Stocks are on the rise following a disappointing first trading day of 2023
Stock futures are on the rise this morning, following a disappointing first trading day of 2023. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up triple digits, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures point higher as well. Encouraging inflation data out of France and Germany is giving sentiment a boost, as investors look ahead to today's U.S. job openings and ISM manufacturing data.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Why options bulls blasted this biotech stock.
- Chevron stock has a solid technical foundation.
- Plus, CRM announces restructuring plan; MSFT receives a downgrade; and AZN eyes more highs.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.2 million call contracts and 787,982 put contracts traded on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.63 and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.80.
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Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) is up 1.7% premarket, after news that the blue-chip software giant is cutting about 10% of its staff in its new restructuring plan. CRM was a
notable underperformer in 2022, down 47.2% year-over-year.
- UBS downgraded Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) to "neutral" from "buy," with a price-target cut to $250 from $300, citing a series of field checks directed at the company's Azure and Office businesses. MSFT is down 2.3% in electronic trading.
- AstraZeneca plc (NASDAQ:AZN) is up 1.6% before the bell, after the European Medicines Agency validated its Type II Variation application for its non-small cell lung cancer treatment. Should these gains hold, AZN will extend yesterday's record highs.
- Once again, the ISM manufacturing index is scheduled today, along with job openings/quits, and the federal open market committee (FOMC) meeting minutes.
Euro Zone Data Gives Global Boost to Stocks
Asian markets were mostly higher today, led by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 3.2% burst. Chinese technology and healthcare stocks listed in Hong Kong gave the bourse a major boost, with Baidu (BIDU) and Alibaba (BABA) both adding nearly 7%. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.7% and 0.2%, respectively, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 1.5% as traders in the region looked ahead towards the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes.
Stocks in Europe, meanwhile, are solidly higher, as investors unpack encouraging inflation data out of France and Germany that indicated the euro zone is seeing slowing consumer price increases across the board. At last glance, France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX, and London’s FTSE 100 are up 2%, 1.8%, and 0.4%, respectively.