Jobless claims for last week saw a slightly higher-than-expected uptick
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are eyeing a triple-digit drop this morning, following Walmart's (WMT) profit warning. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are pointed lower as well, after the latter index yesterday nabbed another record high. Traders are still digesting the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes, which showed officials agreed inflation needs to move lower before interest rate cuts. Wall Street is also unpacking a slightly higher-than-expected rise in jobless claims for last week to 219,000.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.9 million call contracts and 1.1 million put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.60 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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The shares of
Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) are down 7.9% in premarket trading, brushing off better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue after
the retailer warned of slowing profit growth for fiscal 2026. WMT sports a 77.4% year-over-year lead.
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR (NYSE:BABA) stock is up 10.5% before the open, after the China-based tech name saw quarterly profits rise thanks to strong cloud and e-commerce growth. The company also reported a 13% year-over-year sales jump. BABA is already up 48.4% this year.
- BTIG upgraded Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) stock to "buy" from "neutral," with BofA Global Research and UBS raising their price objectives to $205 and $190 from $185 and $155, respectively. SNOW is up 1.2% ahead of the bell, and added 44.5% over the last three months.
- Inflation, manufacturing, and services data still on tap this week.
Asian Stocks Move Lower Amid Tariff Concerns
Asian markets closed lower across the board, with auto stocks in particular feeling the heat from Trump tariff concerns. Elsewhere, the People’s Bank of China held the 1-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.1%, and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the losses with a 1.6% drop, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%. The South Korean Kospi shed 0.7% thanks to small caps moving lower and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.02%, with food delivery stocks the notable laggards as full- and part-time workers receive social security starting March 1.
European markets are a mixed bag amid a flood of corporate earnings, including a strong report from Schneider Electric and disappointing results from Mercedes Benz. London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.4% at last glance, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX rise 0.3%.