Dow futures are eyeing a triple-digit lead
Investors are brushing off anxieties surrounding larger-than-expected rate hikes, with stock futures on track for a bounce on Friday. At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures were up 324 points, as investors eye upbeat retail sales data for June, which saw a better-than-expected 1% month-over-month rise. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are both notably higher ahead of the opening bell as well. Wall Street is also poring over another round of bank earnings, with Citigroup (C) being a standout after sharing a top- and bottom-line beat.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Blue-chip tech giant hit with bear note before quarterly report.
- How to trade vertical options versus straddles and strangles
- Plus, more bank earnings to look over; and solar stocks fall on legislation opposition.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.05 million call contracts and 786,617 put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.75, and the 21-day moving average stayed 0.66.
- Shares of BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) are down 1.8% electronic trading, after the company reported second-quarter earnings of $7.36 per share -- missing analysts' forecasts of $7.90 per share. In addition, the asset management firm's revenue also missed estimates, and profit took a 30% year-over-year haircut amid ongoing global market volatility. Year-to-date, BLK is down 35.7%.
- Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) recently stepped into the earnings confessional as well, and the bank's second-quarter earnings and revenue also missed consensus estimates. Wells Fargo posted earnings of 74 cents per share, including an 8-cent equity impairment charge, and noted it put aside more money to cover potentially bad loans. WFC is down 0.9% ahead of today's open, and off 19.3% in 2022.
- Solar energy concern Sunrun Inc (NASDAQ:RUN) is down 7.6% before the opening bell, suffering alongside its sector peers, after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin stated his opposition to new climate change funding bills. Year-over-year, RUN sports a 48.3% deficit.
- Today's slate of economic data is particularly packed. The import price index, Empire state manufacturing index, and industrial production index will accompany business inventories, and capacity utilization data. What's more, the University of Michigan (UM) will release its preliminary consumer sentiment index for July and five-year inflation expectations.
China's GDP Data Rolls In
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.2% today, as tech stocks, including Alibaba (BABA) weighed on the index. China’s Shanghai Composite followed behind with a 1.6% drop, after the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in the second quarter – below estimates of 1% and far less than the 4.8% growth from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei and the South Korean Kospi came out positive for the day, adding 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
Elsewhere, European markets are rising midday, as investors weighed the latest U.S. inflation data with China’s GDP. Thanks to a big day from energy giant Uniper, the German DAX is leading gains with a 1.5% rise at last check, while London’s FTSE 100 tacks on 0.9%, and the French CAC 40 jumps 0.3%.