Futures on the Dow are sitting just below fair value
President Joe Biden is set to reveal his $2 trillion infrastructure spending plan later today and stock futures are relatively unchanged ahead of the event. The plan is expected to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, and will be executed within the next 15 years. Investors are also eyeing an update on private payrolls data, which expanded to 517,000, rising at its fastest pace since September 2020, but falling slightly below the Dow Jones Estimate of 525,000.
In response, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are swimming just below fair value this morning, though the blue-chip index is looking to wrap up the month with a win. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), meanwhile, are pointed modestly higher, while the former is also looking to grab a gain for the month and the latter is set to snap its four-month win streak.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What happens to markets when the S&P 500 outperforms the Nasdaq, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Why Hershey stock could be a smart pick for option bulls.
- Plus, BlackBerry stock stumbles after Q4 revenue miss; and 2 stocks winning analyst praise this morning.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.57 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 760,540 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.48 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.48.
- BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB) is off 5.1% ahead of the open, following a fourth-quarter revenue miss. While its earnings of 3 cents per share came in line with analysts' estimates, sales were stunted by weakening demand for its QNX care software.
- Baird just upgraded Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) to "outperform" from "neutral," marking the first time since 2016 the analyst had given HOG such a rating. The analyst cited a shift in strategic direction and smaller inventories for the upgrade, and in response the equity is up 4.2% in premarket trading.
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) meanwhile, got an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" from UBS after the analyst predicted steady long-term demand for the company's iPhone, as well as strengthening average sale prices. Apple stock is up 1.7% ahead of the bell in response.
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The ADP employment report for March, as well as the Chicago PMI, and pending home sales data are all due out today.
Asian Markets Dip Amid Factory Data, Mitsubishi Loss
Stocks in Asia finished lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei losing 0.9%, after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s brokerage arm said the company expects losses of around $300 million, sinking shares nearly 4%. Mainland stocks followed up, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite losing 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, after data in the area showed China’s factory activity growing in March. South Korea’s Kospi rounded out the region with a 0.3% loss.
European markets are relatively flat, after Euro zone inflation rose to 1.3% in March from 0.9% in February. Investors also have their eyes peeled for President Biden’s infrastructure plan. At last check, the German DAX is off 0.04% -- though further losses are likely capped by upbeat unemployment data in the country – while London’s FTSE 100 and France CAC 40 are down 0.07% and 0.09%, respectively.