Stock Futures Muted as Wall Street's Worries Rise

Stock futures are struggling for direction this morning. Wall Street is looking to buck the trend of depressed sentiment in September, which has been hit hard by worries over the Delta variant and speculation on the Federal Reserve's next moves. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are off by 20 points, a day after the blue chip index logged a triple digit loss. Meanwhile futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are just below breakeven and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are marginally higher.

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

• Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White speculates on the SPX pullback.
• Can this furniture stock stop its slide?
• Plus, Weber's first quarterly report; Microsoft's dividend hike; and SoFi's massive bull note.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.7 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 953,499 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.55 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.51.
2. The shares of Weber Inc (NYSE:WEBR) are up 2% in electronic trading, after the grillmaker released its first quarterly report since going public last month. While the company missed on earnings expectations, Weber saw sales rise 19% year-over-year, forecasting better-than-expected full-year sales as a result. WEBR has shed 10.3% over the last month. 
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) raised its quarterly payout to 62 cents per share, after hiking its dividend by 11%. In addition, the company announced a $60 billion stock buy back program. Last seen 1.3% higher ahead of the bell, Microsoft stock is up 34.8% in 2021.
4. Mizuho initiated coverage on SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI) with a "buy" rating and a $28 price target, calling the fintech company a "full-fledged, super-app neo-bank" while considering its next-gen capabilities. The stock closed at $14.50 last night, meaning Mizuho is implying a 93% upside potential based on projected sales. Over the last nine months, SOFI has added 30.9%.
5. Today, investors can look forward to the import price and Empire State indexes. In addition, industrial production and capacity utilizations data are due out.

Lackluster Chinese Data Batters Overseas Markets

Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday, after Chinese retail sales data grew at a slower-than-expected pace in August, while industrial production growth also missed the mark. Plus, casino stocks were under pressure following news that Macao began a 45-day public gaming consultation that could lead to even more restrictions. As a result, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei logged a 0.5% loss. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite was 0.2% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.2% higher.

Dismal economic data out of China is negatively impacting European markets as well. Additionally, investors are brushing off upbeat inflation data out of the U.S., after inflation in the U.K. surged to a nine-year high in August, as consumer prices rose 3.2% year-over-year. Traders are also digesting news from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) that global debt hit a record $300 trillion in the second quarter, while monitoring the German federal election, set to take place on Sept. 26. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is down 0.6%, the German DAX is 0.2% lower, and London’s FTSE 100 is slightly above breakeven with a 0.06% gain.