The S&P 500 and Dow are fresh off four-day win streaks
Wall Street appears ready to cool off from its recent rally. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 125 points ahead of the open, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures point modestly lower as well. While Russia promised to scale back its military presence near Kyiv yesterday, several countries -- including the U.S. -- were skeptical, and sure enough, Russian continued its attack on Ukraine today.
Elsewhere, the ADP employment report showed 455,000 jobs added in March, slightly more than the anticipated 450,000, but still the lowest since August of 2021. Meanwhile, the spread between the 5-year and 30-year Treasury yield is no longer inverted as of this morning.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White unpacks what the recent bearish sentiment could mean for stocks.
- The tech stock ready to bounce off a bullish trendline.
- Plus, Lululemon rises after earnings; NSC announced buyback program; and W downgraded.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.8 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 760,870 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.41, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
- Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) is up 6.7% before the bell, after the retailer announced a strong fourth-quarter earnings report and upbeat forecast. No fewer than seven analysts lifted their price targets after the news.
- Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE:NSC) announced a $10 billion share repurchase program. The railroad operator has nabbed 10 wins in the last 11 trading days, and is now up 0.4% in electronic trading.
- Loop Capital downgraded Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W) to "sell" from "hold," citing a number of factors including rising interest rates, and W is down 7.4% premarket. Coming into today, the stock is down 31.8% year-to-date.
- Today will bring the fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) revision, data on gross domestic income, and fourth-quarter profits.
Global Markets Eye Ukraine
Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors watched the 2- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields for signs of a potential inversion, and monitored Russian troop movements in Ukraine. China’s Shanghai Composite added 2%, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng with a 1.4% gain, as the latter brushed off a Wall Street report warning the Chinese government may soon restrict the live-streaming sector. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi settled 0.2% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.8%.
Meanwhile, European markets are lower, despite Russia noting it would "drastically" reduce military activity around Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, following peace talks in Turkey. In fact, U.S. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Russian troops’ current activity does not yet point to a retreat. Investors are also sifting through fresh jobs data out of the U.S. At last check, the German DAX is down 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 is 1% lower, and London’s FTSE 100 is flat with a 0.05% gain.