Stock Futures Quietly Lower Ahead of Busy Week

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nadaq-100 Index (NDX) are all pointed below breakeven this morning, as investors look ahead to the release of May's consumer price index (CPI) and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later this week. The CME FedWatch tool now predicts just one rate cut for 2024. 

• Solid retail stock for call traders.
• Jobs data was in focus last week.
• Plus, Moderna releases upbeat trial data; Walmart stock upgraded; and Morgan Stanley prefers AMD's competition.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.5 million call contracts and 901,836 put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call fell to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
2. Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) is up 1% ahead of the open, after the pharma giant released phase three data of aCovid-19 and flu combination shot that indicated it's more effective than standalone shots. MRNA is up 51.8% so far in 2024.
3. J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) to "overweight" from "neutral," and lifted its price objective to $81 from $66. The analyst in question said the retailer provides defense and offence top- and bottom-lines in a soft consumer backdrop. WMT is up 25.3% this year, and 1.4% higher in premarket trading.
4. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) attracted a downgrade from Morgan Stanley to "equal weight" from "overweight." The analyst in question said the artificial intelligence (AI)"bar remains high" and praised rival Nvidia (NVDA). AMD still sports a 38.7% year-over-year lead, but is down 2.8% before the bell.
5. The import and export price indexes are due out week this week as well.

European Markets Lower Amid Prelim Parliament Results

Markets in Asia closed mixed today as investors digest last week’s U.S. jobs report, unpack Japan’s softer-than-expected revised first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data, and anticipate Friday’s Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) interest rate decision. Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks were closed for holiday. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.9%, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.8% to halt a five-day win streak.

Across the pond, indexes are struggling amid European Union (EU) preliminary parliament results and French President Emmanuel Macron’s demand for parliamentary elections. The snap elections could boost far right and populist sway across the continent. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen down 0.2%, while bank stocks weighed on France’s CAC 40, last seen sending the index 0.4% lower. Lastly, Germany’s DAX is off 0.5%.