BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday after another hot but expected inflation report. The Nasdaq on Tuesday rallied for the second session as tech stocks continued to rebound. The index gained 1.4% as bond yields stabilized, taking some pressure off growth-orientated names, which appeared to have found their footing after a rough start to the new year. (CNBC)

* Cramer says 'too much good news to ignore' drove Tuesday's stock market rally (CNBC)

The S&P 500 rose nearly 1%, breaking a five-session losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, ending a four-session down streak. The S&P 500 and the Dow on Tuesday finished nearly 1.8% and 1.5% away, respectively, from their record closes last week. The Nasdaq ended 5.6% away from its November record close. (CNBC)

The government's December consumer price index on Wednesday showed an increase of 7% year over year, in-line with estimates and the hottest increase since 1982. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 5.5% year over year, slightly higher than expectations. The 10-year Treasury yield on Wednesday dipped to under 1.73% after of the data and following a spike this year to over 1.8% earlier this week. (CNBC)

* Higher prices played a role in online sales hitting record $204 billion over the holidays (CNBC)
* Fear of even higher mortgage rates may be heating up winter homebuying (CNBC)
* Empty grocery shelves return as sick employees, supply chain delays collide (CNBC)

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, with a seemingly clear path to a second term heading the central bank, declared on Tuesday the U.S. economy is both healthy enough and in need of tighter monetary policy to control inflation. That will likely mean interest rate hikes this year, tapering of monthly asset purchases and reducing the Fed's balance sheet. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Scientists are seeing signals the rapidly spreading Covid omicron variant may be have peaked in Britain and may be ready to do the same in the U.S. Omicron has proved so contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, just a month and a half after it was first detected in South Africa. (AP)

* British PM apologizes, admits attending Downing Street lockdown party (CNBC)

The White House is increasing federal support for Covid testing for schools in a bid to keep them open as the omicron variant rips across the U.S. The Biden administration announced Wednesday it's making a dedicated stream of 5 million rapid tests and 5 million lab-based PCR tests available to schools starting this month. (AP)

Biopharmaceutical company Ocugen (OCGN) jumped 5.5% in premarket trading after a booster dose of its vaccine candidate Covaxin was shown to neutralize the Covid-19 omicron and delta variants. The results were results from a study conducted at Emory University. (Press Release)

Delta Air Lines (DAL) sent the country's largest flight attendant union a cease-and-desist letter after its president criticized the company's shortened sick leave policy for staff with Covid. The union has been trying to organize at Delta since November 2019. (CNBC)

Biogen (BIIB) sank 9% in premarket trading after Medicare agreed to only partially cover the Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm. Medicare will cover the treatment only if patients are enrolled in clinical trials and have early-stage symptoms. (Reuters)

The House select committee investigating last year's deadly Capitol riot on Tuesday dismissed a right-wing conspiracy suggesting the FBI helped to incite the invasion. Multiple Republican politicians have publicly asked questions fueling the debunked narrative. (CNBC)

* Biden urges the Senate to bypass filibuster to pass voting rights bills (CNBC)

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of federal fraud charges last week, will be placed on a $500,000 bond secured by property and sentenced Sept. 12 under terms proposed in a court filing on Tuesday night. The court filing also sets a timeline for both sides to file post-trial motions. (CNBC)

Apple (AAPL) is in talks with Major League Baseball to acquire the rights to its weekday package, according to people with knowledge of the deal who asked not to be named because discussions are confidential. An agreement would, for the first time, align the most valuable U.S. tech company with a pro sports media package. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

DoorDash (DASH) added 2.6% in the premarket after Evercore upgraded it to "outperform" from "in line." Evercore said the delivery service has strong fundamentals and the stock is at an attractive valuation. Separately, Meta Platforms (FB) named DoorDash CEO Tony Xu to its board of directors, the first new appointment to the Facebook parent's board in nearly two years.

Didi Global (DIDI) rallied 5.9% in premarket trading on reports that it's in talks for a second-quarter Hong Kong IPO as it continues the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

Philips (PHG) tumbled 15.6% in premarket action after predicting a roughly 40% drop in core profit for the fourth quarter. The Dutch health technology company's results are being impacted by component shortages, its ventilator recall and other factors.

The FTC has postponed a vote on Lockheed Martin's (LMT) proposed takeover of aerospace systems maker Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD) for at least two weeks, according Reuters sources. Aerojet Rocketdyne shares added 3% in the premarket.

Dish Network (DISH) andd DirecTV are once again in merger talks, according New York Post sources. The satellite TV companies have held on-and-off talks periodically over the past 20 years. Dish Network surged 7.4% in the premarket.

Just Eat Takeaway (GRUB) rallied 4.3% in the premarket after the Grubhub parent maintained its 2022 forecast and said it was seeing a rise in order volume.

Ally Financial (ALLY) announced a 20% dividend increase, raising its quarterly payout to 30 cents per share. It also authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program. Ally gained 3% in premarket trading.