STOCK MARKET NEWS: Bed Bath & Beyond shakeup, stocks rise despite GDP data

Bed Bath & Beyond announced Wednesday that CEO Mark Tritton is leaving the company.

He will be replaced by Sue Gove, an independent director on the company’s board.

The company’s quarterly results that were reported on Wednesday came in worse than expected.

U.S. stock futures are lower on Wednesday ahead of the release of the final revision of first-quarter gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, oil prices are higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures trading at around $112.80 a barrel while Brent crude futures traded at around $118.80 per barrel.

Mortgage rates have eased
recently, but overall remain elevated, which has had an impact on parts of the mortgage industry, especially when it comes to refinancing.

The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week, but is way down from year-ago levels.

Demand for mortgage applications saw an overall increase over the prior week by 0.7%.

U.S. equity futures were trading choppy ahead of the release of a key economic reading. On Wednesday morning, the final revision of first-quarter gross domestic product is expected to confirm a larger contraction of the U.S. economy than earlier readings.

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The final revision of first-quarter gross domestic product due out Wednesday is expected to confirm a larger contraction of the U.S. economy than earlier readings, and the fresh GDP data may support the view that a recession is either in progress or coming.

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The price of a gallon of regular gasoline slipped on Wednesday morning to $4.868, according to AAA. The price on Tuesday was at $4.881. Gas has declined for 12 straight days. Diesel slipped as well to $5.780 down from $5.787.

Oil prices traded lower Wednesday morning following a three-day rally on concerns about the economy and oil supplies. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $111 a barrel.

Brent crude traded at $113 a barrel. Both contracts rose more than 2% on Tuesday as sanctions on Russia raised concerns about supply. Analysts have warned that political unrest in Ecuador and Libya could tighten supply further. 

Data from American Petroleum Institute showed gasoline and distillates stocks rose while crude inventories fell for the week ending June 24.

Bitcoin is trading around $20,000 after falling for two consecutive days. The cryptocurrency lost more than 5% during that period. Bitcoin is off more than 36% month-to-date and down more than 56% year-to-date. It is also down more than 70% from its all-time high of $67802.30 in November. Ether is trading around $1,100 and Dogecoin is at 6 cents.