Stocks popular with retail traders were stirring before the opening bell, while broader markets were quiet ahead of a policy update from the Federal Reserve. Here’s what we’re watching premarket Wednesday:
- Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond soared 57% premarket after grocery store chain Kroger said it would pilot an in-store format of the home-goods retailer in some of its stores next year. Kroger shares nudged up 1.1%.
- Other meme stocks were posting substantial, though more modest, gains: GameStop added 5.7%, AMC Entertainment gained 6.9%, Koss climbed 5.7% and Naked Brand Group rose 2.3%.
- Avis Budget shares slipped 5.9% premarket, but that is not much after Tuesday’s surge of more than 100%. The jump came on the heels of strong quarterly results and a bullish outlook on the recovering rental-car market.
- Lyft shares put the pedal to the metal, rising 16% premarket. Revenue climbed in the latest quarter, as consumers continued to pay higher prices because of the shortage of drivers and the increase in rider demand. Rival Uber was also up, by 6.1%.
- Zillow shares slumped 17%. The real-estate firm is exiting from the home-flipping business, saying that its algorithmic model to buy and sell homes rapidly doesn’t work as planned.
- R.R. Donnelley & Sons is nearing a deal to sell itself to a private-equity firm for just over $2 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Shares of the commercial-printing company soared 31% premarket.
- T-Mobile US ’s third-quarter profit slipped as higher costs and a lull in new customer additions sapped its bottom line. Investors must’ve missed that call—its shares gained 3.6% ahead of the bell.
- Mondelez added 1.9%. The maker of Oreo cookies and Toblerone chocolate said prices for its products would climb further in the months ahead as the snacking company aims to stay ahead of escalating costs.
- Devon Energy gained 5.1%. The oil-and-gas producer set a $1 billion share repurchase plan through the end of 2022.
- Results are due from CVS Health and Marriott International before the open.
- Deere shed 1.9% premarket. Workers at the farm and construction equipment maker rejected a second contract offer, extending a strike that has lasted nearly three weeks.
- Activision Blizzard dropped 12%. The videogame maker is delaying the launch of two games and reported third-quarter earnings with a holiday-season outlook falling short of Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
- Caesars Entertainment fell 4.2%. The casino operator’s third-quarter losses narrowed on higher revenue as improving vaccination rates brought customers and travelers to its properties.
- Match Group slipped 1.5% premarket. The online-dating company gave weaker-than-expected revenue targets for the fourth quarter.
- Qualcomm , Etsy , Roku , MetLife , Hyatt Hotels and Take-Two Interactive are due to report earnings after the close.
Chart of the Day
- French, Irish, Dutch and Swiss yields have all either turned positive or flirted with the line in recent weeks and months, shrinking the pool of debt that pays back less to investors than they put in.
Write to James Willhite at james.willhite@wsj.com
