The S&P 500 marked a record close yesterday but is choppy today
Stock futures are little changed this morning. Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are staging the biggest swing with a 48-point deficit, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) trade flat following yesterday's record close. Investors are awaiting tomorrow's producer price index and retail sales data, though in the meantime, mortgage rates dropped below 7% -- coming in at 6.84% for last week. Elsewhere, oil prices are on the rise following a drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What the SPX's price/earnings ratio says about this year, per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Options bulls unfazed by Kohl's stock selloff.
- Plus, Dollar Tree stores closing; TSLA downgraded; and WOOF surges.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1 million call contracts and 794,205 put contracts exchanged Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.68, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.71.
- Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) stock is down 7.3% premarket, after the discount retailer announced disappointing fourth-quarter results, as well as the closure of nearly 1,000 stores. On the charts, this will effectively end DLTR's recent rally, as the stock has been climbing since mid January. Should these losses hold, the stock will slip into negative territory year over year and in 2024.
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is off 2.2% before the bell, after a downgrade from Wells Fargo to "underweight" from "equal weight," as well as a price-target cut to $125 from $200. Since the start of the year, the electric vehicle (EV) giant is down 25.8% heading into today.
- The shares of Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) are up 9.8% in electronic trading, after the company announced strong fourth-quarter results as well as a c-suite shakeup. Ron Coughlin is stepping down as CEO, Chairman, and a member of the board, with previous independent director Michael Mohan taking his place. Year over year, the equity is down 73.3%.
- Tomorrow's economic data will be a lot to unpack.
Unemployment Rate Falls in South Korea
Markets in Asia were mostly lower in reaction to the inflation data stateside. Unemployment in South Korea fell from 3% in January to 2.6% for February, helping the Kospi add 0.4% in response. But that was it for the winner’s circle; Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3%, pivoting into the red for a third consecutive loss, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.07% and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.4%.
Across the pond, it's slightly more optimistic, especially after U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) data showed a modest rise of 0.2% for January and several retail giants enjoy big gains after posting upbeat outlooks. At last check, Germany’s DAX and London’s FTSE 100 are flat, while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.5%.