Wall Street has a busy week ahead of the 4th of July holiday on Thursday
Wall Street is looking to kick off the second half of 2024 on a positive note. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are all confidently above breakeven, after the major indexes wrapped up a strong month. Traders are eyeing today's release of the S&P purchasing managers' index (PMI) and Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing data for June, as they prepare for the Fourth of July market closure on Thursday.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How options win out over stocks.
- Buyout deal boosted Infinera stock.
- Plus, Roaring Kitty pounces on CHWY, and two analyst upgrades to monitor.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.9 million call contracts and 1.2 million put contracts traded on Friday. The single-session equity put/call fell to 0.64, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.67.
- Meme stock trader Keith Gill, better known as Roaring Kitty, is betting on Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY). Per a regulatory filing, Gill bought 9 million shares, or a 6.6% stake in the company. CHWY is up 10.8% in premarket trading, and has added over 49% in the last nine months.
- UBS upgraded Birkenstock Holding PLC (NYSE:BIRK) to "buy" from "neutral" earlier, with the analyst in coverage citing Asia growth and higher average sales prices. BIRK is up 4% ahead of the open, and boasts an 11.7% year-to-date lead.
- Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) stock scored an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs. The firm noted the energy name's for rapidly increasing earnings per share and its prominence in the energy sector. ICE added 21.9% in the last 12 months.
- Plenty of economic data due out this holiday-shortened week.
European Markets Rise Amid Election Results
Over the weekend, China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remained unchanged at 49.5, its second-straight month below the 50-mark that represents contraction. South Korea’s manufacturing PMI came in at 52 from the previous month’s 51.6, its highest expansion in factory activity since February 2022. Elsewhere, Japan revised its first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) contraction to 2.9% on an annual basis from 1.8%. In response, Asian markets all moved modestly higher on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei adding 0.1%, China’s Shanghai Composite rising 0.9%, and the South Korean Kospi tacking on 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed for holiday.
Stocks are higher over in Europe as well. The French CAC 40 is leading the gains, up 1.6% at last glance, as investors unpack the country’s first round of election results, which was won by the far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally party. Both London’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX are up 0.4%.