US OPEN: US indices open a touch lower as Fed decision looms large

• US indices launch session slightly lower

• ADP employment report beats estimates, attention turns to Fed

• Bandwidth surges almost 50% after earnings

Wall Street indices launched cash trading slightly lower, following a downbeat trading in Europe so far today. However, scale of the drop is small with Dow Jones being top laggard (-0.3%) and Nasdaq being top performer (-0.1%). Traders should keep in mind that as a key event of the week - FOMC rate decision - will take place later today at 6:00 pm GMT, a mixed and somewhat muted trading may be ahead.

ADP employment report for October was released today at 12:15 pm GMT and turned out to be better-than-expected. Employment gain of 239k reported for the previous month was higher than 195k expected by the market. However, while a beat is welcome, details are not so bright. A bulk of this increase was reported in the leisure and hospitality segment (210k) and transportation (+84k) while in most other segments employment change was negative. However, market reaction to the release was short-lived as investors are waiting for a Fed decision scheduled for today evening (6:00 pm GMT)

US small-cap index Russell 2000 (US2000) continues to move higher following the break above the upper limit of a market geometry in the 1,800 pts area last week. However, advance stalled today yesterday in the evening after a failed attempt to break above the resistance zone ranging below 61.8% retracement of the August-September downward correction. A level to watch as the pullback deepens is a support zone in the 1,840 pts area, marked with the 50% retracement. A break below would mean painting the largest downward correction in the current upswing and may hint at a reversal of short-term trend. Source: xStation5

Airbnb (ABNB.US) launched today's trading lower following the release of a Q3 2022 earnings report. Company reported a 31% YoY jump in gross bookings, to $15.6 billion (exp. $15.4 billion). Net income increased from $0.83 billion in Q3 2021 to $1.20 billion in Q3 2022. This translates into EPS of $1.79 (exp. $1.47 billion). Revenue increased from $2.24 billion in Q3 2021 to $2.88 billion in Q3 2022 (exp. $2.85 billion). Free cash flow was 80% YoY higher at $960 million (exp. $1.1 billion). Airbnb also issued a Q4 revenue forecast of $1.86-1.88 billion, that was in-line with market expectations and marks a decrease from Q3 that is in-line with seasonal patterns.

Benefitfocus (BNFT.US) rallies after M&A news. It was reported that Voya Financial (VOYA.US) agreed to buy Benefitfocus in a $570 million deal. Voya will pay $10.50 per each Benefitfocus share, representing a 50% premium over Tuesday's closing price.

Estee Lauder (EL.US) drops following the release of calendar Q3 2022 earnings report and a disappointing forecast for the current quarter. Company reported EPS at $1.35, down from $1.88 reported a year ago and slightly above $1.31 expected by the market. Revenue was 10.5% YoY lower at $3.93 billion. Company issued a downbeat forecast for fiscal-2023 (calendar Q3 2022 - Q2 2023), saying it now expects net sales to drop 6-8% YoY. Previous guidance called for a 3-5% YoY sales growth.

Bandwidth (BAND.US) gains after reporting better-than-expected results for the quarter ended in September. Company reported EPS at $0.27, much above $0.03 expected by analysts and above last year's EPS of $0.24. However, adjusted EPS came in at negative $0.03. Revenue increased from $130.64 million in Q3 2021 to $148.33 million in Q3 2022, and was 5.5% higher than expected. Company expects Q4 2022 revenue to reach $146-148 million and EPS to come in at $0.03-0.05.

Share price of Bandwidth (BAND.US) leaped higher after release of earnings report. Stock launched today's trading with a big bullish price gap and is now trading almost 50% higher on the day. Shares cleared a downward trendline and tested a mid-term resistance zone in the $18.50 area. Source: xStation5