Stock Futures Shrug Off Trump Impeachment

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are modestly higher this morning, as investors brush off the political drama in Washington D.C. Last night, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on two counts: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are showing a flat open, as well, as investors also unpack a smaller-than-expected drop in weekly jobless claims and a big earnings beat from semiconductor concern Micron Technology (MU).

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• Breaking down FedEx's bad day.
• Options traders zeroed in on CREE and SDC yesterday.
• Plus, Olive Garden parent sinks after revenue miss; Seattle Genetics gets FDA nod; and Micron soars post-earnings.  

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.12 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 550,271 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.49, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
2. Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) stock is down 4.1% ahead of the bell. While the restaurant chain's second-quarter earnings beat expectations, same-store sales came in soft. Going into today, DRI was up 16% on a year-to-date basis, though it recently failed near the 200-day moving average. 
3. Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) stock is up 6.4% in electronic trading, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough therapy designation for the drugmaker's experimental treatment for bladder cancer. SGEN is set to open near its Nov. 25 record highs of $122.36, and has more than doubled in the last 12 months.
4. The shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) are up 3.6% before the open, after the chipmaker's fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue topped analyst expectations. The company also noted its current quarter represents a bottom for the struggling memory chip market. So far, 11 brokerages have issued price-target hikes to the red-hot chip stock. 

5. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, and existing home sales are due out today. A busier day for earnings includes Nike (NKE), Accenture (ACN), Carnival (CCL), Conagra (CAG), DRI, and Rite Aid (RAD).

Asian Markets Mixed; Europe Eyes Bank of England Decision

Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei, closed down 0.3%, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to hold its monetary policy steady, saying the country’s economy is "likely to continue on a moderate expanding trend." The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was also 0.3% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi eked out a 0.08% win as the semiconductor sector surged. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite finished flat. 

European markets are mostly lower at the halfway mark, with all eyes on the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to hold its main interest rate steady for the time being. London’s FTSE 100 is inching higher in response, up 0.01%, while the CAC 40 in France is down 0.2%, and the German DAX has shed 0.5%, after several automakers, including BMW, said they would be exiting the North American car sharing market.