STOCK MARKET NEWS: Nasdaq down, Microsoft profits fall, rail workers reject deal

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incoming update…Nasdaq futures fall as tech earnings disappointStock Traders (AP)

U.S. equity futures were trading lower, as earnings results from some major technology names disappointed.

The major futures indexes suggest a decline of more than 1% on the Nasdaq on weakness in shares of Google’s parent company Alphabet and Microsoft.

Alphabet shares were 6% lower in premarket trading after revenue grew 6% to $69.1 billion, but the tally fell short of Wall Street estimates. The growth was the slowest since 2020 as reported by Dow Jones.

Microsoft shares were 5.6% lower in premarket trading after the software giant reported revenue of $50.12 billion, higher than the same-period a year ago and besting Wall Street estimates of $49.6 billion.

Profits, however, fell short at $2.35 per share or $17.56 billion, less than $20.51 a year-ago and short of Wall Street’s $2.71 per share target.

Oil prices eased on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $84.00, reversing the previous session’s gain.

Brent crude futures traded around $92.00 a barrel, after settling 26 cents higher in the previous session.

On the economic agenda, the Census Bureau is expected to say that sales of new single-family homes tumbled 13.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 585,000. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 4.03%.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1% and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 1.6% 3,859.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 31,836.74. The Nasdaq advanced 2.3% to 11,199.12.Posted by Ken Martin ShareGasoline price ticks lowerGas Prices (AAA)

The average price of a gallon of gasoline slipped on Wednesday to $3.764, according  to AAA, continuing a recent trend.

The price on Tuesday was $3.775, down from Mondays $3.793. 

On Sunday, that same gallon of gasoline cost $3.796 nationwide. One week ago a gallon of gasoline cost $3.87.

Gas hit a high of $5.016 on June 14. Diesel’s price slipped to $5.316 per gallon.Posted by Ken Martin ShareOil prices rise despite U.S. crude inventory buildOil rigs pumping (Reuters)

Oil prices turned higher early Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $85.00, reversing the previous session’s gain.

Brent crude futures traded around $93.00 a barrel, after settling 26 cents higher in the previous session.

U.S. crude inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels in the past week. a market source tells Reuters, citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute.

That was higher than expectations from five analysts polled by Reuters, who on average had expected a build of about 200,000 barrels.

Official U.S. stockpile data from the government’s Energy Information Administration is due on Wednesday .Posted by Ken Martin ShareCryptocurrency prices for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading higher Wednesday morningBitcoin was trading around $20,000, after gaining 4% on Tuesday.

The cryptocurrency has gained in four of the last five days.

For the week, Bitcoin was trading higher by more than 3%. For the month, the cryptocurrency has gained more than 3%, but remains down 56% year-to-date.

Ethereum was trading around $1,500, after gaining more than 11% in the past week.

Dogecoin was trading at 6 cents, after gaining more than 4% in the past week.Posted by FOX Business Team ShareShares in the Mobileye IPO will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock exchangeMobileye driverless car logo is seen on a vehicle at the Nasdaq Market site (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

Intel Corp. priced its self-driving car unit Mobileye Global’s initial public offering at $21 a share, a dollar above the top of its targeted range.

Mobileye raised $861 million by selling 41 million shares, valuing the company at roughly $17 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

That value comes in higher than the $15.3 billion that Intel paid for the Mobileye in 2017.

When Intel announced plans to IPO the unit last year, it was looking at a possible value of $50 billion or more.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Intel was expected to price the IPO at or above the top of its $18 to $20 a share range.

For more on the story, click here: Intel’s Mobileye IPO prices above expected rangePosted by FOX Business Team ShareRail workers say they do not want to strike but must have better working conditionsA worker rides a rail car at a BNSF rail crossing in Saginaw, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Union rail workers unhappy with the new contract proposals from major freight railroads brokered by the Biden administration say their voices are not being heard, arguing that the deal struck in September granted unfair leverage to their employers in a dispute that could very well result in a nationwide strike.

Workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED), the third largest of the 12 unions part of the negotiations, became the first labor organization to reject the new contract earlier this month.

BMWED union representatives then presented the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents major railroads like BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, with additional demands from the workers.

But the NCCC turned those down and noted that BMWED union leadership “hailed the tentative agreement” the workers rejected, saying in response that “now is not the time to introduce new demands that rekindle the prospect of a railroad strike” after President Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) “carefully considered and rejected” those “additional benefits.”

One BMWED member, who has worked at CSX for several years and spoke with FOX Business on the condition of anonymity, said the demands are not new and that the union should not have agreed to the tentative agreement in the first place.

“What hurt us is our union officials accepted it,” the worker said.

Some union members FOX Business who spoke with were fine with the pay increases in the contract but cast doubt on the NCCC’s claims on what rail workers actually make. The railroads’ negotiators claim the workers impacted by the new contracts made an average of $122,000 per year as of 2018. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for a railroad worker was $64,150 as of 2021.

Regardless, the workers agreed on one major thing they are fighting for: a better way to take sick time off.

Read more on the story by clicking here: Union rail workers rejected latest deal with railroads: What to knowPosted by FOX Business Team Share

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