Upbeat jobs data caused the 10-year Treasury yield to rise to its highest level in over a year
Wall Street looks ready to bounce back from yesterday's dramatic selling, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures pointed higher by over 200 points ahead of the open. This is even as the 10-year Treasury yield jumps to 1.62% -- its highest level in a year -- on the back of an upbeat jobs report. Specifically, nonfarm payrolls rose to 379,000 last month, while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.2%, exceeding expectations.
Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) also look to be recovering from last session's dramatic pullbacks, as investors unpack Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments yesterday concerning the central bank's passive role in reigning in spiking bond yields.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Buy the dip on this software stock.
- Breaking down one of our top options picks for spring.
- Plus, Big Lots stock drops despite earnings beat; Gap's sunny post-pandemic forecast; and why WDC is surging.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.02 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 1.09 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.54 and the 21-day moving average rose to.
- Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) is down 1.3% in premarket trading as investors brush off the retailers fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat and instead turn their attention toward comparable sales growth that fell short of estimates. BIG has been climbing up the charts -- up over 40% this year alone -- though today could mark a second-straight drop for the equity.
- Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) is flying higher this morning, up 4% ahead of the bell after the company forecast a bounce in apparel sales for the year as people begin to return to normalcy amid a slowing pandemic. Gap just came off a quarterly report in which it posted a jump in online sales, which has helped put some wind at the security's back. GPS is up over 77% in the last 12 months.
- Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) was just upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs. The analyst said the chip maker's outlook had improved, sending WDC up 3.3% before the open. The security saw a dramatic pullback during yesterday's trading, though long-term support at its 30-day moving average managed to keep some of these losses in check.
- The week will end with feature unemployment rate data, and trade deficit data.
Asian Markets Falter Despite China GDP Forecast
Asian markets finished the first week of March lower, falling as investors kept an eye on the region’s bond yields and technology stocks. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also announced the country would target gross domestic product (GDP) growth of over 6% in 2021. Nevertheless, China’s Shanghai Composite finished fractionally lower. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6%.
Meanwhile, stocks in Europe are mostly lower, though they’re pointing toward a positive week. The European Union (EU) is planning to extend its export control on Covid-19 vaccines, and Germany’s Finance Minister said the country will need a supplementary budget for 2021. Investors in the region are also reacting to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments regarding the reopening economy, as well as rising bond yields stateside. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3%, and France’s CAC 40 and the German DAX are down 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.