All three major indexes are lower before the bell
Stock futures are slipping this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down triple digits and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) sitting firmly in the red as well. The ADP employment report showed 235,000 jobs added in December, which is well above estimates, while initial jobless claims for last week fell to a lower-than-expected 204,000. These indicators, though normally a good thing, have Wall Street focused on how hawkish the Fed will need to be amid a strong labor market, especially following yesterday's comments. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed 21% in November.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The SPX hasn't done this since 1974.
- Ant Group update sent China-based stocks soaring.
- Plus, WBA reports earnings; WEN receives a downgrade; and AMZN announces job cuts.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.3 million call contracts and over 1 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.76 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.80.
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Blue-chip pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) is down 4% premarket, despite the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings beat-and-raise, as it suffered a net quarterly loss due to its $6.5 billion opioid litigation charge. Year-over-year, WBA is down 13%.
- Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) is down 1.7% in electronic trading, after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to "perform" from "outperform," though Barclays raised its price target to $28 from $25. WEN is down 4.4% year-over-year.
- The recent tech layoffs are hitting Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), as the company announced it will cut 18,000 jobs. The Big Tech sector is in correctional budgeting territory after a surplus of demand during the pandemic. AMZN is up 0.9% before the bell.
- Today will bring the S&P U.S. services PMI.
Investors Eye Economic Data Overseas
Stocks in Asia closed the session higher, unaffected by the Fed’s commitment to interest rate hikes. China’s Caixin general services purchasing manager’s index (PMI) rose slightly to 48, implying pressure on the sector is easing despite remaining in contraction territory. Similarly, Hong Kong’s S&P PMI inched up to 49.6 last month, showing improvement in the private sector despite four-straight months of contraction. In response, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1% and 1.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nikkei in Japan and South Korea’s Kospi both jumped 0.4%.
In Europe, traders are reacting to the latest economic data out of the euro zone. Italy’s inflation report showed a slowdown from the previous month, following similar reports from France, Germany, and Spain. Meanwhile, German exports for November fell by 0.3%, coming in below economists’ predicted 0.2% growth. The region’s major bourses are most flat in response, with Germany’s DAX up 0.01% and France’s CAC 40 0.08% higher, while London’s FTSE 100 sports a 0.6% midday lead.