Easing Covid-19 restrictions in China are encouraging investors
Stock futures are extending yesterday's rebound, which was fueled by upbeat inflation data for October. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are up 116 points, after the blue-chip index yesterday notched its best day since May 2020, and China announced it would ease some of its Covid-19 restrictions. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are pointed higher as well, as investors look ahead to consumer sentiment data that is due out later today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How this EV stock brushed off a quarterly miss.
- Beyond Meat stock bounced back from record lows.
- Plus, analysts chime in on 2 blue-chip stocks; and unpacking LegalZoom.com's earnings win.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2 million call contracts and 1.2 million put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.60, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
- Deutsche Bank upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) to "buy" from "hold," with the analyst in coverage citing a meeting with management that left the firm confident in the company's ability to provide healthcare services. WBA is up 1.5% before the bell, but still carries a 26.2% year-to-date deficit.
- Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is down 2.1% in premarket trading, after JPMorgan Chase resumed coverage of the chip stock with an "underweight" rating. The firm believes the blue-chip name will be a part of a sector-wide rebound, but at a slower pace than its competition. So far in 2022, INTC has shed more than 42%.
- The shares of LegalZoom.com Inc (NASDAQ:LZ) are surging, last seen up 15.4% in premarket trading, after the online legal services firm reported a top- and bottom-line beat for its third quarter. Pus, the company hiked its full-year revenue forecast. In the past 12 months, LZ is down 60.2%, however.
-
Traders will have the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment data and five-year inflation expectations to digest.
European Markets Lower Amid U.K. Recession Fears
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared up 7.7% on Friday, after news that China is easing Covid-19 measures and cutting its quarantine time for international travelers by two days. Tailwinds from yesterday’s encouraging inflation data gave the region a boost as well. The South Korean Kospi rose 3.4%, Japan’s Nikkei added 3% --also fueled by an earnings beat from Softbank -- and China’s Shanghai Composite finished the day with a 1.7% pop.
Meanwhile, European bourses are mixed midday. London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.4% at last check, after the U.K. economy signaled a looming recession after contracting by 0.2% in the third quarter. Rounding out the region, the French CAC 40 and German DAX are up 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.