The Fed lowered its economic growth forecast
Stock futures are lower Thursday, poised to pull back after Wall Street rallied on the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady while maintaining its forecast for two rate cuts in 2025. However, the central bank also raised its inflation outlook and lowered its economic growth forecast, reinforcing expectations that policymakers will remain cautious before making any moves, especially with the impact of tariffs still unfolding.
Elsewhere, initial jobless claims edged higher last week to 223,000, slightly below the Dow Jones estimate of 225,000, while the four-week moving average ticked up to 227,000. Despite ongoing White House efforts to shrink the federal workforce, layoffs remain relatively low, suggesting continued resilience in the labor market.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw nearly 2 million call contracts and more than 1 million put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock gained 4.7% in Wednesday’s session but is down 1.5% premarket today. Piper Sandler trimmed its price target on the electric vehicle (EV) maker to $450 from $500 but maintained an "overweight" rating, noting long-term growth potential despite recent volatility. Year-to-date, TSLA is down 41.6%.
- Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) stock is up 2.7% before the bell, after Piper Sandler upgraded the used car retailer to "overweight" from "neutral," while keeping its price target at $225. Analysts cited stable demand across macroeconomic conditions as a key driver for the bullish shift. Over the last 12 months, CVNA is 123.2% higher.
- Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) stock is 8.3% higher in pre-market trading, after the discount retailer topped fourth-quarter earnings estimates and posted a same-store sales decline of 3%, which was better than the expected 3.3% drop. The company also issued stronger-than-anticipated fiscal first-quarter revenue guidance of $905 million to $925 million, above analysts’ $897 million forecast. Since the start of 2025, FIVE has shed 28%.
- Jobs data on tap to close out the week.
England Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged
Asian bourses were lower today, with the exception of South Korea’s Kospi, which shrugged off small cap weakness to add 0.3%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.2%, with Tencent’s post-earnings gap lower weighing. The Shanghai Composite gave back 0.5%, with the People’s Bank of China keeping lending rates unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.
In Europe, investors are assessing the Bank of England (BoE) holding interest rates steady, as well as a warning that global trade uncertainty remains heightened. London’s FTSE 100 is 0.1% lower, with wage growth steady at expectations. The French CAC 40 was last seen roughly 1% lower, while the German DAX extends its pullback, down 1.4% at last check, with shipping magnate Hapag-Lloyd crumbling amid a ‘challenging’ macro environment.