Unemployment claims for last week rose only slightly
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures are trading near breakeven this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are pointed modestly higher, as investors sift through a batch of earnings reports. Jobs data is in focus as well, with the number of unemployment claims rising only slightly to 219,000 last week, signaling the labor market remains strong.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts and 1 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.54 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) stock is up 1.2% in premarket trading, brushing off a revenue miss after the company also shared better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The
pharmaceutical giant said demand for its diabetes and weight loss drugs is on the rise. LLY is up 19.5% in the last 12 months.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) announced a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue win, but also unveiled a weak 2025 outlook and efforts to cut $2 billion in costs. BMY is down 4.7% before the bell, looking to trim its healthy 21.2% year-over-year lead.
- Shares of Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) are up 13.5% ahead of the open. Though the fitness name reported wider-than-expected losses for the fourth quarter, it still beat on revenue and revealed it is inching closer to profitability. PTON added a whopping 159.6% in the last six months.
- Key jobs data still on tap this week.
European, Asian Markets React to Interest Rate Updates
Asian markets mirrored overnight stateside gains. Chinese stocks led the charge, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 1.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite tacking on 1.3%. South Korea’s Kospi popped 1.1%, with small caps in particular outperforming, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6% after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) said its “necessary” to lift short-term interest rates to “at least around 1%” by the second half of fiscal 2025. Elsewhere in Japan, the massive auto merger between Honda and Nissan is in jeopardy, after the latter’s CEO telling the former to terminate the talks.
Meanwhile, the major European bourses are higher this afternoon, as investors digest a deluge of corporate earnings and the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to cut interest rates by a quarter point. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is 1.5% higher, while France’s CAC 40 rises 1%, and Germany’s DAX boasts a 0.8% lead.