Traders will dissect Powell's comments for rate-cut clues
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is barreling toward its third straight loss, as Wall Street's risk-off mentality endures. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's scheduled testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee begins tomorrow, where clues about interest rate policy ahead of this month's Fed meeting will be eagerly digested. In addition, newly downgraded 3M Company (MMM) stock is weighing on the blue-chip index. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is marginally lower, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) has managed to stay in the black. Meanwhile, job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to 7.32 million in May, per the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Bears are blitzing this stock ahead of a Trump announcement.
- Analysts are dishing out ratings on Chewy stock.
- Plus, spread activity on streaking Target stock; a bull note for PG&E stock; and analysts concerned about copper demand.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is seeing accelerated options trading today. More than 19,000 call options have traded -- three times what's typically seen at this point in the day, and volume pacing for the 97th percentile of its annual range. There's interesting action at the July 82.50 and January 2020 92.50 calls, where diagonal spread activity is detected, per Trade Alert. At last check, TGT was trading flat at $89, on track for its eighth straight win and highest close since October.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is one of the best stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, up 4.1% at $22.62, thanks to a price-target hike to $24 from $22 at UBS. Buyout buzz has helped PCG add almost 30% in the last six months, but the utility name is still staring up at its year-to-date breakeven point.
On the other end of the spectrum is Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), down 4.6% to trade at $10.71, the worst stock on the S&P 500 today. Thanks to weakening copper demand, Jefferies and J.P. Morgan Securities both issued price-target cuts to the mining name, to $15.50 and $13, respectively. FCX fell to a two-year low of $9.48 on May 31, and today's drop has the stock set to breach short-term support at its 20-day moving average.
