The Dow is looking to add 269 points
It's a mixed morning on Wall Street, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures up 269 points, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are pointed modestly higher. Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures, on the other hand, are having a rough morning after shares of Meta Platforms (META) plummeted on a depressing fourth-quarter forecast.
Upbeat gross domestic product (GDP) data is injecting positivity into the market, though. The U.S. GDP reading rose at a 2.6% annualized pace for the third quarter, marking the first quarter of positive growth for 2022, allaying some investors' recession fears. Plus, weekly jobless claims came in at 217,000 -- below analysts' estimates of 223,000 -- while durable goods orders rose 0.4%, which is also below expectations.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Don't ignore Boeing stock's alarming bear signal.
- Can this steel stock stay in rally mode as earnings loom?
- Plus, 2 blue chips share earnings beat; and Ford reports big net losses.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.58 million call contracts and 1.02 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) stepped into the earnings confessional with a top- and bottom-line beat for its third quarter, sending the security up 5.6% ahead of the bell. The blue-chip concern could topple its year-to-date breakeven level today, should these gains hold.
- Fellow Dow member McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD) is also on the rise after earnings, adding 2.3% before the open after its third-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts' expectations. The fast food chain noted increased traffic to its U.S. restaurants as customers looked past raised prices. Year-over-year, MCD is up over 8%.
- Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has shed 2.1% in the premarket, after the auto maker posted third-quarter net losses of $827 million, noting supply chain issues and additional costs from cutting off its autonomous vehicle unit Argo AI. Ford's earnings and revenue did top expectations, but the stock is looking to add to its 38.3% year-to-date deficit today.
-
Today will be busy, with final sales to domestic purchasers data and core capital equipment orders due out.
Asian Stocks Mixed After South Korea GDP Reading
Stocks in Asia turned in a mixed session, after the release of economic data in the region. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.7%, despite third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growing 0.3% from the previous quarter – its slowest growth since the third quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, China’s industrial profits for January to September experienced a year-over-year decrease of 2.3%, dragging the country’s Shanghai Composite 0.6% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tacked on 0.7%, after Chinese-listed tech stocks in the area jumped at the session’s open, and Samsung released quarterly results. Lastly, the Nikkei in Japan took a 0.3% haircut, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting.
Markets across the pond are taking a step back today, after the European Central Bank (ECB) hiked interest rates by 75 basis points and revealed new conditions for banks in the region. Investors are wondering whether the ECB’s quantitative tightening plans will help curb the bloc’s 10% inflation rate. In addition, a host of earnings were released today, with Credit Suisse, Shell, Unilever, and other major corporations chiming in with results. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is fractionally lower, while France’s CAC 40 and the German DAX are down 1.3% and 1%, respectively.