A downward GDP revision and durable goods orders are also in focus
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading well above fair value this morning, as a big earnings boost from Nike (NKE) offsets D.C. drama. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also signaling a rebound for stocks, even after the Senate indicated it will not approve a House budget bill that includes $5 billion for President Donald Trump's border wall. A partial government shutdown will go into effect at midnight tonight -- one that "will last for a very long time," according to a Trump tweet -- if a spending bill isn't passed.
Wall Street is also digesting a busy day of economic data. Already this morning, the Commerce Department downwardly revised third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) to 3.4% from the 3.5% initial estimate. Plus, durable goods rose an in-line 0.8% in November -- a drastic improvement from October's 4.3% decline -- thanks to aircraft orders.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 947,724 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 865,645 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.91, and the 21-day moving average ticked up to 0.73.
- Nike Inc (NYSE:NIKE) reported fiscal second-quarter per-share earnings of 52 cents on $9.37 billion in revenue, beating analysts' estimates, thanks in part to a 41% spike in online sales. The retail stock was also upgraded at J.P. Morgan Securities and Pivotal Research. In reaction, NKE shares are up 8.7% to $73.40 in electronic trading -- good news for one group of options traders.
- CarMax, Inc (NYSE:KMX) reported a third-quarter earnings beat of $1.09 per share on in-line revenue of $4.3 billion. However, the used car retailer said unit sales slumped 1.2% on a comparable store basis. After closing last night at $56.72, KMX stock is down 0.9% ahead of the bell.
- Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) was downgraded to "sell" at both Citigroup and Independent Research. The brokerage firms also slashed their MO price targets, as did Stifel, following news of the tobacco titan's minority stake in e-cigarette maker Juul. Altria shares are down 3.9% in electronic trading, on track to open at a three-year low of $48.50 per share.
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Personal income & spending and consumer sentiment data will all roll out on this quadruple-witching Friday, while next week's holiday-shortened schedule is fairly quiet.
Global Stocks Slump on U.S. Shutdown Fears
Asian markets were a mixed bag to end the week, as the U.S. stock market sell-off continues to dampen the spirits of global investors. Japan’s Nikkei fell by 1.1%, led by financial issues after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged. In addition, the yen traded lower against the dollar today, after Tokyo's consumer price index (CPI) came in lower than expected for November. China's Shanghai Composite gave back 0.8%, after the U.S. Justice Department charged two Chinese nationals for their role in a global hacking campaign. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both finished higher, though, with gains of 0.07% and 0.5%, respectively.
Over in Europe, stocks are modestly lower as investors tread lightly around a tense global market. London's FTSE 100 is down 0.03%, with telecom stocks such as Inmarsat among the notable decliners. The French CAC 40 is down 0.4% and the German DAX is off 0.3%, as European investors nervously monitor the political situation in the U.S., where a government shutdown appears to be looming.