The producer price index (PPI) for January was hotter than expected
More red-hot inflation data rolled in this morning, to Wall Street's dismay. The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.7% in January, compared to expectations of a 0.4% pop, while jobless claims dipped last week. Both readings have left investors worried the Federal Reserve will continue to pursue aggressive interest rate hikes. At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are both eyeing a triple-digit drop, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are also pointed sharply lower.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.3 million call contracts and 774,695 put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.63 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.79.
- Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) stock is up 3.6% in premarket trading, after the software giant reported a fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue win. The company also hiked its 2023 forecast due to strong demand, and has drawn at least 10 price-target hikes. CSCO is still down 10.7% year-over-year.
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Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) suspended production of its F-150 Lightning
electric vehicle (EV) until the end of next week after a battery fire earlier this month. The stock is down 1% ahead of the open and shed 24.9% over the last 12 months.
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The shares of
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) are up 3.8% before the bell and trending on Stocktwits.com, after the
space travel name shared it has completed its test flight. So far in 2023, Virgin Galactic stock has added 72.7%.
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Housing starts and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index are also on tap.
Asian Markets Mostly Higher After Economic Data
Markets in Asia were mostly higher today, as investors unpacked Japan’s worst trade deficit ever, coming in at 3.5 trillion yen ($26 billion), as well as retail sales data out of the U.S. China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tacked on 0.8%, and the South Korean Kospi rose 2%.
European bourses, meanwhile, are on the rise. The U.K. consumer price index (CPI) for January came in at a 10.1%, representing the third-straight monthly drop, though analysts anticipated the rate to drop to 10.3%. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.1%, the German DAX has added 0.3%, and the French CAC 40 has gained 0.9%, earlier hitting a record high of €7,387.29.