Moderna jumps premarket after Phase 3 trial, Target slides

Investing.com - Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged lower in Asian trading on Wednesday, pointing to a cautious start on Wall Street after major indexes closed lower for a third consecutive session, as a global bond selloff and elevated oil prices kept investors wary and pressured rate-sensitive technology stocks.

As of 02:33 ET (06:33 GMT), S&P 500 futures had slipped 0.1% to 7,707.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3% to 29,493.0 points. Dow Jones futures were little changed at 53,394.0 points.

Among individual movers, Moderna shares jumped as much as 50% in premarket trading after the drugmaker and Merck said their experimental melanoma drug combination outperformed Keytruda alone in a Phase 3 trial.

The INTerpath-001 study tested intismeran autogene, an investigational individualized mRNA-based neoantigen therapy, in combination with Merck’s Keytruda in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma. The trial met its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival as well as a key secondary endpoint measuring distant metastasis-free survival.

Target stock fell 4.0% despite the retailer raising its annual sales forecast, with investors apparently focusing on the impact of tariffs and the company’s underlying profit outlook.

Comparable sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1 rose 3.8%, beating expectations for 2.5% growth. Traffic increased 3.6%, while digital comparable sales jumped 8.7% as consumers increasingly used same-day delivery.

Target said 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 newly independent aerospace company to Overweight from Equalweight and set a $205 price target.

The bank argued that the stock’s decline since its June 29 spin-off from Honeywell Technologies had created an attractive entry point relative to the company’s longer-term earnings potential.

Lowe’s shares fell 2.6% after the home improvement retailer reported second-quarter results that beat expectations on earnings but missed badly on revenue.

The company reported earnings of $4.28 per share, slightly above the roughly $4.22-$4.23 consensus, but revenue of about $24 billion fell well short of Wall Street’s $26.1 billion-$26.5 billion expectations. Full-year diluted EPS guidance of $11.75-$12.25 also landed toward the lower end of its previous adjusted outlook.

Estée Lauder rose 6.3% in premarket trading ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results, with investors looking for signs of progress in the beauty company’s turnaround.

The company was expected to report earnings of $0.32 per share on revenue of about $3.55 billion. Citi had placed the stock on a 90-day upside catalyst watch ahead of the results, while Jefferies had also raised its price target.

At the more speculative end of the market, Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp. surged 223.3% to $18.91 in premarket trading. No company-specific announcement or analyst action was identified as a clear catalyst for the move.

The sharp rally comes against the backdrop of the company’s proposed combination with HZJL Cayman Limited, a transaction valued at about $350 million that would result in the combined company listing on Nasdaq as Xpand Boom Technology Inc.

The deal remains subject to regulatory and listing approvals. With about 5.7 million public shares having been redeemed ahead of previous shareholder votes, the company’s relatively small tradable float can amplify price movements when buying interest increases.

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