The Dow and Nasdaq have been enjoying a pre-Christmas rally
Wall Street is holding steady, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures higher as both benchmarks look to turn in their ninth-straight win. Futures on the the the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are higher as well, as investors digest better-than-expected housing starts data and a weakening 10-year Treasury yield, last seen trading at 3.903%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Sentiment indicators say approach the New Year with caution.
- Biotech firm finally conquers antitrust battle.
- Plus, Alphabet's antitrust resolution, and 2 analyst notes to know.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.5 million call contracts and 900,395 put contracts traded Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
- Shares of tech behemoth Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are 0.4% before the open, after the Google parent agreed to pay $700 million to resolve one antitrust claim regarding its app store. Year to date, GOOGL is up 53.9%.
- Jefferies initiated coverage on Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) with a "buy" rating and a $27 price target. The bull note is helping the online pet products retailer rise 3% premarket, though it remains down 41.5% in 2023.
- Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), meanwhile, was downgraded at Piper Sander. The analysts adjusted its rating to "underweight" from "neutral" and lowered its price target to $2.30 from $6.50. In response, PLUG is down 5% ahead of the open, adding to its 68.4% year-over-year deficit.
- Investors will parse plenty of economic data before the short Christmas week.
Bank of Japan Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged
Japan’s Nikkei added 1.4% on Tuesday, outpacing Asian markets after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its benchmark interest rate at -0.1%, though it also warned core inflation will stay above 2% in 2024 amid high economic uncertainties. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite and South Korea’s Kospi settled slightly above breakeven with 0.05% and 0.07% gains, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8%.
European investors are keeping a close eye on today’s Group of Seven (G7) meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. The German DAX is 0.4% higher, France’s CAC 40 sports a modest 0.04% lead, and London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.06%.