The capital gain tax news sparked a late-afternoon selloff yesterday
Stock futures are cautiously higher this morning. Wall Street is attempting to regain its footing after U.S. President Joe Biden's tax proposal -- which may hike capital gain rates to 39.6% for those earning $1 million or more -- spooked investors yesterday afternoon. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are slightly above breakeven at last check, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are looking at modest gains as well. Elsewhere, Bitcoin (BTC) is suffering amid the capital gain tax news, and investors are weighing the most recent corporate reports, ranging from American Express' (AXP) revenue miss to Snap's (SNAP) upbeat user numbers.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This auto icon scored a slew of bull notes.
- Bull signal says Sonos stock is poised for more records.
- Plus, Harley-Davidson stalled by downgrade; Mattel's impressive sales jump; and blue-chip posts disappointing full-year forecast.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 859,023 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.52 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.46.
- Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) is down 2.6% before the bell, after the equity earned a downgrade at Morgan Stanley from "equal-weight" to "underweight." The analyst in question said the company may soon face challenges, and that its recent positive price action is accounted for. HOG is up 31% in 2021.
- Toy maker Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) is up 6.8% ahead of the open. The company reported better-than-expected quarterly losses, as well as a revenue beat, thanks to strong Barbie doll and Hot Wheels sales. Plus, it posted a 47% overall sales jump from last year.
- The shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) are down 2.6% in electronic trading. Though the chipmaker's top and bottom lines for the first quarter came in above Wall Street's expectations, its posted a disappointing full-year sales forecast. Year-to-date, Intel stock is up 25%.
- The week wraps up with a slew of economic data, including the employment cost index, new home sales, the Chicago purchasing managers' index (PMI), and the consumer sentiment index.
Slew of Economic Data Sends European Markets Lower
Asian markets were mostly higher in today's trading, with the exception of Japan's Nikkei, which fell 0.6%, as bitcoin fell below $49,000. Among the winners, Hong Kong's Hang Seng had the best day with a 1.1% win, while China's Shanghai Composite and the South Korean Kospi both rose 0.3%.
Meanwhile, European shares are lower midday as investors digest a slew of economic data, including the euro zone IHS Markit's flash composite purchasing manager’s index (PMI), which rose to 53.7 in March. London's FTSE 100 is down 0.5% at last check, despite U.K.'s composite PMI jumping to 60 in April from the previous month's 56.4 as the country eases lockdowns. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 has fallen 0.3%, though the France composite output index hit 51.7 in April – a nine-month high. Lastly, the flash Germany PMI composite output showed business activity expansion slowing in April, and the German DAX is down 0.5% so far today.