Fourth-quarter GDP increased and jobless claims rose less than expected
Stock futures are pointed higher this morning, looking to put yesterday's dramatic sell-off in the rear-view mirror. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are all eyeing modest gains. Investors are reacting to earnings reports from major tech companies including Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA). In other news, fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4% -- versus an anticipated 4.3% increase -- while jobless claims rose less than expected, at 847,000.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Datadog stock is one of the best of 2021
- Signal says don't sweat DOCU's latest pullback.
- Plus, AAL taking off post-earnings; GameStop making headlines again; and Toyota is the world's number one car seller.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.9 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and more than 1.1 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio stayed at 0.40 add the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.42.
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American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) stock is up 46.5% ahead of the opening bell, after the airliner posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter, losing less than Wall Street anticipated with revenue soaring above forecasts. The company also posted an $8.9 billion annual loss due to the pandemic. In fact, year-over-year, AAL is down 38.4%.
- Video game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) is once again making headlines, up 26%.in pre-market trading, as retail investors and short-sellers continue their battle. The first month of 2021 isn't even over, and already GME has tacked on 1,744.5%.
- The shares of Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) are down 0.4%, even after Toyota overtook Volkswagen for the top spot in global car sales for the first time in half a decade. Toyota sold 9.5 million vehicles compared to Volkswagen's 9.3 million, and the stock has notched an 11.6% gain in the last nine months.
- Due out today are new home sales, as well as leading economic indicators and an advance report on trade in goods.
Asian Stocks React to AAPL's Record Breaking Quarter
Markets in Asia tumbled on Thursday, despite Apple suppliers throughout the continent taking cues from the tech giant’s record-breaking quarterly report. The Hong Kong Hang Seng was hardest hit in the region, shedding 2.6% after shares of airline name Cathay Pacific nosedived on news that the company would issue $869.36 million in convertible bonds. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.9%, the South Korean Kospi dropped 1.7%, and the Nikkei in Japan took a 1.5% haircut, following the country’s year-over-year decline in retail sales for December.
Last night’s selloff in the U.S. is spooking European investors today, who are also concerned about ramped up speculative trading activity. The major bourses were swimming in red ink at last check – the London FTSE 100 is off nearly 1%, the French CAC 40 is down 0.08%, and the German DAX is 0.7% lower.