The futures market is pointed higher this morning
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are up triple digits this morning. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are inching into the black as well, as investors continue to unpack U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments regarding rate hikes. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI) is holding above $110 a barrel -- up at $112.65 at last glance. On the geopolitical front, Ukraine has retaken a key suburb of Kyiv, while at home, blue-chip retail giant Nike's (NKE) top-line beat is turning heads.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Senior Vice President of Research Todd Salamone points to a technical indicator that could give bulls hope.
- Why this casino stock has been underperforming on the charts.
- Plus, NKE surges after earnings; UPST downgraded; and BABA rises on share buyback news.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.6 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 740,418 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.46, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- Blue-chip stock Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is up 5.2% premarket, after the retail icon posted strong fiscal third-quarter earnings per share, and noted that its recent manufacturing issues were behind it. No fewer than three analysts lifted their price targets in response.
- Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) is down 6% in electronic trading, after a downgrade from Wedbush to "underperform" from "neutral," with a price-target cut to $75 from $110. The firm cited geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic risks. Heading into today, the equity is down 16.8% year-to-date.
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) is up 9.3% before the bell, after the China-based tech company hiked its share buyback program to $25 billion -- its biggest ever. Year-over-year, the struggling stock is down 56.8%.
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There is no economic data of note scheduled for today.
Stocks Rise in Asia, Europe
Asian markets were higher on Tuesday, as investors eyed Powell’s promise to fight back red-hot inflation, and monitor falling oil prices. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the gainers with a 3.2% pop, after Chinese e-commerce name Alibaba (BABA) increased its share buyback program to $25 billion. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9%, and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.7%. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite was 0.2% higher.
European markets are also pointed higher, despite a lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, amid the latter’s refusal to surrender the port city of Mariupol. Powell’s comments are also giving European banks a boost, though investors are still wary of a Covid-19 omicron subvariant that is spreading throughout the region. At last check, the German DAX is 0.7% higher, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.6%, and London’s FTSE 100 is eyeing a 0.4% pop.