Wholesale prices rose less than analysts anticipated in October
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are higher this morning, last seen up 386 points thanks to upbeat earnings from Walmart (WMT). Also encouraging investors is the latest producer price index (PPI) reading, which showed wholesale prices rising 0.2% in October, as opposed to the 0.4% pop Wall Street anticipated. The cooler-than-expected inflation data also has S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures pointed higher, with all three benchmarks set to resume their rallies after yesterday's breather.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- AMC stock surged on "Black Panther" success.
- Call traders doubled their money with this bank stock.
- Plus, more on WMT earnings; quarterly win boosts TME; and the retailer nearing a major acquisition.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts and 1 million put contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.61, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
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Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is up 7.1% ahead of the open, after the retail giant reported a third-quarter top- and bottom-line win, thanks to strong grocery sales. The company also beat comparable sales expectations, and announced a $20 billion
share buyback program. Year-over-year, WMT remains down 6.3%.
- Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) shared better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue earlier, following a jump in paid subscribers. The shares are up 9.9% in premarket trading, but have shed nearly 50% over the last 12 months.
- The shares of Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) are up 2.1% before the bell, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the cosmetics name is nearing a $2.8 billion deal to buy luxury fashion brand Tom Ford, in what could be its biggest acquisition to date. Year-to-date, EL is down 40.4%.
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Today will bring the Empire state manufacturing index.
European Markets Modestly Higher After U.K. Jobs Data
Stocks in Asia moved higher today in the wake of Monday’s meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Disappointing industrial production and retail sales data kept gains in check for China’s Shanghai Composite, though it still managed a healthy 1.6% advance. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4.1% thanks to a resurgent tech sector, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.2%, and Japan’s Nikkei closed flat.
European markets are sporting slim gains this afternoon, just after the U.K. posted unemployment growth of 3.6% for September and payrolls numbers that hit an all-time high of 29.8 million for October. Over in Germany, investor sentiment rose from November to October. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is sitting at breakeven, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.6%, and Germany’s DAX carries a 0.1% gain.