The core PCE edged up slightly in December
Stock futures are trading below fair value ahead of a busy week on Wall Street, with Apple earnings, President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address, and the last Fed meeting for Chair Janet Yellen on tap. Today, though, traders are digesting a tepid rise in consumer spending last month, along with a 12-year low in the saving rate. Separately, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, a key measure of inflation, edged up a modest 0.2% in December. Against this backdrop, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are all set to retreat from Friday's record highs.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This blockchain stock could have a volatile week.
- Options traders blasted plummeting Wynn Resorts stock.
- This negative stock market signal could have big implications.
- Plus, DPS stock gaps higher on buyout buzz; iPhone X production woes weigh on Apple; and Seagate set for new highs.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.39 million call contracts traded on Friday compared to 677,907 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.49, while the 21-day moving average dipped to 0.54.
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE:DPS) said it will merge with K-Cup parent Keurig Green Mountain, with the resulting beverage company -- Keurig Dr Pepper -- expected to generate around $11 billion in revenue on an annual basis. Keurig's biggest stakeholder, JAB Holding Company, will own 87% of the new company, while DPS shareholders will control the remaining 13%, after receiving a special dividend payment of $103.75 per share. After closing last week at $95.65, Dr Pepper Snapple stock is up 37% in electronic trading.
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reportedly told suppliers it will cut its first-quarter iPhone X production target in half, with the Nikkei citing weaker-than-forecast holiday shopping sales in Europe, the U.S., and China. Separately, Apple has settled patent infringement lawsuits with touch technology firm Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR). While AAPL stock is down 0.6% ahead of the bell, IMMR shares are up 51%.
- Electronic storage specialist Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share on $2.9 billion in revenue -- more than analysts were expecting. STX stock is set to continue its bullish price action today, up 3.7% in pre-market trading, and on track to open at a two-year high.
- The Dallas Fed manufacturing survey is due out today, while Dominion Energy (D) and Sohu.com (SOHU) will report earnings.
Europe Stocks Outperform on Tech Rally
There was little buying in Asian equities today, with Chinese benchmarks experiencing notable weakness. Specifically, the Shanghai Composite fell 1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 0.6%, in a possible round of profit-taking. Investors may also have been spooked by regulatory concerns, after a number of Chinese banks were hit with fines. These headwinds spread to Japan's Nikkei, with the index ending down 0.01%, though South Korea's Kospi managed a 0.9% advance.
It's so far been a mixed trading session in Europe. Helping to buoy the major indexes throughout the region is a rally in tech stocks, namely chipmakers, thanks to a strong financial update from Apple supplier AMS AG. Drugmakers are also in focus after Sanofi SA hit the M&A trail yet again, announcing plans to buy Ablynx NV. As such, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at last check and the French CAC 40 was flirting with a 0.1% lead, but the German DAX was down 0.1%.