Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stocks set to drop after S&P 500’s best day since June
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
Source: NYSE
2. Target, Kohl’s quarterly results beat estimates
A person wearing a protective mask walks past a Target Corp. store at the Grossmont Center Mall in La Mesa, California, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Target on Tuesday exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter, thanks to a strong holiday season and stimulus checks. Still, Target declined to provide a forecast for the year ahead, saying the pandemic has made it too difficult to predict consumer patterns. Target reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.67 per share on revenue of $28.34 billion, which jumped 21% year-over-year. Shares gained more than 0.5% in the premarket.
A view outside a Kohl’s store in Miramar, Florida.
Johnny Louis | Getty Images
Shares of Kohl’s rose nearly 2% in premarket trading after the department store chain Tuesday delivered adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.22 per share, more than double estimates. Revenue of $5.88 billion, which fell 10% year-over-year, was slightly better than expectations. Kohl’s said it sees sales growth in 2021.
3. Zoom Video shares surge after earnings, sales skyrocket
Zoom founder Eric Yuan speaks before the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony on April 18, 2019 in New York City.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images
Shares of Zoom Video Communications rose 8% in Tuesday’s premarket, the morning after the company reported adjusted fourth-quarter profit of $1.22 per share, crushing estimates by 43 cents. Revenue surged 369% year-over-year to $882.5 million, also beating forecasts. Zoom, which became all the rage during Covid, issued an upbeat current quarter forecast in anticipation of millions of people and businesses continuing to use its video-calling platform.
4. Senate Democrats work on their version of Covid relief bill
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters in The Senate Reception Room during the second day of Trump’s second impeachment trial in Washington, February 10, 2021.
Brandon Bell | Pool | Reuters
Democrats’ hopes of including a federal minimum wage increase in their $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill seemed all but dead, four days after the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian said the chamber’s rules prohibited its inclusion. Senate Democrats hope to unveil their version of the House-passed package and begin debate as early as Wednesday. Congressional leaders want to send President Joe Biden the measure by March 14, when a federal jobless benefits boost, approved in December’s aid measure, is set to expire.
5. Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduces a wealth tax
Democratic presidential hopefuls Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (R) chat ahead of the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25, 2020.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Sen. Elizabeth Warren revived the idea of a wealth tax, which was central to her failed bid to become the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who also ran unsuccessfully for president last year advocating a wealth tax, is among the co-sponsors for the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act. The bill, unveiled Monday, proposes a 2% annual tax on wealth ranging from $50 million to $1 billion and a 3% annual tax on wealth over $1 billion.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all the developments on Wall Street in real time with CNBC Pro’s live markets blog. Get the latest on the pandemic with our coronavirus blog.
Read More:5 things to know before the stock market opens March 2, 2021
2021-03-02 12:16:00