Dollar is once again under scrutiny ahead of US PPI retail sales data

US inflation

Currency traders await another key US inflation indicator. Producer price index: this is expected to rise 0.3% in February month-over-month (MoM). Also scheduled at 1.30 p.m., retail sales are forecast to rise by 0.8% in February MoM.

Deliveroo

Deliveroo posted a net loss of £31.8 million, reduced from the £294 million loss recorded in 2022. Vistry said it is well placed for future growth, citing significant progress in implementing its partnership model strategy. And AstraZeneca is to acquire privately held Amolyt Pharma for $1.05 billion, expanding its late-stage rare disease pipeline.

Tesla

Tesla shares fell to their lowest since early May 2023 on Wednesday after Wells Fargo raised concerns over the waning impact of the group's price cuts. Wells Fargo cut Tesla stock to underweight and slashed its price target to $120 from $200, which is one of the lowest on Wall Street and implies a 30% downside to the stock's current price. Tesla is battling a global slowdown in EV demand following last year's price war that hurt margins and has lost nearly $200 billion in market value as its shares slumped nearly 29% this year.

Dollar General

Dollar General is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings before the market opens. Wall Street sees Dollar General reporting adjusted EPS of $1.72, compared to $2.96 in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue is forecast at $9.76 billion, down 3.8% YoY. Dollar General shares fell during Wednesday's session after rival Dollar Tree missed market expectations for holiday-quarter sales and profit.

Adobe

Adobe is due to report tonight after market close. The Street expects the group to post earnings of $4.38 per share for its fiscal first quarter. Adobe posted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.80 a year ago. Revenue should reach $5.14 billion, up from $4.66 billion in last year's first quarter. Investors want to hear how Adobe is positioning itself with the use of AI. Opinions are divided. Adobe has joined the AI race by integrating AI tools into its products, but some analysts are concerned that competitors and their AI innovations are an increasing threat to the group.

US crude oil

US crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week as refineries ramped up processing. After six straight weeks of increases, crude inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels. Refinery utilization rates rose 1.9 percentage points to 86.8% of total capacity. Gasoline stocks fell by 5.7 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by about 900,000 barrels.