OPENING CALL

Stock futures were rising Wednesday, with investors increasingly sure the Federal Reserve is going to cut interest rates next month following weaker-than-expected retail sales data.

Rate-cut expectations were also boosted by a Bloomberg report that White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett was likely to become the next Fed chair.

"The prospect of a policy shift gained additional traction as Kevin Hassett, widely viewed as the frontrunner to become the next Fed chair, is seen as aligned with President Trump's support for lower borrowing costs," MUFG said.

Meanwhile, the tech-trade shakeout has led inventors to reshuffle bets on AI winners.

Nvidia stock has come under pressure premarket, while Alphabet shares jumped, pushing the Google parent closer to a $4 trillion valuation.

Ahead of the holiday, the Fed's Beige Book is due, along with weekly jobless claims and durable goods order data.

Across the Atlantic, the U.K. government will want to deliver the right message to markets in its highly-anticipated budget, due at 7:30 AM ET.

According to Syz Group, t ax increases are likely necessary to achieve additional fiscal consolidation, but the government should try to avoid adding to inflation.

Stocks to Watch

Autodesk raised its sales outlook as it is expecting high demand for design services. Shares rose 7% before the bell.

Dell raised its full-year guidance and forecast. Shares rose nearly 5% premarket.

HP Inc. plans to cut up to 10% of its workforce. The stock fell more than 5% premarket

Robinhood is launching an exchange with Susquehanna International to expand its prediction-markets offerings. Shares rose 1.5%.

Urban Outfitters said its namesake brand helped boost sales 12%. Shares leapt 17% ahead of the open.

Workday hiked its annual forecast, but its shares dropped 5.5% ahead of the open.

Watch For:

Durable Goods for September and October, 3Q GDP Second Estimate, Weekly Jobless Claims, New Home Sales for October, Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey - Chicago PMI for November, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report; Earnings from Deere & Co.

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

-AI Is Remaking Shopping. These Companies Are the Leaders.

-Holiday Shoppers Fall Into Two Camps This Year: Those Who Spend and Those Who Scrimp.

-Traders Are Flooding Markets With Risky Bets. Robinhood's CEO Is Their Cult Hero.

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar was near a one-week low after Tuesday's softer-than-expected data.

Sterling rose against a weaker dollar but traded flat versus the euro as investors awaited the U.K. autumn budget, where fiscal tightening is expected.

ING said Sterling could depreciate modestly as the budget is likely to deliver fiscal tightening measures that would lower inflation.

A much worse scenario for sterling would be a budget that doesn't convince markets that the fiscal path is sustainable.

The coming weeks will test the yen and Japanese government bond yields, LPL Financial said.

"Plus, effects could spill overseas, as an extension of the rise in JGB yields could add upward pressure on U.S. Treasurys, for example."

Bonds:

Treasury yields edged higher.

Treasury yields declined across the curve on Tuesday and there is room for more declines as the Fed continues to cut interest rates, UBS said.

It forecasts the 10-year Treasury yield to decline to 3.75% by June 2026.

J.P.Morgan forecasts two-year Treasury yields to remain at around current levels through midyear, while 10-year yields were expected to retrace to 4.25% in the second quarter of 2026 and 4.35% by the fourth quarter.

Nuveen prefers municipal bonds and said the surge in supply has caused municipal bond returns to lag the broader fixed income market this year, creating good-value opportunities.

Japan is unlikely to head into a major financial crisis but higher volatility in the country's assets was possible , according to the Investment Institute by UniCredit.

Energy:

Oil prices were little changed after Ukraine told the Trump administration it would sign a U.S.-drafted peace deal.

"Positive signals from both the U.S. and Ukraine regarding a Russia-Ukraine peace deal continue to put pressure on energy markets," ING said.

"However, there's little clarity on where Russia stands on the current plan."

A peace deal would likely lead to the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russian crude, opening the door to more barrels just as the market heads into a heavy surplus.

Metals:

Gold prices rose .

Copper

Copper prices rose, supported by growing expectations of further U.S. rate cuts this year and reports that Chilean producer Codelco is pushing to increase premiums to Chinese buyers.

