Traders also continue to cheer Powell's dovish testimony
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are signaling another up day, following yesterday's record highs, as traders continue to cheer dovish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The central banker will continue his testimony in Washington, D.C., today. In addition, healthcare stocks -- including blue chips Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and UnitedHealth (UNH) -- are soaring, after the Trump administration withdrew a proposal to scrap rebates from government drug plans.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.07 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 547,357 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio landed at 0.51, while the 21-day moving average is 0.60.
- Social media concern Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) stock is up 2.3% at $15.61 in pre-market trading, after BofA-Merrill Lynch upped its price target to $17 from $12. The brokerage firm applauded Snapchat's viral "gender-face-swap filter," and expects "improving user trends and revenue upside" in the second quarter.
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is up 0.5% ahead of the bell, after the e-commerce giant announced its plan to retrain roughly a third of its workforce in the U.S. The plan will cost roughly $700 million to enact and marks the largest employee retention initiative AMZN has unveiled so far. Yesterday marked AMZN's first close north of $2,000 since October.
- American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) announced this morning that it inked a deal with marijuana grower Green Growth Brands to start production on the retailer's upcoming line of CBD-infused skincare products, which will be made available by October. This comes just weeks after Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) announced a CBD deal with Green Growth. AEO is up 2.9% in electronic trading.
- Today brings the consumer price index (CPI), weekly jobless claims, and the Treasury budget, as well as a speech from New York Fed President John Williams. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will take the mic after the close. Earnings from Fastenal (FAST) are due.
Asian Stocks Get a Boost on U.S. Rate Cut Buzz
It was a positive session for Asian equities thanks to tailwinds out of the U.S. The Hang Seng had a strong showing in Hong Kong, picking up 0.8%. But while the Shanghai Composite in China spent much of the day in positive territory, it pared much of its gains to finish up just 0.08%. In Japan, the Nikkei rose 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi popped 1.1%.
There’s less buying in Europe, where the major bourses are hovering around breakeven halfway through the day. Outside of the rate cut buzz from the U.S., traders are considering comments from the Bank of England, which pointed to potential risks of a no-Brexit deal. France’s CAC 40 was last seen with a slim 0.1% lead, but Germany’s DAX and London’s FTSE 100 were last seen with losses of 0.2% and 0.02%, respectively.