Stocks are rising as inflation seems to be on the right path, per the Fed's favorite gauge
Stock futures are moving higher this morning, with all three major indexes headed for outsized weekly gains. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index -- the Fed's preferred inflation metric -- rose 0.1% in August and 2.2% at an annualized rate, while the closely watched core PCE price index rose 0.1% for the month and 2.7% year over year. Compared to analyst expectations, all numbers met or came in just below estimates, another data set that inches closer to the central bank's target.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- 3 airline stocks seeing sector tailwinds.
- A look at the chip sector after Micron's power-up.
- Plus, BMY gets FDA boost; and two stocks slipping after downgrades.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.6 million call contracts and 849,699 put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.50 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) stock is up 4.1% premarket, after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved its schizophrenia treatment, Cobenfy. Should these gains hold, the pharma stock will break into positive territory for 2024.
- Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) stock is down 1.9% before the bell, after the discount retailer was downgrade by Citigroup to "sell" from "neutral." The analyst in coverage cited change sin industry dynamics and Walmart's (WMT) growing market share as catalysts for the bear note. Year to date, the equity is down 36%.
- Shares of Bumble Inc (NASDAQ:BMBL) are off 2% in electronic trading, after Keybanc downgraded the dating app to "sector weight" from "overweight, noting weak app store data. Since the start of the year, BMBL is down 56.3%.
- What's coming up next week on Wall Street.
China Stocks Score Historic Week
Chinese markets marked their best week since roughly 2008 thanks to recent stimulus buzz out of the country. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 12.75% for the week -- its best performance since early 1998 -- and climbed 3.6% for the session, while China’s Shanghai Composite added 2.9% on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.3%, and South Korea’s Kospi was the only loser, slipping 0.8%.
Stocks are comfortably higher in Europe, with investors digesting preliminary inflation data out of Spain and France, which suggested a steep fall in harmonized inflation. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 has added 0.5%, and Germany’s DAX is 1.1% higher.