Stock Futures Sink After Dismal Jobless Claims

After the stock market's three-day rally, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are down almost 100 points below fair value this morning. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also drifting lower, after weekly jobless claims came in at 1.9 million, surpassing the 1.8 estimates. That makes it now 12 straight weeks of unemployment claims that came in higher than analysts had predicted. However, the damage on Wall Street is being contained so far by news overseas that the European Central Bank (ECB) is increasing its stimulus program, bringing the total now to over 1 trillion euro.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• The healthcare stock that could remain a June winner.
• Tiffany stock is down as LVMH raises concerns on billion-dollar takeover deal.
• Plus, Costco rises after an increase in sales, ZG earns a bull note, and FedEx tacks on more delivery fees.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 2.2 million call contracts traded on Wednesday and 870,159 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.40, and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.54.
2. Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) stock is up 1% in electronic trading, after the bulk retailer reported same-store sales had increased by 5.4% in May, toppling the 0.3% decline predicted by analysts. Costco stock has been battling its year-to-date breakeven level for the last month.
3. Zillow Group Inc (NASDAQ:ZG) stock is up 0.7% before the open, after SunTrust Robinson hiked its price target on the real estate app to $68 from $55. The analyst in coverage thinks the housing market will recover from the coronavirus pandemic faster than anticipated. Zillow stock is up 82% this quarter.
4. The shares of FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) are in focus this morning, after the shipping name announced it was adding new delivery fees to U.S. shipments. FedEx has seen its shipping costs surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the charts, FDX is down nearly 9% in 2020, but has distanced itself from its March 20 seven-year low of $88.69.
5. Today will feature trade deficit data, productivity, and unit labor costs. Additionally, earnings from Broadcom (AVGO), Ciena (CIEN), DocuSign (DOCU), Gap (GPS), and Slack (WORK).

Overseas Stocks Inch Higher on Recovery, Stimulus Hopes 

Stocks mostly rose in Asia on Thursday, as investors kept watch on the economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Japan’s Nikkei tacked on 0.4%, putting the index up nearly 20% for the quarter. Meanwhile, both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2%. On the flip side, China’s Shanghai lost 0.1%.

In Europe, though minimally, stocks are also trading positive territory, as investors assess the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 600 billion euro ($672 billion) Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) expansion. France’s CAC 40 is the biggest mover so far, up a paltry 0.06%. Additionally, the German DAX rose 0.02%, followed closely by London’s FTSE 100, last seen up 0.01%.