U.S. import prices and housing starts rose in May
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are wading into the red this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are flat and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures inch higher. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve, with its two-day meeting set to conclude with an update on monetary policy, followed by a press conference from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
There is plenty of economic data to unpack before the meeting though, with U.S. import prices rising 11.3% year-over-year and 1.1% on a monthly basis, while U.S. housing starts also climbed 3.6% for May. Elsewhere, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin their highly anticipated summit in Geneva.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- A look at the SPX's low volatility with Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- A vaccine update had call traders flocking to Ocugen stock.
- Plus, unpacking La-Z Boy earnings; fresh coverage for SOFI; and Roblox stock dinged by active user numbers.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 730,060 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.45 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.47.
- La-Z-Boy Inc (NYSE:LZB) is down 3% in electronic trading, despite the company reporting better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. Though the home retailer warned of supply chain disruptions, it also noted that backlog and incoming order rates will mitigate the usual seasonal slowdown in the upcoming quarter.
- Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) with a "buy" rating and $30 price target. The firm cited the company's cost advantage. SOFI is up 2% pre-market.
- Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) is slipping 9% ahead of the bell, after the gaming company released metrics for May. The report showed less daily active users in May than in April. The newly publicly traded stock is looking to fall further from its early-June highs.
- Today will feature building permits in addition to the slew of other data.
Asia Stocks Lower Amid Flood of Data
Asian markets mostly fell on Wednesday, led by the Shanghai Composite in China, which dropped 1.1% as investors unpacked an 8.8% rise in export data, which missed expectations and came in lower than April’s pop. China’s retail sales also saw a smaller-than-expected rise for May. As commodity prices rise, China has agreed to release industrial metals from its national reserves. Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s export data rose 49.6% year-over-year -- also missing estimates -- sending the Nikkei down 0.5% for the day. The Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also took a 0.7% haircut, while the South Korean Kospi bucked the broad market trend and added 0.6%.
Over in Europe, stocks are looking at a muted day of trading, as anticipation over the upcoming conclusion of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting in the U.S. mounts. At last check, the French CAC 40 is 0.02% higher, the London FTSE 100 is registering a 0.02% gain, and the German DAX is off 0.02%.