Futures are pointed lower after back-to-back winning sessions
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX0, and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) are all lower Tuesday, pausing after two days of gains that eased recent market losses. Investors are awaiting the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, with CME’s FedWatch tool showing a 99% chance rates remain unchanged ahead of Wednesday’s decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Elsewhere, housing starts for February beat consensus estimates, sending the 10-year Treasury yield higher to start the day.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone has a recommended course of action for S&P 500 bulls.
- Signal says Olive Garden stock could pop.
- Plus, Alphabet's latest acquisition; Xpeng's Q4 results; and RL scores a bull note.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.1 million call contracts and 1.2 million put contracts exchanged on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGLE) is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $30 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. This comes after reports last summer that the tech giant was close to a $23 billion deal for the company. GOOGL is 0.2% lower ahead of the open, and 13.2% lower year-to-date.
- U.S.-listed shares of China-based Xpeng Inc - ADR (NYSE:XPEV) are 0.5% lower premarket, after the electric vehicle (EV) company reported a fourth-quarter loss that narrowed from the year prior, alongside a 23% revenue jump and an impressive 10% vehicle margin. The EV maker also forecasted first-quarter deliveries to more than quadruple year-over-year. Since the start of 2025, XPEV is up 107.8%.
- Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of luxury apparel retailer Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) to "buy" from "neutral," and lifted its price target to $286 from $280. The firm cited limited exposure to tariffs relative to its peers as key driver for the bull note. Coming into today, RL sported a 4.7% year-to-date deficit.
- Investors will be hoping for no Fed fireworks this week.
All Eyes on Germany's Debt Brake Rule
Asian stocks gained across the board today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng paced the region with a 2.5% pop, thanks to an outsized gain from tech giant Baidu (BIDU). China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.1%, while South Korea’s Kospi finished marginally higher. The Nikkei gained 1.2%, as the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) two-day policy meeting began today, where interest rates are widely expected to be kept steady.
Over in Europe, bourses are higher midday, with all eyes on the German DAX – last seen up 1.2% -- as the debt brake rule is voted on in parliament. German bond yields are on the move as well. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, as giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) sees its pharma body membership restored, while the French CAC 40 is 0.6% higher.