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Stocks extended gains in premarket trading on Wednesday after an encouraging inflation report, indicating a possible rebound after the selloff on Monday and Tuesday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained about 1%, S&P 500 futures rose 1.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures popped 1.7% at about 8:45 a.m. in New York
The CPI increased 0.2% in February from January, less than consensus estimates of a 0.3% increase, and slowing from the prior month’s 0.5% gain. Annual headline and core inflation eased slightly to 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively, also slightly slower than projected.
Economists diverge on whether sticky inflation is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on hold this year, with some expecting no interest rate cut at all and others expecting up to three rate reductions as the labor market slows amid increased uncertainty driven by Trump’s economic policies.
Helping matters: President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon canceled his doubling of tariffs on Canadian-made steel and aluminum to 50% after Premier Doug Ford of Ontario agreed to suspend a charge on electricity sent to the U.S. following a conversation with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Stocks to watch today:
Intel
Intel (INTC+4.30%) stock jumped 5.2% premarket after Reuters reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM+3.88%) approached Nvidia (NVDA+6.89%), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD+4.36%) and Broadcom (AVGO+3.80%) about forming a joint venture to run Intel’s foundry division. TSMC wouldn’t own more than 50% of the joint venture, the newswire said.
Nvidia
Nvidia stock gained 4.1% in premarket trading, leading most other Big Tech companies higher. Apple (AAPL-1.48%) shares reversed early declines to edge slightly higher. Palantir (PLTR+6.82%) stock gained 6.2%
Tesla
Tesla (TSLA+8.50%) stock gained about 5.9% in premarket trading, extending Tuesday’s rebound after Monday’s 15% selloff.
iRobot
iRobot (IRBT-29.40%) stock plunged 36% after raising a “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating, Bloomberg reported. The company makes the Roomba autonomous home vacuum cleaners, among other products.