Jobless claims for the Thanksgiving week came in much larger than expected
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are pointed lower this morning, as stimulus headwinds persist and employment numbers from the Thanksgiving holiday weigh. Weekly jobless claims rose to 853,000, hurtling past the 730,000 estimate. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures are also eyeing an open in the red, with the tech and semiconductor sectors poised to resume their recent slide. Elsewhere, investors will be monitoring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine advisory panel that will convene later today to rule on the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Options bears chimed in on CIEN ahead of this morning's earnings.
- Bull signal flashing for popular discount warehouse stock.
- Plus, energy stock upgraded; DoorDash cools off; and Moderna testing teens.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.9 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 828,555 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.42 and the 21-day moving average slipped to 0.42.
- Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) stock is up 2% in electronic trading, after Siebert Williams Shank upgraded the energy name to "buy" from "hold" and set its price target at $21.50. COG remains in contention with its year-to-date breakeven level, but closed last night above $16, an area that has served as support in recent months.
- DoorDash Inc (NYSE:DASH) stock is down 5% ahead of the bell today, in focus after the Wall Street newcomer raced to an 85% gain after its public trading debut yesterday. DASH's initial public offering (IPO) was priced at $102.
- The shares of Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) are down 1.5% ahead of the open, after the drugmaker announced it had begun enrolling adolescents for its COVID-19 vaccine study. MRNA is up 700% year-to-date.
- Today will bring a federal budget update and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
European Markets Flat Ahead of Brexit Deadline
Asian markets were mostly lower today, as investors monitored stalled negotiations in the U.S. over a coronavirus relief package, as well as the impasse between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) on a post-Brexit trade deal. As a result, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.04%, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.2%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi shaved 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Meanwhile, European stocks are trading sideways, after an in-person meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen failed to yield clear results. However, European lawmakers vowed to make a decision on the Brexit trade deal by the weekend. In turn, London’s FTSE 100 was last seen up 0.5% and the France’s CAC 40 was 0.1% higher. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the German DAX has backpedaled 0.1%.