All three major indexes are higher ahead of the open
Stock futures are looking to rebound from yesterday's losses, as tech stocks recover. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures are sporting triple-digit premarket leads, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) moves higher as well.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak before the House Financial Services Committee today, and his prepared remarks reiterate that while interest rates will likely come down this year, but was ambiguous about specifics. Elsewhere, the ADP employment report showed 140,000 new jobs in February, compared to Wall Street's estimate of 150,000.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analyzing the recent SPX uptrend with Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- 2 tech stocks with China exposure in focus yesterday.
- Plus, CRWD eyes all-time highs; Palantir's new contract; and FL takes post-earnings tumble.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.3 million call contracts and 923,423 put contracts exchanged Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.70, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.70.
- CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock is up 23% before the bell, after the cybersecurity company's upbeat fourth-quarter results and strong 2025 forecast. No fewer than 24 analysts lifted their price targets after the event. Should these gains hold, CRWD will gap to fresh record highs.
- Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) are up 8.4% premarket, after the software company secured a $178.4 million contract from the U.S. military to develop ten artificial intelligence-powered ground stations. It's part of a greater project called Titian, or Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node. Since last February, Palantir stock is up 187.6% heading into today.
- Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) appears to be keeping with its history of large post-earnings swings, down 12.6% in electronic trading after the retailer's disappointing fourth-quarter results and annual guidance. Should these losses hold, FL will slip in negative territory for 2024.
- Plenty more economic data to monitor this week.
Inflation Rises in South Korea
Asian markets finished mixed, with several indexes paring early losses. Investors are expecting the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to lower its assessments for factory output and consumption in March, while inflation in South Korea saw its first rise in three months, coming in at 3.1% for February. In response, Japan’s Nikkei finished marginally lower, but held the 40,000 level, while South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite both lost 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng paced the region with a 1.7% jump.
Stocks in Europe are modestly higher this afternoon, as investors ready to hear the U.K.’s budget statement for 2024. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX sit just above breakeven.