All three major benchmarks are higher before the bell
Stock futures are modestly higher before the open, as Wall Street looks to resume its rally. Retailers are still stepping into the earnings confessional, though a disappointing full-year forecast from Kohl's (KSS) is sending several of its sector peers lower.
Yesterday's U.S. Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) July meeting minutes are still on investors' minds. Meanwhile, initial weekly jobless claims fell to 250,000 for last week, or 10,000 below analyst estimates. Plus, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index moved into positive territory in August.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Bear signal flashing for Walgreens Boots Alliance stock.
- Checking in with Adobe stock after its recent rally.
- Plus, China lockdowns pressure EL; CSCO rises on quarterly beat; and WOLF soars on a strong forecast.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.39 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 844,857 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.61, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.67.
- The shares of Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) are down 1.4% in the premarket, despite the beauty name's strong quarterly results, after it also issued a disappointing full-year sales outlook. Covid-related lockdowns in China are weighing on sales. Year-to-date, the equity is down 25.3%.
- Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) is up 5% before the bell, after the company beat top- and bottom-line estimates for its fiscal fourth-quarter. At least 10 analysts raised their price targets after the event, with a lone price-target cut from Raymond James to $59 from $63. Quarter-to-date, the stock is up 9.4%.
- Wolfspeed Inc (NYSE:WOLF) is soaring in electronic trading, up 21.9% at last glance, after the semiconductor company's posted narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter losses, a revenue beat, and an upbeat current-quarter forecast. No fewer than seven analysts upped their price objectives. Quarter-to-date, the equity is already up 35%, though still posting a 23.4% year-to-date deficit coming into today.
- Today will bring existing home sales data, and leading economic indicators
Overseas Markets Respond to Fed Minutes
Asian markets tumbled on Thursday, following the market selloff over in the U.S. and the U.S. Fed's gloomy inflation expectations. Meanwhile, China-based tech giant Tencent posted its first quarterly drop in sales on record. In response, the Hong Kong Hang Seng dropped 0.8%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, the South Korean Kospi shed 0.3%, and the Nikkei in Japan fell 1%.
In Europe, markets are attempting to climb higher as investors also react to the Fed’s meeting minutes. The final euro zone inflation print also came out, hitting a record high of 8.9%. At last glance, the French CAC is 0.4% higher, the London FTSE 100 is up 0.07%, and the German DAX has added 0.2%.