Asia stocks eye steady open; Dollar extends rally
Asian stocks looked set for a muted open after U.S. equities pared most of their gains as a rally in technology shares petered out. The dollar strengthened.
Futures pointed to modest gains in Japan where the ruling party's new leader who is set to become the next prime minister is seen by investors as maintaining stability. Contracts edged higher in Australia and dipped in Hong Kong. U.S. futures edged higher. The $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$notched its third straight day of losses after earlier climbing about 1%. Dip buyers helped push the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$higher.
Grains rebound with fertilizer price surge threatening supply
Corn and wheat rebounded in Chicago as ripple effects from soaring fertilizer prices threatens to squeeze already tight grain supplies.
Corn for December delivery rose 1.3% to $5.3925 a bushel as of 11:11 a.m. in Chicago, rebounding from a decline Tuesday. December benchmark soft winter wheat futures are on track to break a two-day losing streak, rising 1.3% to $7.14 a bushel.
Microsoft's September swoon doesn't end record quarterly streak
$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$shares have come under pressure this month, but even a rocky end to the third quarter of 2021 isn’t enough to erase what is set to be a record-setting streak of gains.
With the quarter set to end at the close of trading on Thursday, the software giant is up about 5% over the three-month period. Should it remain in positive territory, that would extend Microsoft’s record run to an 11th straight quarterly advance.
U.S., Europe team up to address chip shortage, Tech issues
U.S. and European Union officials agreed to join forces in an effort to boost the semiconductor supply chain and maintain leadership in emerging technologies.
Warby Parker starts trading on NYSE
Shares of eyewear maker $Warby Parker (WRBY.US)$began trading at $54.05 Wednesday afternoon after the New York Stock Exchange set a reference price of $40 a share. The company opted to go public via a direct listing that will test the market appeal of the direct-to-consumer brand.
Dollar Tree to sell more items above $1 as costs rise
The retailer, which sells nearly everything for a dollar in its namesake chain, plans to add more products at slightly higher prices, highlighting the pressure on companies to offset cost increases for a range of goods.
Dollar Tree said it would start selling products at $1.25 and $1.50 or other prices slightly above $1 in some of its stores. $Dollar Tree (DLTR.US)$gained 16.5% on Wednesday.
Onetime big Tesla bull Chamath Palihapitiya says he sold his position
Social Capital founder and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya revealed that he sold his Tesla position for capital to invest in other investment ideas. He said he exited his bet on the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle company “in the last year or so” as the high prices allowed him to generate cash to fund his other ideas.
FAA clears Virgin Galactic after completing investigation of Branson's spaceflight, stock jumps 10%
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared $Virgin Galactic (SPCE.US)$to return to flight on Wednesday after completing a mishap investigation into the spaceflight that carried Sir Richard Branson. The regulator had grounded the space tourism company’s operations earlier this month, after the FAA learned that the company’s spacecraft had deviated from its restricted airspace during the mission on July 11.
Source: Bloomberg, WSJ, CNBC

$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ gogo to the moon