The Fed's next policy decision will come out in a few hours
U.S. stocks are trading modestly lower ahead of this afternoon's Fed decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are all in the red, with the latter index dragged down by a poor earnings reaction for FedEx (FDX). On top of a 2:30 p.m. ET press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, where traders will consider the central bank's view of the economy, Wall Street is also likely exercising caution due to recent reports on U.S.-China trade talks.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
One name seeing unusual options trading today is Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC), with the weed stock last seen trading up 4.4% at $48.15. The company just announced an agreement with Hollyweed North Cannabis, which will create oil and resin for the company. In response, CGC calls are trading at four times the expected pace today, and volume is pacing for 100th annual percentile. Most popular is the weekly 3/29 50-strike call, where new positions are opening.
One of the biggest winners on the New York Stock Exchange today is cloud software specialist Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR), after the company delivered strong quarterly results and forecast better-than-expected full-year revenue. SMAR shares earlier touched a record high of $49.04, last seen trading up 7.3% at $46.60, bringing their year-to-date lead to almost 90%. All eight brokerage firms in coverage already recommended buying Smartsheet stock, and a handful of price-target hikes have come through today following the earnings beat.
A notable loser on the Big Board is Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME), as Wall Street reacts to the company's first earnings release since going public in the U.S. back in December. While the China-based company's fourth-quarter results were mostly in line with analyst expectations, traders are punishing the stock based on the firm's surprisingly high licensing and content production costs. TME shares were last seen down 7.2% at $17.24, but seemingly found a floor near the $17 level that also contained a previous pullback this month.
