The S&P 500 is on track for its worst first half of the year since 1970
Stock futures are struggling for direction ahead of the open, following yesterday's steep losses. Wall Street has struggled to continue last week's rebound from a three-week selloff, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is on track for its worst first half of the year since 1970. Meanwhile, investors are unpacking revised gross domestic product (GDP) data, which showed the U.S. economy contracted 1.6% in the first quarter, as opposed to the prior reading of 1.5%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The best and worst stocks to own during July 4th week.
- Why Micron Technology stock is in need of a post-earnings pop.
- Plus, CCL crumbles on bear note; BBBY announces c-suite shakeup; and GIS rises after results beat.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1 million call contracts and 679,160 put contracts traded on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.66, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.
- Morgan Stanley slashed Carnival Corp's (NYSE:CCL) price target to $7 from $13, saying that the price could eventually go to zero if another demand shock occurs, given the company's debt levels. Several other cruise stocks are lower in response, and CCL is down 8.4% premarket.
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Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NYSE:BBBY) is down 12.6% before the bell, after news broke that CEO Mark Tritton is stepping down, with Sue Gove serving as interim CEO until an official replacement is found. The company also announced wider-than-expected first-quarter losses per share. Should these losses hold, BBBY will hit a two-year low.
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General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) is up 2.6% in electronic trading, after the food giant reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results, though also lowering its full-year forecast. Year-over-year, GIS is up 16% heading into today.
- Today will bring final domestic demand and gross domestic income data.
Stocks Lower in Asia, Europe
Asian markets dropped on Wednesday, lead by the Hong Kong Hang Seng, which lost 1.9%. The Shanghai Composite in China shed 1.4%, the South Korean Kospi lost 1.8%, and the Nikkei in Japan took a 0.9% haircut. Investors kept an eye on disappointing consumer confidence indexes out of Japan and South Korea, with the former falling to 32.1 from 34.1 in June, and the later falling to 96.4 from 102.6 for the month. Meanwhile, Japanese retail sales in May rose 3.6%, marking their third-straight monthly pop.
In Europe, stocks aren’t faring much better, as traders continue to monitor the NATO summit in Spain, as well as comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) during its forum in Sintra, Portugal, with ECB President Christine Lagarde set to speak later today. At last glance, the German DAX is 1.6% lower, the French CAC 40 is down 1%, and the London FTSE 100 has shed 0.09%.