Dow Today – Stocks are set to dip at open after Dow’s record close, Nasdaq’s slide

U.S. stock futures fell slightly Wednesday, one day after the Dow closed at another record. The 30-stock average rose nearly 0.6% following Monday’s advance. The S&P 500 dropped slightly Tuesday from the previous session’s record close. The Nasdaq lost 1.3% on Tuesday as growth-oriented tech stocks were knocked around by an elevated 10-year Treasury yield. (CNBC)

* Cramer’s 2022 outlook for the worst-performing Nasdaq 100 stocks in 2021 (CNBC)

ADP’s December report on hiring at U.S. companies, which was out before-the-bell Wednesday, showed job growth of 807,000 positions, more than double estimates. The November total was revised lower from the initially reported 534,000. The Labor Department is scheduled to release weekly jobless claims data Thursday and the monthly employment report for December on Friday. (CNBC)

* Mortgage rates hit 9-month high, and loan demand drops further (CNBC)

The Federal Reserve will be watching those numbers carefully ahead of its two-day January meeting later in the month. At 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the Fed is out with minutes from its meeting in December when it unveiled plans to accelerate bond-purchase tapering and signaled three interest rate hikes in 2022. (CNBC)

As the Fed begins to tighten its ultra-easy monetary policy, Wall Street is expecting a bumpier road ahead for the stock market this year. The median year-end target for the S&P 500 now stands at 5,050, only a 5% gain from Tuesday’s close of 4,793.54, according to CNBC’s Strategist Survey.

Beyond Meat (BYND) surged 9% in premarket trading on news that Yum Brands’ (YUM) KFC will roll out Beyond’s fried chicken substitute nationwide starting Monday, following tests in a number of markets.

Daily Journal Corporation has nearly doubled its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba ((BA)(BA)), according to a regulatory filing. Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger is chairman of Daily Journal. Alibaba fell 1% in the premarket.

Nikola (NKLA) gained 2% in the premarket after logistics company USA Truck (USAK) announced a deal to buy 10 electric Nikola trucks. Separately, Nikola has dropped a $2 billion patent lawsuit against Tesla ((TSLA)), according to a federal court filing in San Francisco.

Sony (SONY) announced plans to create an electric vehicle unit, and displayed a prototype sport utility vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Shares rallied 4% in the premarket.

MillerKnoll (MLKN) slid 3% in the premarket following a weaker-than-expected quarterly report. Revenue at the office furniture make also missed estimates Order demand was strong, but the company was hurt by supply chain and labor disruptions.

Garmin (GRMN) was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Deutsche Bank, with the firm citing several factors including valuation of the GPS device maker’s shares as well as the high quality of its financials and a favorable business environment. Garmin added 1.2% in premarket trading.

Adobe (ADBE) slid 2.2% in the premarket after being downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at UBS after the firm spoke with more than a dozen IT executives about their 2022 spending plans. UBS thinks more spending was pulled forward into 2020 and 2021 than is generally assumed.

Pinterest (PINS) added 1.7% in premarket trading after Piper Sandler upgraded it to “overweight” from “neutral”. Piper said the recent sell-off in the stock presents a good buying opportunity, with user trends improving and a stable mobile user base.