The U.S. trade deficit jumped 27% in 2021
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are up 65 points ahead of the open, while S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures move lower, looking to extend yesterday's losses. Investors are eyeing the U.S. trade deficit this morning, as it jumped 27% in 2021 to $859 billion -- a new record high. For December, the deficit increased by 1.8%, making it the second largest monthly increase ever.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- A look at several key S&P 500 trendlines, with Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.
- Chipotle stock sinks ahead of today's report.
- Plus, PTON buzzes on CEO news; NVAX drops; and CHGG surges after earnings.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.27 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 667,226 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.53, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.54.
- The shares of Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) are down 2.6% ahead of the bell, after news that CEO John Foley will be stepping down, which came ahead of the company's fiscal second-quarter results. The company is also cutting 2,800 jobs, and expects to slash $800 million in annual costs this year. PTON has shed 16.8% so far in 2022.
- Novavax, Inc (NASDAQ:NVAX) is down 8.8% pre-market, after word that the company has only delivered 10 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, after promising to send 1.1 billion around the world this year. Coming into today, NVAX is already down 33.7% year-to-date.
- Chegg Inc (NYSE:CHGG) reported upbeat fourth-quarter results after the close yesterday, and raised its current-quarter forecast. Furthermore, no fewer than three analysts raised their price targets, with the highest from Piper Sandler to $44. CHGG is up 7.4% in electronic trading.
- Today will bring the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) small-business index, and real household debt for the fourth quarter.
Investors Eye Regulator Concerns
Stocks in Asia closed mixed today, as global market choppiness continues to be the trend for February. Nvidia (NVDA) disclosed that it has backed out of the $66 billion sale of SoftBank’s Arm chip unit due to regulatory concerns. Also in focus are the 33 entities added to the U.S. red-flag export list by China’s Commerce Department. In response, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished down 1%, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.7%, South Korea’s Kospi ended flat, and Japan’s Nikkei tacked on 0.1%.
Meanwhile, in Europe, markets are moving higher, as investors digest a fresh batch of earnings and await U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 has added 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.3%, and the German DAX is clinging to a 0.05% gain.