Wall Street is sputtering to start 2024
Stock futures are pointed firmly lower this morning, as stock market continues to stumble into the new year. Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin believes the economy is on track for a "soft landing," however, he noted that potential rate hikes are still on the table this year, depending on economic data. Meanwhile, investors are eyeing Bitcoin (BTC), which yesterday hit its highest level since 2022.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Stock market optimism could be too fast too soon, says Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research, Todd Salamone.
- This retail stock has room to run.
- Plus, SOFI downgraded; BLMN adds board members; and PGTI's buyout offer.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.2 million call contracts and 818,393 put contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.65, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.69.
- SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI) stock is down 7.1% premarket, after a downgrade from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) to "underperform" from "market perform," with a price-target cut to $6.50 from $7.50. Over the last year, SOFI has risen an impressive 109.3%.
- Bloomin' Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) stock is up 2.6% before the bell, after news that the Olive Garden parent added two new members to its board. Plus, Raymond James lifted its price target to $30 from $28. The stock has pulled back from Dec. 28 multi-year peak of $28.75, but is still up 13.5% in the last month.
- The shares of PGT Innovations Inc (NYSE:PGTI) are up 4.2% in electronic trading, after the construction company announced that it received an unsolicited buyout offer from Miter Brands. On the charts, the stock is poised to break past its Dec. 27 record high of $41.61.
- Plenty of economic data scheduled this week.
Stocks Stumbling Overseas as Well
Stocks in Asia closed Wednesday mostly lower, led by the Kospi’s 2.3% loss after tech and semiconductor stocks stumbled on Barclays’ downgrade to Apple (AAPL). China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, following a report that China removed a government official that oversaw the gaming sector.
European stocks are lower this afternoon, as the region extends a dim start to 2024. At last glance, France’s CAC 40 is down 1.5%, Germany’s DAX is 1% lower, and London’s FTSE 100 is off by 0.6%.