August housing starts were higher than expected
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading cautiously below fair value ahead of this afternoon's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy decision and subsequent press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The central bank is expected to drop its key interest rate by one-quarter percentage point, and traders will look to Powell's presser for more rate-cut guidance. Ahead of this, Wall Street is eyeing the Fed's intervention on short-term borrowing costs, with the central bank holding its first overnight repurchase auction since 2008, as well as data showing housing starts hit a 12-year high in August.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White explains why oil could be headed for heavy short-term losses.
- Bloom Energy options ramped up after a scathing short seller report.
- One put trader targeted XLF for a pre-Fed roll.
- Plus, FedEx fizzles; Adobe issues a weak forecast; and a drug stock set to sink.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 851,323 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 477,486 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.56, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
- FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) reported lower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.05 per share and revenue of $17.05 billion. The shipping giant also cut its full-year forecast, citing rising competition from former customer Amazon. A fresh round of bear notes has come down the pike, too, sending FDX stock down 10.7% ahead of the bell.
- Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $2.05 per share on $2.83 billion in revenue, which was more than expected. However, the software firm gave a lower-than-anticipated current-quarter revenue forecast, sending the shares down 3% in electronic trading. ADBE stock closed last night at $284.69, up 25.8% year-to-date.
- Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ZYNE) stock is bracing for a 13.7% drop out of the gate, which will likely have the shares testing their footing in double-digit territory. This comes after the drugmaker reported mid-stage trial data for its epilepsy treatment.
- Housing starts, weekly crude inventories, and a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell are on deck. General Mills (GIS) will report earnings.
Weak Data Weighs on Tokyo Stocks
Asian stocks ended mixed, with price action muted ahead of the latest U.S. Fed policy decision. South Korea's Kospi was the biggest winner -- up 0.4% on cooling oil prices -- while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% on expectations for banks to ease loan prime rates. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1%, and Japan's Nikkei inched 0.2% lower after weaker semiconductor and auto parts shipments to China contributed to a ninth straight monthly decline in exports.
Stocks in Europe are higher at midday as oil and gas sectors strengthened on Saudi Arabia's announcement that oil production would be back to full capacity by the end of September. London's FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both up 0.1%, with U.K. stocks benefiting from a softer pound on weak economic data. The French CAC 40 has tacked on 0.2% on a boost from state-controlled utility company EDF, which said its recently damaged nuclear reactors will not need to be shut down.