U.S. stock futures edged lower on Wednesday as global bond markets sold off and oil prices remained elevated, weighing on rate-sensitive technology stocks. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1% to 7,707.50, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3% to 29,493.0. The Dow Jones futures were little changed at 53,394.0.
Moderna led premarket gains after the company and Merck announced their investigational melanoma treatment combination outperformed Merck’s Keytruda alone in a Phase 3 trial. Shares surged as much as 50% in premarket trading. The INTerpath-001 study evaluated intismeran autogene, an individualized mRNA-based neoantigen therapy, paired with Keytruda in patients with resected stage IIB-IV melanoma. The trial met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival and a key secondary endpoint measuring distant metastasis-free survival.
Target shares declined 4.0% despite raising its annual sales forecast, as investors focused on tariff impacts and profit outlook. Comparable sales for the quarter ended August 1 rose 3.8%, beating expectations of 2.5% growth. Customer traffic increased 3.6%, and digital comparable sales jumped 8.7% on higher same-day delivery usage. Tariff refunds provided a nearly $1 billion boost during the quarter, lifting gross margin and operating income. Excluding about $1.65 per share in tariff-related benefits, the company raised the midpoint of its annual profit forecast by 75 cents.
Honeywell Aerospace shares rose 2.8% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equalweight and set a $205 price target. The bank cited the stock’s decline since its June 29 spin-off from Honeywell Technologies as creating an attractive entry point.
Lowe’s shares fell 2.6% following second-quarter results that beat earnings expectations but missed revenue projections. The company reported earnings of $4.28 per share, slightly above consensus, but revenue of about $24 billion fell short of Wall Street expectations of $26.1 billion to $26.5 billion. Full-year diluted EPS guidance landed toward the lower end of its previous adjusted outlook at $11.75 to $12.25.
Estée Lauder shares rose 6.3% in premarket trading ahead of fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.32 per share on revenue of about $3.55 billion. Citi placed the stock on a 90-day upside catalyst watch, and Jefferies raised its price target.
Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp. surged 223.3% to $18.91 in premarket trading without a clear company-specific catalyst. The move follows a proposed $350 million combination with HZJL Cayman Limited, which would result in the combined entity listing on Nasdaq as Xpand Boom Technology Inc. The transaction remains subject to regulatory and listing approvals.
