Dow futures are around 180 points higher
Stock futures are modestly higher on Thursday, as Wall Street looks to extend a small winning streak. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures were last seen 180 points higher, extending its bounce after the Federal Reserve yesterday pledged to bring down inflation. Meanwhile, futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both slightly higher as well, as investors digest the latest jobless claims data, which showed a jump of 4,000 to 235,000 claims over the past week -- the highest reading in six months.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Cut 3rd-quarter losses by dropping these 25 stocks.
- Why call traders should be skeptical of this EV name.
- Plus, GameStop's stock split; Virgin Galactic's latest partnership; and insider purchases boost BBBY.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 946,334 call contracts and 618,015 put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.
- GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) is rallying before the open, after announcing a 4-for-1 stock split. The videogame retailer will start trading on a spit-adjusted basis on July 22. GME was last seen up 6.3%, as it cuts into its significant 20.9% year-to-date deficit.
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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE:SPCE) just inked a partnership with a Boeing (BA) subsidiary, and the latter will now build motherships that carry
Virgin rocket ships. At last check, SPCE is up 4% in electronic trading, though it still sported an 86.1% 12-month dip, coming into today.
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Following several insider purchases,
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) is looking to hold onto its premarket gains. Specifically, the housewares retailer's stock was last seen 6.3% higher, after
Interim CEO Sue Gove bought 50,000 shares, and board two board members each bought 10,000 shares. Year-to-date, BBBY is down 69.3%.
- The monthly ADP employment report, and a foreign trade balance update will be released today.
European Markets React to Boris Johnson's Resignation
Asian markets settled higher on Thursday, as investors monitored the impact of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish comments. Leading the gainers was South Korea’s Kospi with a 1.8% gain, after Samsung Electronics released upbeat second-quarter guidance, followed by a 1.5% pop from Japan’s Nikkei. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were both up 0.3%, following Beijing’s announcement that starting next week Covid-19 vaccination will be required to enter entertainment venues.
European markets are higher as well, with traders eyeing the release of the latest European Central Bank (ECB) meeting minutes. Also making headlines is U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation, which followed the departure of 50 members of Parliament in the span of 48 hours. In terms of economic indicators, investors are brushing off worse-than-expected German industrial production data for May. At last check, the German DAX is up 1.7%, France’s CAC 40 is 1.5% higher, and London’s FTSE 100 is eyeing a 1.2% pop.