The Fed didn't shock anyone yesterday, but its still on Wall Street's mind
Stock futures are lower today, as Wall Street unpacks yesterday's interest rate hike, along with the latest batch of corporate earnings reports. Regional bank stocks in focus as well, including PacWest Bancorp (PACW), after reports of a potential sale. At last check, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 69 points, while Nasdaq-100 (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sit modestly in the red.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Small-cap stocks keep separating from big caps.
- The rate hike has come and gone--now what?
- Plus, two stocks staging large post-earnings swings; and FHN plummets after called off takeover deal.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.1 million call contracts and 879,202 put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.75 and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.76.
- Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) are down 16.6% premarket, after the company's worse-than-expected first-quarter results following slower subscriber growth and a weak ad market. Heading into today, the streaming stock is up 35.6% year-to-date.
- Conversely, Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) is soaring 16.8% before the bell after an upbeat first quarter, Plus, the e-commerce name announced it is selling the two biggest parts of its fulfillment network, abandoning its logistics ambitions, and cutting 20% of its workforce. Looking to swing back to its February peak, today's pop will have Shopify stock jumping back into positive territory year-over-year.
- First Horizon Corp (NYSE:FHN) is plummeting 40.2% in electronic trading, after news that TD Bank has called off its $13.4 billion merger agreement in a mutual decision. Heading into today, FHN is down 38.6% year-to-date.
- Productivity and trade deficit data is on tap today.
Investors Overseas React to Fed Decision
Stocks in Asia closed Thursday mixed after the U.S. Federal Reserve issued another interest rate hike. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.3%, after the area’s central bank raised interest rates to 5.5%, following the stateside move. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite added 0.8%, even after the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) marked its first contraction in three months. Rounding out the region, South Korea’s Kospi logged a marginal loss, and Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
European market are lower, as investors react to the U.S. interest rate decision. Traders are also digesting the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate hike, which showed a 25-basis point lift. What’s more, German exports fell a more-than-expected 5.2% in March. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both down 0.8%, while the French CAC 40 sports a 1% midday loss.