Wall Street can't seem to gain any traction this week
It's shaping up to be a volatile week on Wall Street, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures down triple digits this morning. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are pointed sharply lower as well, unable to build off yesterday's rally from Monday's Fed-induced selloff. Meanwhile, oil prices appear back on the rise; West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is up 3.2% at last check.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White eyes the dwindling call traders, and sectors to watch because of it.
- How Mosaic options traders scored a profit.
- Plus, GIS jumps after earnings; GME extends its rally; and POSH slips on dismal forecast.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.4 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 711,212 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.49, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) is up 3.3% premarket, after the food company reported better-than-anticipated fiscal third-quarter earnings and an upbeat 2022 forecast, though revenue missed expectations amid supply chain issues. Heading into today, GIS is down 7% year-to-date but is a March outperformer, historically.
- The shares of GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) are up 9.9% in electronic trading, after news that Chairman Ryan Cohen bought 100,000 additional shares, raising his stake in the videogame name to 11.9%. GameStop stock is fresh off a short squeeze -- rising 30.7% yesterday.
- Poshmark Inc (NASDAQ:POSH) is down 9.6% ahead of the open, after the used clothing retailer's disappointing first-quarter forecast. The company reported slightly wider-than-expected fourth-quarter losses per share alongside a revenue beat, and no fewer than three analysts cut their price targets.
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Today will bring new home sales data.
Investors Await Global Leadership Decisions
Asian markets moved higher on Wednesday, as investors kept an eye on oil prices, as well as reports that the European Union (EU) will most likely not place an oil embargo on Russia just yet. Pacing the gainers was Japan’s Nikkei with a 3% pop, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 1.2% higher, after Xiaomi announced plans to buy back shares "from time to time," after reporting a 21.4% revenue jump for the fourth quarter. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%.
European markets are mostly lower, as the Russia-Ukraine war continues with no end in sight. U.S. President Joe Biden is headed to Belgium, where he will attend an emergency North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting and speak before the European Council, with leaders expected to impose additional sanctions on Russia. Investors are also digesting the highest inflation reading in the U.K. since March 1992, as the price of food, fuel, and energy surged in February. At last check, the German DAX is 0.9% lower, France’s CAC 40 is down 0.7%, and London’s FTSE 100 is slightly above breakeven with a 0.07% gain.