Dow futures are enjoying a triple-digit lead
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up nearly 250 points this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are modestly higher as investors unpack a busy slate of corporate earnings. Treasury yields are stabilizing after this week’s surge, with the 10-year bond inching lower to roughly 4.75% after yesterday hitting its highest level since November 2023.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 206,000 last week, slightly above estimates of 205,000 but still historically low. The U.S. trade deficit also widened to $88.6 billion in July from a revised $71.2 billion in June, driven by a surge in technology and AI-related imports.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Cboe Option Exchange saw roughly 2.5 million call contracts and 1.4 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.59.
Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) is up 23.6% premarket, after the cloud company posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue and lifted its full-year guidance. A flood of analysts lifted their price targets after the event, including Citigroup to $490 from $395. Coming into today, SNOW is up 39.4% year to date.
Campbell’s Co (NASDAQ:CPB) is down 6.1% before the bell, after the soup maker forecast annual sales and profit below estimates, citing weak consumer spending. The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings matched estimates, while revenue fell below expectations. CPB also slashed its dividend. Since the start of the year, CPB has shed 14.7%.
Argan Inc (NYSE:AGX) posted second-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst estimates, pushing the shares up 7.7% in electronic trading. Poised to bounce off familiar support at the $400 level, the stock is looking to add to its 30.1% year-to-date gains.
There is plenty more economic data on deck for the rest of this week.
Europe Unpacks Economic Data
Though Asian markets finished Thursday’s session subdued, many remain wary of interest rate hikes across the region, after the Japanese yen surged to a one-month high against the U.S. greenback. In response, Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.2%. On the AI front, Chinese firm Moonshot filed for a confidential initial public offering (IPO), which would be the largest Hong Kong IPO in years. The Hang Seng lost 0.4%, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3%, and China’s Shanghai Composite inched 0.02% higher.
European stocks are a mixed bag today as well, as bond yields take a breather and investors focus on euro zone data. The industrial producer price index (PPI) rose 1.6% month-on-month in Europe and 1.4% in the European Union (EU), while the S&P Global U.K. Service Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 52.5 from 52.1 in August. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is 0.5% higher, Germany’s DAX is up 0.09%, and France’s CAC 40 sports a 0.3% loss.