The U.S. employment costs index rose 1% in the fourth quarter
Stock futures are on their way higher this morning, as investors unpack a slew of corporate earnings and await the start of today's highly anticipated Fed meeting. Meanwhile, the U.S. employment cost index (ECI) rose 1% in the fourth quarter -- below estimates of 1.1% -- which does little to curb the Fed's hawkish stance regarding inflation. All three major indexes are heading toward impressive monthly wins, with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) eyeing its best January since 2019.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone details a bullish case for the S&P 500.
- Medtech stock could conquer long-term resistance.
- Plus, SPOT's earnings blowout; a strong forecast for GM; and Pfizer's grim outlook.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.2 million call contracts and 719,610 contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.56 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.81.
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Making moves pre-market is music streaming name Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT), after the company reported an upbeat fourth quarter earnings and revenue. SPOT cited strong user growth and is now sporting a 26% year-to-date gain.
- General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM) is up 4.7% before the bell, after the automotive name beat top- and bottom-line estimates for its fourth quarter. The company also issued a strong 2023 forecast. Year-over-year, the equity is up 27.8%.
- The shares of Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) are down 2.9% in electronic trading, after the company's mixed fourth-quarter report and disappointing guidance. Since the start of the year, PFE is down 15%.
- Today will bring the S&P Case-Shiller and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) home price indexes, the rental vacancy rate, the Chicago business barometer, and the consumer confidence index,
Investors Unpack Economic Data Overseas
Stocks in Asia were lower Tuesday, dragged down by regional economic data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1% and 0.4%, respectively, even after the latter’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) expanded for the first time since October. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1%, after factory output fell 7.3% in December – its worst annualized reading since May 2020. Rounding out the region, Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.4% lower, after December’s unemployment rate of 2.5% met expectations.
Better-than-expected economic growth isn’t helping European bourses this afternoon. In a surprise for analysts, the euro zone economy grew 0.1% in the final quarter of 2022. When broken down by country though, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, contracted by 0.2%, while France’s economic growth also slowed during the quarter. At last glance, the German DAX and French CAC 40 are 0.4% and 0.3% lower, respectively, while London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.7%.