The Fed's two-day policy meeting will wrap up today
One day removed from a record-setting session, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are all indicating another sharp move lower. The Federal Reserve's two-day meeting is set to conclude today, with investors keen to hear closing remarks from chairman Jerome Powell regarding inflation.
In other news, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its global growth outlook, as U.S. and China recovery efforts are hindered by supply chain issues and inflation. Meanwhile, Wall Street is poring over the latest corporate reports, as well as news that Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) are developing a vaccine specifically for the omicron variant.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research cuts through the noise of the 2022 selloff.
- How this retail stock won the day yesterday.
- Plus, Big Blue scores earnings beat; more trouble for NVDA; Robinhood stock crippled by bear note.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw nearly 1.8 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 1.2 million put contracts, the most on record. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.67, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.51.
- IBM (NYSE:IBM) stock is 0.2% higher in electronic trading, after the blue-chip tech giant reported a top-line beat for the fourth quarter. In response, BMO hiked its IBM price target to $155 from $153. IBM is looking to reclaim its year-to-date breakeven today.
- Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock is down 4% ahead of the open, lagging with the rest of the semiconductor sector. Per a Bloomberg report, Nvidia is prepared to abandon its $40 million takeover of British chip company Arm. Nvidia stock has shed 20% in 2022 already.
- The shares of Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) are off by 3.8% before the bell, after Mizuho trimmed its price target on the trading platform to $20 from $55, a 60% slash. HOOD is down 26% year-to-date.
- The S&P Case-Shiller national home price index is due out. Meanwhile, the FHFA national home price and consumer confidence indexes are also on the docket.
European Markets Move Cautiously Higher Amid Russia-Ukraine Tension
Asian markets were lower on Tuesday, after Wall Street’s volatile end to yesterday’s session. China’s Shanghai Composite and South Korea’s Kospi were both 2.6% lower, with Hyundai Motors’ disappointing earnings report weighing on the latter. However, South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at its fastest pace in 11 years in 2021. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.7%, due to losses in automotive and technology stocks, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed steeper losses to settle 1.7% lower as well.
European markets are looking to mirror Wall Street with a rebound, though investors are still keeping a close eye on the Fed's two-day meeting. They are also monitoring developments in Ukraine, as U.S. President Joe Biden considers deploying military personnel and equipment to the area as tension builds. In other news, Germany’s Ifo business climate survey showed better-than-expected business morale in December. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is 1.1% higher, London’s FTSE 100 is up 1%, and the German DAX is eyeing a 0.8% rise.