Wall Street is worried that strong jobs data in June will discourage the Fed from cutting rates
Dow futures are trading below fair value this morning, cooling from Wednesday's all-time highs after a better-than expected June payrolls report -- which has some investors tempering their expectations for a July interest rate cut from the Fed. Payrolls ramped up by a stronger-than-forecast 224,000 in June, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 3.7%. On the global economic front, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman from China said Thursday that a trade deal with the U.S. can't be reached unless all tariffs are removed.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 647,327 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 414,050 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio landed at 0.64, while the 21-day moving average is 0.62.
- Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) has attracted some criticism after saying it would set aside $100 million for the families and communities of victims of two 737 MAX crashes. Family members of the Ethiopian Airlines crash told Reuters the offer from Boeing is "not in good faith," and "could be putting the victims at risk" of kidnappings for ransom. BA stock is off 0.4% ahead of the bell.
- Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KPTI) this morning has landed price-target hikes from analysts at Baird, Canaccord Genuity, H.C. Wainwright, RBC, and Wedbush, with H.C.'s target of $32 representing the loftiest of the group. The bullish notes follow FDA approval of Karyopharm's blood cancer drug, Xpovio. KPTI is up 16.5% in electronic trading, set to open near $10.36.
- South Korea's Samsung Electronics is weighing on the chip sector after the company drastically lowered its second-quarter operating profit guidance. This would mark the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year profit declines for Samsung. The tech giant is due to release detailed earnings in late July.
- In addition to the jobs report, today's economic calendar will feature the Baker-Hughes rig count and the Fed's balance sheet.
Quiet Trading Overseas Ahead of U.S. Jobs Data
There was little action in Asian markets as caution set in before the U.S. jobs report. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both settled near breakeven, the former adding 0.2% and the latter closing down 0.07%. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi also made small moves, closing up 0.2% and 0.09%, respectively.
Meanwhile, stocks in Europe were last seen mostly lower. London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX, and France’s CAC 40 were all down 0.4% at last check.