The major benchmarks are higher before the bell
Stock futures are on the rise this morning, as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, but Wall Street is still eager to hear comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2 p.m. ET today. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up triple digits ahead of the open, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures firmly higher as well. Elsewhere, oil prices appear ready to take a breather today, while bond yields dip from yesterday's highs.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Rising oil prices may not help stocks, says Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Semiconductor stock flashing bull signal.
- Plus, a big day ahead for PINS; DG dinged; and a tech stock upgraded.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1 million call and more than 767,543 put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.76 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.66.
- Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) stock is up 4.5% premarket, after the image sharing company announced a $1 billion share buyback plan and CEO Bill Ready said he expects growing revenue in the coming years. In response, Citigroup and D.A. Davidson both upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral." The stock's 320-day moving average caught yesterday's pullback, with PINS up 7.9% in 2023.
- Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) stock is down 2% before the bell, after a downgrade from J.P. Morgan Securities to "underweight" from "neutral." Should these losses hold, Dollar General stock could hit a fresh four-year low. DG is down 53.3% in 2023.
- The shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) are up 3.5% in electronic trading, after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares to "outperform" from "neutral." Since the start of the year, the tech stock is up 39.2%.
- See what economic data is scheduled this week.
China's Rate Decision Weighs
China’s decision to leave its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged weighed on the region’s major bourses. The country’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6%. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei took a 0.7% haircut after the country’s trade deficit fell 66.7% in August, while the Kospi closed Wednesday muted after South Korea’s producer price index (PPI) rose 1% -- marking the first pop for the area’s inflation in over a year.
Stocks in Europe are higher after U.K. inflation came in lower than expected, and ahead of the stateside interest rate decision. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40, and Germany’s DAX were up 0.8%, 0.5%, and 0.6%, respectively.