earnings per share of between $2.25 and $2.45, versus expectations of $3.42
THINGS TO KNOW
Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left little doubt that he is prepared to push rates as high as needed to stamp out inflation
The Fed raised rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row, lifting its benchmark to a 3.75%-4% range, from nearly zero in March
Interest rates will go higher than earlier projected, Powell said, but also signaled the path may soon involve smaller hikes
China’s top health body said the nation’s zero-tolerance approach remains the overall strategy to fighting Covid-19 after unverified social media posts buoyed hopes the policy would be eased
