Wall Street is coming off its worst quarterly losses since March 2020
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are up 134 points this morning, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) point confidently higher as well, as Wall Street looks to start the second quarter on a high note after its steep first-quarter losses. Nonfarm payrolls data showed 431,000 jobs added in March, which is lower than the anticipated 490,000.
January and February jobs growth was upwardly revised, while the closely-watched average hourly earnings rose 5.6% year-over-year and above analyst estimates. Investors are eyeing bond yields closely, and following the jobs data, another inversion occurred, with the 2-year Treasury yield moving back above the 10-year Treasury yield.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- 4 fintech stocks to watch as the sector heats up.
- Checking in with underperforming Disney stock.
- Plus, POSH downgraded; BB sinks on lackluster report, and China-based auto stocks surge.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.2 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 703,593 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.55, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- Stifel downgraded Poshmark Inc (NASDAQ:POSH) to "hold" from "buy," with a price-target cut to $15 from $19, citing multiple growth challenges. The stock has been struggling with pressure at the $15 level lately. POSH is down 2.8% before the bell.
- Blackberry Ltd (NYSE:BB) is down 4.2% premarket, after the software name's mixed fourth-quarter report. Blackberry announced profits of 1 cent per share, which is higher than the expected losses of 4 cents per share, alongside worse-than-anticipated revenue. Plus, Raymond James cut its price target to $8 from $9.50.
- Ahead of the open, Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) and Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) are up 6.2% and 8.6%, respectively, after the China-based automakers' strong vehicle delivery reports for March. Both delivery totals increased substantially from a year ago.
- Today will bring the final Markit manufacturing PMI, the ISM manufacturing index, data on construction spending, and motor vehicle sales.
Asian Markets Eye Economic Data
Asian markets were mixed on Friday, despite the release of the worst Chinese manufacturing activity reading since February 2020, with the Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for March falling to 48.1. Also weighing on stocks was a declining Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) tankan business sentiment survey for the first quarter. Pacing the laggards was South Korea’s Kospi with a 0.7% loss, while Japan’s Nikkei settled 0.6% lower. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.9%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2%, despite tumbling tech stocks and a number of real estate names missing the deadline for their annual reports.
Meanwhile, European markets are higher, after wrapping up their first losing quarter in two years yesterday. Investors are still keeping a close eye on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite negotiations yielding no significant results so far. They were also monitoring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to halt gas exports to "unfriendly states" should they not pay in rubles, though the threats do not apply to Europe. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is 0.5% higher, the German DAX is up 0.4%, and London’s FTSE 100 is eyeing a 0.2% pop.