Stock futures aren't moving much ahead of the open
Stock futures are quiet this morning, as investors assess Walmart's (WMT) strong first-quarter earnings report, while still keeping an eye on debt ceiling negotiations. As far as economic data, jobless claims came in at 242,000 for last week, below estimates of 250,000. Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index rose 29 points to a better-than-expected -10.4 for May.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Podcast: Everything you should know about the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100.
- AI stock is having a big week.
- Plus, strong revenue for Take-Two; CSCO drops after earnings; and MU's billion-dollar investment.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts and 991,349 put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.68 and the 21-day moving average fell to 0.74.
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) is up 12.6% premarket, despite a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings miss and lower-than-expected forecast. Instead, strong revenue is lifting sentiment, with no fewer than 10 analysts hiking their price targets, due to a flood of highly-anticipated upcoming video-game titles. Year-to-date, Take-Two stock -- a historical May outperformer -- is up 20%.
- Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) is down 4.3% before the bell, brushing off upbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings, after the company announced a 23% decline in orders. No fewer than four analysts slashed their price targets, while one threw in a price-target hike. Year-over-year, CSCO is down 5.9%.
- Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) is up 1.5% in electronic trading, after reports that the chipmaker plans to invest $3.7 billion in Japan for new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. Micron stock is up 29.9% since the start of the year.
- Here is what to watch for economic data this week.
Overseas Investors Eye Stateside Debt Ceiling
Asian markets were higher Thursday, as traders in the region bet on U.S. government official to agree to a deal that would lift the U.S. debt ceiling – possibly “by the end of the week,” according to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Japan’s Nikkei led the gainers, surging 1.6% after the trade deficit narrowed in the country in April, while imports fell more than expected and exports came nearly in line with forecasts. Rounding out the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, South Korea’s Kospi, and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.9%, 0.8%, and 0.4%, respectively.
European investors are also optimistic about the debt ceiling talks, with all three major bourses higher this afternoon. At last glance, Germany’s DAX is up 1.7%, while the CAC 40 in France is up 0.9%, and London’s FTSE 100 boasts a 0.5% midday lead.