Disney's deal and net neutrality are in focus today
U.S. stocks are ready to rally this morning, with futures signaling a surge for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) -- which would mark its fifth straight record close. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) are pointing to a big open, too, and there's a ton of economic data to digest today. Specifically, weekly jobless claims came in lower than expected this past week, with 225,000 people filing for unemployment. Plus, retail sales for November rose by 0.8% -- more than double the expected increase. U.S. import prices, meanwhile, rose in line with expectations last month, marking the biggest year-over-year increase since April.
Wall Street is also reacting to Walt Disney's (DIS) purchase of Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA) assets for $52.4 billion in stock. And internet and telecom stocks will also be in focus today, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expected to vote to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The sweet spot for this silver ETF after Fed rate hikes.
- The Apple partner with exploding options volume.
- The strike speculators are targeting ahead of Adobe earnings.
- Plus, the retailer sinking after earnings; Teva's big shake-up; and another media stock to watch.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 904,850 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 516,195 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57, while the 21-day moving average slipped to 0.59.
- Ahead of earnings, retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) stock had been rallying, outpacing the SPX by 30 percentage points in the last two months. However, the stock is set to give back a good chunk, if not all, of those gains, after another disappointing quarterly update. While the company announced strong Black Friday sales, its CEO said "overall trends dropped considerably" in early December, resulting in a lowered full-year outlook. In pre-market trading, PIR shares are down 26.4%.
- It's been a tumultuous year for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE:TEVA), as it's dropped about 57% in 2017. But news of a restructuring plan that includes roughly 14,000 job cuts -- 25% of its workforce -- has the generic drugmaker ready to jump close to 20% at the open. The company also scrapped its dividend and annual bonuses.
- While Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox get all the headlines, CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) received bullish attention from Stephens, which initiated coverage with an "overweight" designation. CBS stock -- which has seen heavy options volume in recent weeks -- closed yesterday at $57.17, down 10% in 2017.
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Oracle (ORCL), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Costco (COST), and Jabil (JBL) make up the earnings slate.
Stocks in Asia closed lower today, after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and People's Bank of China (PBoC) followed in the footsteps of the U.S. Fed by raising key rates. In Beijing, mixed economic data was also in focus, with fixed-asset income slowing in the January-to-November period, retail sales gaining slightly in November thanks to Alibaba's (BABA) Singles Day event, and industrial output surging more than expected last month. At the close, China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.2%, South Kora's Kospi was 0.5% lower, and Japan's Nikkei had shed 0.3%.
European markets are in the red at midday, after the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) left interest rates unchanged. Traders are now digesting comments from ECB President Mario Draghi's press conference, and wading through a raft of economic reports which includes IHS Markit's stronger-than-forecast flash composite purchasing managers index for the eurozone. Most recently, the German DAX was off 0.7%, the French CAC 40 was flirting with a 0.4% loss, and London's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, after the U.K.'s lower house amended a bill to give parliament the ability to veto the final Brexit agreement -- seen as a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May. Also in Britain, November retail sales came in well above estimates.