Bond yields are rising again, while tech stocks take a breather
Following a stellar year, the stock market is poised to stumble into 2024. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are both down triple digits, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) sit lower as well. After a transcendent 2023, tech stocks are fighting the hangover today, especially as the 10-year Treasury yield climbs back to 4%. Elsewhere, fresh off their first yearly deficit since 2020, oil prices are jumping, with February-dated crude futures last seen up 2.4% at $73.35 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Just how good were Big Tech stocks in 2023?
- Biotech buzz, M&A news defined the last week of the year.
- Plus, ASML blocked from exports; MRNA upgraded; and AAPL's bear note.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts and 907,650 put contracts traded on Friday, Dec. 29. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.65, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
- ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ:ASML) stock is down 2.7% premarket, after reports that the semiconductor equipment maker's shipping license has been revoked by the Dutch government, due to sending some of its tools to China. Year over year, the equity sports a 37.2% gain.
- Following a rough 2023, with the stock sporting a 44.4% year-over-year deficit, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) this morning received an upgrade from Oppenheimer to "outperform" from "perform," with a price-target hike to $142. The firm cited multiple catalysts, including other vaccines outside of Covid-19. In electronic trading, MRNA is brushing off the bull note, down 0.6% at last look.
- The shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) are down 2.3% before the bell, after Barclays downgraded the tech giant to "underweight" from "equal weight," citing slow demand for the iPhone 15. In the last year, AAPL has tacked on 48.2%.
- Plenty of economic data scheduled this week.
Manufacturing Data Overseas
Stocks in Asia closed the first session of 2024 mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the laggards with a 1.5% loss, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% after the country’s manufacturing purchasing mangers’ index (PMI) contracted once again in December. South Korea’s Kospi, meanwhile, rose 0.6%, and Japan’s markets are closed until Jan. 4, after a massive earthquake devastated the country’s central region on New Year’s Day.
European markets are lower this afternoon, following an S&P Global PMI reading that suggested the euro zone entered a recession in last year’s third quarter. In addition, manufacturing data across the region was worse-than-expected ahead of a deluge of inflation data due out later this week. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX are down 0.6%, while France’s CAC 40 is 0.8% lower.