The S&P 500 nabbed a record close on Friday
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are firmly higher to start the new week, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are also on the rise, set to build on the benchmark's record close on Friday. There will be plenty of big-name earnings due out the rest of the week, with investors also eyeing Thursday's gross domestic product (GDP) report.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Unity Software stock is a Schaeffer's top pick for 2024.
- A quick recap of the market last week, highlighted by moving bond yields.
- Plus, ADM plummets; SEDG announces job cuts; and IFF upgraded.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.2 million call contracts and over 1.3 million put contracts traded on expiration Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.59, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.71.
- Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (NYSE:ADM) stock is down 15.4% premarket, after the food processing giant placed CFO Vikram Luthar on administrative leave amid an investigation, while also announcing lower-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance. On track for its fifth-straight drop, ADM is looking at nearly three-year lows should these losses hold.
- SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) stock is 3.2% higher in electronic trading, after the solar company announced it was cutting 16% of its workforce. SEDG has only closed two days higher since the start of the year, already down 26.2% this month.
- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) stock is up 1.9% before the bell, after an upgrade from Morgan Stanley to "overweight" from "equal weight," with a price-target hike to $90 from $81. Year over year, the equity is down 29.2%.
- Plenty of blue-chip earnings reports this week.
China Maintains Rates
Stocks in Asia were mostly lower Monday, after the People Bank of China left the one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged. In response, the country’s Shanghai Composite fell 2.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased 2.3% as real estate stocks dropped. South Korea’s Kospi dropped a more modest 0.3%, as investors prepare for the country’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data that’s due out on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei bucked the sour sentiment, adding 1.6% and hitting an almost 34-year peak after the country’s central bank began its two-day policy meeting.
The major European bourses sport solid leads this afternoon, as investors await the euro zone’s preliminary consumer confidence data for January. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is up a fractional 0.05%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX are both 0.4% higher.