Unemployment claims were higher than analysts anticipated
Wall Street has plenty of economic data to sift through this morning. Starting off with jobs, unemployment claims rose to 215,000 last week, above analysts' expectations of a jump to 210,000. The highly anticipated personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for January, meanwhile, met estimates of a 0.4% monthly rise and 2.8% year-over-year pop. Several Federal Reserve officials will speak later today, and personal income data is also due out.
The figures are boosting sentiment, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) last seen above breakeven after earlier swimming in red ink, while futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both eyeing comfortable gains as well.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Cybersecurity stock quadrupled bulls' money.
- Looking into the implications of quadrennial leap day.
- Plus, Best Buy's stellar holiday quarter; Salesforce's dismal outlook; and C3.ai beats on revenue.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.5 million call contracts and 755,013 put contracts exchanged Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.48, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.70.
- Tech retailer Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) reported a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue win, thanks to holiday deals that drove consumer demand. The security is up 2.7% ahead of the open, and added 12.6% in the last three months.
- Cloud name Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) issued a disappointing revenue outlook for 2024, which is overshadowing better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. CRM is down 0.6% in premarket trading, but still boasts an 83.2% year-over-year lead.
- C3.ai Inc (NYSE:AI) stock is up 15.2% before the bell, after news of the artificial intelligence (AI) company's smaller-than-expected losses for the fourth quarter, as well as its a revenue beat. The company rose more than 31% in the last 12 months.
- Fed remarks are on tap this week.
Asian Stocks Mostly Lower Ahead of China CPI Data
Stocks in Asia were mostly lower today. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.1% after manufacturing output declined 7.5% in January. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.2%. China’s Shanghai Composite was the region’s only winner, adding 1.9% ahead of the country’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading tomorrow.
Stocks in Europe are faring slightly better. Germany’s DAX is 0.4% higher this afternoon after the country’s inflation was in line with expectations, easing to 2.7% this month. Rounding out the region, London’s FTSE 100 sports a 0.3% lead, while France’s CAC 40 is down 0.1%.