Stock Futures Muted; Jobless Claims Fall for 5th-Straight Week

Stock futures are mixed this morning, ahead of a session packed with economic data. A few releases are already out, with last week's initial jobless claims falling for the fifth-straight week, dropping by 5,000 to 213,000 against estimates of 227,000, while retail sales rose 0.3% versus expectations of a flat reading. In other news, railroad stocks are getting a boost, after the White House announced a tentative, last-minute labor deal with the sector's unions to avert a costly strike.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Call traders blast coffee stock after forecast hike.
• The latest Schaeffer's Market Mashup discusses trading psychology with Jim Carroll, Senior V.P. & Portfolio Manager at Toroso Investments.
• Plus, analysts dish out bull notes to WYNN, JWN, and NFLX.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.19 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, and 891,284 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to to 0.75, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.66.
2. Credit Suisse upgraded casino and resort operator Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) to "outperform" from "neutral," helping the shares to a 3.3% lead ahead of the bell. The broker believes Wynn has a "compelling" growth setup compared to its sector peers. Year-over-year, WYNN is down 34.2%.
3. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) was just upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies. The firm is confident that Nordstrom will benefit from the trend of younger, wealthier consumers updating their wardrobes with premium-priced items. JWN was last seen 2.6% higher premarket, and looking to cut into its 20.5% year-to-date deficit.
4. Lastly, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is up 2% before the open, after Evercore ISI upgraded the streaming giant to "outperform" from "in line." Evercore ISI believes Netflix has solid revenue opportunities following its planned ad-supported streaming option and plans to limit password sharing. In 2022, NFLX has lost 62.8%.
5. Today is a busy one, with capacity utilization data and business inventories on tap. In addition, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, the Empire State manufacturing index, the import price index, and the industrial production index are all due out.

Analyst Notes Upside in European Bank Stocks

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, after China’s central bank maintained its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) at 2.75%. Leading the gainers was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng with a 0.4% rise, while Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.2% higher, after the country saw exports grow 22.1% this month, while imports surged 49.9%. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite shed 1.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4%.

European stocks are also struggling for direction, though the banking sector is firmly higher after Morgan Stanley noted European bank stocks could see 40% upside. In turn, the euro zone bank index rose to its best level since June 10. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is 0.4% higher, the German DAX is flat, and France’s CAC 40 is down 0.3%