The Dow is up 315 points ahead of the open
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 315 points above fair value this morning, looking to build off yesterday's impressive rally. Nasdaq-100 (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are also poised to continue their bounce, as investors assess the Russian invasion of Ukraine that now enters its fourth week.
Investors are unpacking plenty of economic data this morning as they await the highly anticipated interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve later today. Amid red-hot inflation, U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in February -- below the 0.4% anticipated by analysts -- while the import price index jumped 1.4% in February, and 10.9% year-over-year.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White has good news for the SPX after rough starts to the year,
- Checking in with Williams-Sonoma stock ahead of earnings.
- Plus, chipmakers climb on analyst praise; and SPOT inks a new deal.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.1 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 799,228 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.70, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is up 3.1% before the bell, after Wells Fargo added the chip stock to its "signature picks" list. The analyst in coverage cited a favorable risk/reward profile, as well as announcements as its upcoming investor day. Coming into today, the equity is down 21.9% year-to-date.
- Bernstein upgraded Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) to "outperform" from "underperform," noting the semiconductor sector's recent slide. MU is up 5.3% in electronic trading, poised to snap a three-day losing streak. Year-to-date, the stock is down 21.5%.
- Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) is up 2.2% premarket, after news that the streaming platform signed a sponsorship deal with Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona. For the next four seasons, Spotify's brand will be featured on the jerseys. This pop has SPOT looking to break into positive territory for the week, and ready to snap a five-week losing streak.
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Today will bring the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) home builders' index, and business inventories.
Chinese Tech Stocks Stage a Comeback
Asian markets settled higher Wednesday, after China’s state media reported the country supports stock listings abroad, pointing to a financial stability meeting Vice Premier Liu He will hold that could lead to cooperation with Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. In response, tech stocks such as Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) surged, though investors are still monitoring China’s worst Covid-19 resurgence since 2020. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 9.1% for its best day since October 2008, just a day after closing at its lowest level since February 2016, while China’s Shanghai Composite logged a 3.5% gain. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi was 1.4% higher, and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2%.
European markets pointed higher as well, as investors anxiously await the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which is expected to bring the central bank’s interest rate decision. Investors are also keeping an eye on Russia, which has a $117 million interest payment due today on two sovereign eurobonds, leading some to believe it could default on its debt. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is 3.7% higher, the German DAX is up 3.3%, and London’s FTSE 100 is pacing for a 1.3% pop.