Dow futures are eyeing a 30-point drop this morning
Stock futures are pointed lower this morning, as traders return from the Easter holiday to find the 10-year Treasury yield sitting at more than three-year highs, after surging above 2.87% earlier. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are set for a 30-point drop, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also pacing for losses. A slew of first-quarter earnings reports are set to roll in this week, with several blue-chip and tech stocks expected to step into the confessional, including Procter & Gamble (PG) and Tesla (TSLA).
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Breaking down the Elon Musk and Twitter drama.
- Investors should keep an eye on these 9 "sin" stocks.
- Plus, fast food stock downgraded; why Progressive stock is lower today; and DIDI sinks on revenue drop.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.6 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 815,533 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.50, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.57.
- Wendys Co (NASDAQ:WEN) are down 1.5% ahead of the bell, after the fast food concern was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at BMO Capital. The analyst said the restaurant is not as well positioned as its peers to withstand tighter consumer spending. Year-to-date, WEN is down 12.4%.
- The shares of Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) are 1.6% lower before the open. Piper Sandler earlier downgraded the equity to to “underweight” from “neutral,” with the firm noting excessive optimism regarding auto insurance rates could cause the company to report an earnings miss. PGR is up 24.6% in the past six months.
- DiDi Global Inc (NYSE:DIDI) is sinking today, last seen down 19.1% in premarket trading. This massive bear gap came after the China-based ridesharing name saw a 12.7% year-over-year revenue drop. Plus, shareholders will vote on delisting from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 23. DIDI is down 50.6% this year.
- Today's calendar features the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) home builders index.
European Markets Rise Following ECB Decision
Markets in Asia settled mostly lower today, with the exception of the Hong Kong Hang Seng, which added 0.7%. Investors eyed economic data out of China, as the country's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) beat expectations by 0.4% with a 4.8% rise, while retail sales fell 3.5% -- wider than the anticipated 1.6% drop. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% today, while the South Korean Kospi lost 0.1%, and Japan's Nikkei finished 1.1% lower.
Meanwhile, European markets are higher midday, after the European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed it will end its bond buying program in the third quarter. London's FTSE 100 is up 0.5%, while the German DAX rises 0.6%, and thd French CAC 40 adds 0.7%.