"This move highlights a potential shift to prioritize U.S. customers over global ones, especially given this year's tariffs and tightening material supply," Sucden said.

"It supports our long-term bullish outlook for copper, as a fragile balance is set to tip into deeper deficits by the end of the decade as availability declines." 


   TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Howard Lutnick's Former Wall Street Firm Is Having Its Best Year Ever

Cantor Fitzgerald, the former firm of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has long been an afterthought on Wall Street. Now it is having its best year ever.

The investment bank and financial-services firm chugged along for years without much notice, specializing in bond trading and deals in risky corners of the finance world that competitors avoided. Now, an early bet on cryptocurrencies that is paying off and Lutnick's ascendance to the highest levels of government have Cantor in the spotlight.

It Really Is Possible to Spend Too Much on AI

It has become a tech-industry truism: Spending too little on chips and other computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence is riskier than spending too much.

As OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman recently put it, people can either overinvest and lose money or underinvest and lose revenue. Or as Meta Platforms chief Mark Zuckerberg said on a call with analysts after it reported earnings last month, AI's promise as a revenue driver meant "we want to make sure that we're not underinvesting."

Li Auto Swings to Loss on Sharply Lower Sales

Li Auto reported its first quarterly net loss in three years as the Chinese carmaker faced significant sales pressure and slowing demand.

The company swung to a third-quarter net loss of 625.0 million yuan, equivalent to $88.2 million, from net profit of 2.81 billion yuan a year earlier, it said Wednesday. The result missed the 439.8 million yuan profit estimate in a Visible Alpha poll.

Tesla to Double Austin Robotaxi Fleet Next Month

Tesla will double the number of robotaxis in Texas in December, less than six months after the company launched the service.

Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday in a post on X that the fleet in Austin, Texas, "should roughly double next month."

Foxconn Secures Approval to Invest Additional $569 Million in Wisconsin

Foxconn Technology has secured approval to invest an additional $569 million in Wisconsin to build artificial-intelligence infrastructure, amid surging demand for AI servers from U.S. customers.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation gave the greenlight for Foxconn to expand its operations in Racine County, the company said on Wednesday.

U.S. Negotiates Lower Prices for Ozempic and 14 Other Drugs

The U.S. government negotiated lower prices in the federal Medicare program for 15 high-selling medicines including Ozempic, widening an effort to rein in drug costs.

The new prices, which will take effect in 2027, shave 38% to 85% off the list prices for drugs for diseases including asthma, cancer and diabetes. The reductions are estimated to save Medicare, the health-insurance program for the elderly, $12 billion.

Senate Committee to Challenge Auto-Safety Mandates That Hurt 'Affordability'

Lawmakers will take aim at vehicle-safety mandates in a coming Senate hearing, targeting some auto-industry regulations once considered too sacrosanct to attack.

Senate Republicans in January plan to criticize requirements for safety technology, such as automatic emergency braking and alarms to remind drivers that a child is in the back seat, arguing they are ineffective and will unnecessarily drive up the cost of cars, according to people familiar with the situation.

CDC Appoints Vaccine Skeptic as No. 2

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appointed Louisiana surgeon general Dr. Ralph Abraham as the second in command, the latest move in a year of upheaval for the agency.

Abraham, a vaccine skeptic, has been named the deputy principal director of the CDC. The agency has shuffled through multiple leaders since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also a vaccine skeptic, began overseeing the CDC earlier this year.

Democratic Lawmakers Say FBI Is Targeting Them Over Calls to Disobey Unlawful Orders

A group of Democratic lawmakers said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had requested interviews with them after they appeared in a video that criticized the Trump administration and called on troops to disobey unlawful orders.

The lawmakers said Tuesday that the FBI contacted the Senate and House sergeant at arms asking to speak with the members. The group included Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.).

White House Defends Witkoff After Leak of Conversation With Russian Official

The White House is defending special envoy Steve Witkoff over a reportedly leaked conversation in which he told a Russian official that praising President Trump would help smooth over a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

11-26-25 0616ET