The major indexes are trading relatively flat across the board this morning
Stock futures are mixed to finish off a busy week of inflation data, as investors brace for volatility that may come from "Triple Witching" Friday. This means that stock options, market index options and market index futures all expire today, as they do once every quarter.
In the meantime, the New York Fed’s Empire State manufacturing gauge fell 18.5 points to negative 20.9 in March, its third-straight negative reading. Elsewhere, import prices rose for the second month, adding 0.3% in February and contributing to inflation.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Back to basics: applying money management principles to options trading.
- Retail stock hit record highs after earnings.
- Plus, analyst sees upside for RIVN; and two stocks plummeting after earnings.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.4 million call contracts and 926,923 put contracts exchanged Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.71.
- Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock is up 3.7% premarket, after an upgrade from Piper Sandler to "overweight" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $21 from $15. Heading into today, the embattled electric vehicle (EV) stock is down 54.4% since the start of the year.
- Jabil Inc (NYSE:JBL) stock is down 11.2% before the bell, after the electronics company's annual forecast came in below expectations, despite fiscal second-quarter earnings narrowly beating estimates. Dropping further from last week's record highs, the equity is up 83.6% since last March.
- The shares of Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) are off 11.3% in electronic trading, despite upbeat fiscal first-quarter results, after the software company's disappointing current-quarter guidance. A flood of analysts slashed their price targets after the earnings event. Year over year, ADBE is up 71%, but is slightly lower year-to-date.
- Next week will bring a handful of economic data, as well as the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision.
Stocks Drop in Asia Despite Wage Growth in Japan
Markets in Asia were mostly lower today, as investors unpacked yesterday’s hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data. China’s Shanghai Composite was the region’s only winner, adding 0.5% following a drop in housing prices and a People’s Bank decision to keep its one-year lending facility rate at 2.5%. Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.3%, even after Rengo, the country’s biggest trade union, said employees are expecting the largest surge in compensation in over 30 years. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng pulled back 1.4% as healthcare stocks weighed, while South Korea’s Kospi led losses with a 1.9% drop.
Across the pond, investors are in better shape, with all three indexes higher at midday. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, Germany’s DAX has added 0.4% thanks to a 10% post-earnings pop from HelloFresh, and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.5%.