Dow futures are headed for a shallow open in the red
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are poised for a modest drop this morning, giving back some of their earlier gains after another round of weekly jobless data showed a surprise jump. Claims rose to 419,000 last week, much higher than the 350,00 expected by analysts. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also struggling to maintain yesterday's positive price action, as Wall Street pores over another round of earnings reports. Elsewhere, the 10-year Treasury yield is looking at muted gains, fresh off yesterday's rise to 1.29%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How options traders prepared for last night's Whirlpool earnings.
- Should bulls consider Olympic Steel stock for their portfolio?
- Plus, 2 stocks sinking after earnings; and behind Biogen's beat-and-raise.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.5 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 734,820 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.46 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.49.
- Dove parent Unilever N.V. (NYSE:UL) is off 4.8% this morning, after the company said a sharp rise in commodity costs could negatively affect its full-year profit margins. This forecast weighed on an otherwise upbeat report, with UL posting better-than-expected profits and revenue for its second quarter.
- D R Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) is sinking 2.9% lower in pre-market trading, despite the homebuilding company posting a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat, as well as lifted full-year revenue guidance. The stock was last seen down 4.3%.
- Meanwhile, the shares of Biogen Inc (NASDAQ;BIIB) are slightly higher, up 1.1% in electronic trading, following the company's second quarter earnings and revenue beat. The firm also lifted its fully-year revenue estimate.
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Things will pick back up on Thursday, with initial and continuing jobless claims, existing home sales data, and the index of leading economic indicators.
European Markets Rise on Euro Zone Update
Markets in Asia were higher across the board today. Led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng, the index finished with a 1.8% pop thanks to The Evergrande Group (EGRNF), which jumped 7.9% after solving a legal dispute. Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite added 0.3%, the South Korean Kospi gained 1.1%, and markets in Japan were closed for holiday.
European markets are on the rise as well, after the Euro zone's Central Bank held interest rates steady, but altered its guidance due to the rising inflation. As part of its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, the bank also committed to buying $2.2 trillion in bonds until March of next year. At last check, the German DAX is up 1%, the French CAC 40 is 0.7% higher, and London's FTSE 100 is posting a modest 0.04% gain.