Wall Street stock indexes edged up after inflation data showed the largest annual jump in consumer prices in decades. Here’s what we’re watching in Wednesday’s trading:
- Block ’s acquisition of Afterpay has cleared its final regulatory hurdle and will be implemented on Feb. 1, the Australian buy-now-pay-later provider said.
- Medicare officials said they would cover Biogen ’s controversial Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm on the condition that patients are in clinical trials and have early-stage symptoms.
- Jefferies Financial Group reported lower revenue in the latest quarter, which it said was partly due to a challenging market environment for fixed-income trading that led to lower volume.
- Shares of e-commerce clothing company Kidpik jumped in morning trading, building on Tuesday’s 27% gain. No clear catalyst for the penny stock’s gains: even its website was down for scheduled maintenance. Trading in the stock was briefly paused on Tuesday due to volatility.
- Jefferies cut its rating on PayPal stock and lowered the price target to $200 from $255.
- Ally Financial ’s board approved a dividend hike and a share-repurchase program.
- Evercore ISI Group lifted its rating on DoorDash stock and set a price target of $256 a share. On Tuesday it closed at $143.64.
- General Motors ‘ new CarBravo marketplace will let U.S. GM dealers sell used cars online, a move that adds new competition to the used-vehicle market and reflects a strategic shift for GM.
- KB Home and E2open Parent Holdings are due to report after Wednesday’s close.
Chart of the Day
- Streetwise columnist James Mackintosh looks at three ways the market seems to be returning to normal after its pandemic unruliness, plus one possible change in its long-term pattern.
Write to James Willhite at james.willhite@wsj.com