Stock Futures Rise With Bond Yields, Oil

Wall Street looks poised to extend yesterday's major comeback, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures up triple digits, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) tentatively rise. All eyes are still focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis today, after news that there were explosions outside of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight.

Initial weekly jobless claims came in at 215,000 for last week, below the anticipated 225,000 and the lowest reading so far this year. Oil remains red-hot; West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI) rose over $113 earlier to its highest level since 2011. Joining black gold higher are bond yields, with the 10-year Treasury yield last seen at 1.86%. 

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

• What happens when large caps outperform small caps, per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. 
• General Mills stock is a historical outperformer in March. 
• Plus, SNOW melts; Kroger stock eyes record highs; and a tech company's C-Suite shakeup. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.4 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 766,000 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.55, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
2. Cloud stock Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) is down 19% before the bell this morning -- brushing off upbeat fourth-quarter results after a dismal fiscal 2023 forecast. The company also acquired data-based app Streamlit. To follow, no fewer than 11 analysts cut their price targets. SNOW is down 21.8% heading into today.
3. Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) is up 5.5% pre-market, after the grocer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue and raised its 2022 guidance. Kroger's same-store sales, excluding fuel, jumped 4% for the quarter, compared to expectations for a 2.84% rise. Should these gains hold, KR is on track for a fresh record high. 
4. The shares of software name Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) are up 1.8% in electronic trading, after fourth-quarter earnings and revenue blew past estimates. Plus, the company appointed Gary Steele as its new CEO, starting April 11. No fewer than three analysts slashed their price targets, while Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $45 from $40. 

5. Today will bring February's Markit services PMI, the ISM services index, data on factory orders, and core capital equipment orders. 

Investors Unpack Inflation Data Overseas 

Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday, after the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed activity growth in China for February coming in at 50.2. Investors also kept an eye on crude prices, following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies’ decision not to increase production. South Korea’s Kospi was the top gainer with a 1.6% rise, while Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite was slightly below breakeven with a 0.09% drop.

European markets are pointed lower, following Russia’s attacks on Kharkiv and Kyiv, as well as the invasion of Kherson in Ukraine. In terms of economic indicators, traders were digesting euro zone unemployment data and higher oil prices, while also sifting through earnings from Merck and Prudential. At last check, the German DAX is 0.8% lower, London’s FTSE 100 is eyeing a 0.7% dip, and France’s CAC 40 is flat.