The Nasdaq is looking to add to its sizable run higher
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both higher this morning, while Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures sport a triple-digit lead after the tech-heavy benchmark secured its best day since July. Investors are reading over earnings reports from retail giants' like Macy's (M) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), and looking towards Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole appearance on Friday.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Multi-billion dollar merger puts chip stock in spotlight.
- Cybersecurity giant sees post-earnings options pop.
- Plus, Lowe's reports earnings; Applovin stock upgraded; and more on the Microsoft-Activision takeover.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call and 907,406 put contracts exchanged on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio dropped to 0.55 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.
- Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) is 2.7% higher in electronic trading, after the home improvement retailer posted second-quarter earnings that bested Wall Street's estimates. Revenue, however, fell short of forecasts, but Lowe's still reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Should today's premarket pop hold, LOW will add to its relatively thin 3% year-over-year lead.
- Jefferies upgraded the shares of Applovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $50. The firm said in its bull note that investors should look towards the application marketing company's "sustainable growth (despite a weak mobile market), continued share shift, optionality on adjacent markets, and reasonably valuation." Up 4.3% before the bell, APP is more than 270% higher in 2023.
-
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) is 1.2% higher premarket, after the tech giant submitted a
revised takeover deal of videogame firm Activision Blizzard (ATVI) to British regulators. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has to make a decision by Oct. 18. Year to date, MSFT is up 34.2%.
- Investors will pore over existing home sales today.
Overseas Markets Mirror Stateside Gains
Asian markets finished the day higher, after rising bond yields in the U.S. took focus globally. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1%, after the region’s inflation rate slowed to 1.8% in July, compared to analysts’ anticipated 2%. South Korean’s consumer sentiment index fell to 103.1, the first drop in six months, and the country’s Kospi added 0.3%. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite both added 0.9%.
European markets are on the rise as well, while the region’s gas prices are seeing a sharp uptick due to potential strike action in Australia. Meanwhile, British manufacturing output dropped to its lowest level since September 2020 in the three months ending in August. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.7% at last glance, while the French CAC 40 rises 1.3%, and the German DAX jumps 1.2%.