Stocks are sporting mild losses ahead of the open
Stock futures are inching lower, as investors look ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) interest rate decision, due out at 2 p.m. ET, at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will also deliver a statement, while the majority of Wall Street awaits an expected 25 basis point hike. Meanwhile, there are plenty of corporate earnings reports to unpack this morning.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:.
- The bank ETF to watch, per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Pinduoduo stock flashes historically bullish signal.
- Plus, meme stock soars; LAZR downgraded; and WOOF drops after earnings.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.2 million call contracts and 767,521 put contracts traded on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.62 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.79.
- GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) is soaring ahead of the open, up 48.9%, after the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and first such profit in two years. The retailer’s gross margin also rose year-over-year, and Wedbush raised its price target to $6.50. Should these gains hold, GME's year-over-year and year-to-date deficits will turn into leads, and it will gap above pressure at its 120-day moving average.
- The shares of Luminar Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:LAZR) are down 8.9% premarket, after a downgrade from Goldman Sachs to "sell" from "neutral." Eyeing its fourth-straight daily loss, the equity is still up 56.2% year-to-date heading into today.
-
Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) is off 7.6% in electronic trading, after the company's disappointing fourth-quarter results and full-year forecasts. Year-over-year, WOOF is down 47.6%.
-
The Fed's interest rate decision is the only thing
on tap today.
Stocks Rise in Asia, Europe
Asian markets settled firmly higher on Wednesday, mirroring Wall Street’s overnight gains ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2%, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.
European markets are also higher, despite accelerating consumer price inflation in the U.K. Investors are also looking ahead to the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy meeting tomorrow. At last check, the German DAX is up 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.4% higher, and London’s FTSE 100 sports a 0.2% lead.