Dow futures are poised for another triple-digit move
Stock futures are poised to start the day with modest gains, as Wall Street looks to keep chipping away at losses from earlier in the week. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) were last seen 114 points higher, though the blue-chip index is still off 2.2% for the week. Investors are poring over U.S. retail sales data that came in this morning, showing sales were unchanged in April --lower than the estimated 1% rise and a far cry from the 10% surge seen in March. Meanwhile, S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are trading considerably higher, with the tech sector poised to resume its rally.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Why Expedia stock is a top pick for the summer.
- Five common hedging strategies to keep in mind.
- Plus, Walt Disney's disappointing earnings report; SNOW upgraded; and Airbnb surviving the pandemic.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 896,200 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.63 and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.51.
- Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is down 4% in electronic trading, after the entertainment giant's Disney+ streaming service failed to see the growth analysts expected. In addition, revenue fell short of Wall Street's forecasts, though earnings of 79 cents per share were much better than expected. Today's negative price action will put DIS further below its year-to-date breakeven level.
- Cloud computing company Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs this morning to "buy" from "neutral," with the brokerage firm noting the equity's recent dip from recent highs as an intriguing entry point. Now up 5.1% ahead of the bell, Snowflake stock has a ways to go to scrub its 33.1% year-to-date deficit.
- The shares of Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) is down 0.9% before the open, after the company reported first-quarter losses. Revenue, however, was above estimates, as easing travel restrictions and an uptick in vaccinations bolstered the company's gross bookings. The security still has a stiff 7.5% 2021 deficit to overcome.
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Today will feature the import price index and industrial production. Consumer sentiment, business inventories, and capacity utilization reports are also slated for release.
Stocks in Asia Jump on Wall Street's Rebound
Asian markets were higher to close out the week, taking cues from Wall Street’s overnight rebound. Investors were also keeping an eye on Covid-19 developments in Singapore, after local authorities said an air travel bubble with Hong Kong would not start as soon as anticipated, and new restrictions would be implemented due to a surge in infections. Leading the gainers was Japan’s Nikkei, which added 2.3%, followed by a 1.8% pop from China’s Shanghai Composite. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 1.1% higher, despite a disappointing full-year fiscal report from e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), while South Korea’s Kospi added 1%.
European markets are also higher, mirroring their global counterparts. However, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed worries over the transmissibility of the coronavirus variant identified in India. At last check, France’s CAC 40 was last seen up 0.9%, while London’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both up 0.7%.