The producer price index reading for May was cooler than anticipated
The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision is the star of today's show, though traders are also unpacking a cooler-than-expected producer price index (PPI) reading for May. Wall Street seems confident the central bank will skip another rate hike, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell expected to provide more economic insight during his presser. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are pointed lower, while the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) sport modest premarket leads.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Plug Power stock surges on upbeat guidance.
- This bullish SPX signal has a solid track record.
- Plus, AMD pops on new AI chip; Shell hikes dividends; and fintech stock named a "top pick."
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.1 million call contracts and over 1.2 million put contacts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.56 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
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Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is up 3.3% in premarket trading, after the company introduced a
new chip for artificial intelligence (AI), which will be available later this year and compete with
Nvidia's (NVDA) chips. The security has attracted at least 10 price-target hikes, and sports a 92.3% year-to-date lead.
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Shell PLC (NYSE:SHEL) announced a $5 billion buyback plan to be completed by the second half of the year, and
hiked dividends by 15% from the second quarter as it noted crude output will be maintained through 2030. The equity was up 2.3% before the bell, and is looking to consolidate above its year-to-date breakeven.
- BTGI is bullish on SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI), calling it a "top pick" and hiking its price target to $14 amid resuming student loan payments. Last seen up 2.3% higher before the bell, the security already boasts a 106.9% lead for 2023.
- The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision is due out later today.
Stateside Inflation Data, U.K. GDP Boost European Stocks
Asian markets finished mostly lower, with the exception of Japan’s Nikkei, which jumped 1.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%, while China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.1%, as economists on Wall Street warned that China’s property market weakness could continue for years. The South Korean Kospi shed 0.7%, after the nation’s export prices fell 11.2% year-over-year – the most since March 2010 – while import prices dropped 12% year-on-year. The country’s unemployment rate also returned to the record low of 2.5% it saw last August.
Stocks in Europe are gaining midday, as investors eye stateside inflation data, as well as the U.K.’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.2% in April. London’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both 0.5% higher at last glance, while the French CAC 40 tacks on 0.7%.