Stock Futures Move Higher Ahead of Fed Meeting

The highly-anticipated Fed meeting kicks off today

Deputy Editor
Jan 31, 2023 at 9:19 AM
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Stock futures are on their way higher this morning, as investors unpack a slew of corporate earnings and await the start of today's highly anticipated Fed meeting. Meanwhile, the U.S. employment cost index (ECI) rose 1% in the fourth quarter -- below estimates of 1.1% -- which does little to curb the Fed's hawkish stance regarding inflation. All three major indexes are heading toward impressive monthly wins, with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) eyeing its best January since 2019.

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

  • Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone details a bullish case for the S&P 500. 
  • Medtech stock could conquer long-term resistance
  • Plus, SPOT's earnings blowout; a strong forecast for GM; and Pfizer's grim outlook.

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5 Things You Need to Know Today

  1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.2 million call contracts and 719,610 contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.56 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.81.
  2. Making moves pre-market is music streaming name Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT), after the company reported an upbeat fourth quarter earnings and revenue. SPOT cited strong user growth and is now sporting a 26% year-to-date gain.
  3. General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM) is up 4.7% before the bell, after the automotive name beat top- and bottom-line estimates for its fourth quarter. The company also issued a strong 2023 forecast. Year-over-year, the equity is up 27.8%. 
  4. The shares of Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) are down 2.9% in electronic trading, after the company's mixed fourth-quarter report and disappointing guidance. Since the start of the year, PFE is down 15%. 
  5. Today will bring the S&P Case-Shiller and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) home price indexes, the rental vacancy rate, the Chicago business barometer, and the consumer confidence index,

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Investors Unpack Economic Data Overseas

Stocks in Asia were lower Tuesday, dragged down by regional economic data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1% and 0.4%, respectively, even after the latter’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) expanded for the first time since October. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1%, after factory output fell 7.3% in December – its worst annualized reading since May 2020. Rounding out the region, Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.4% lower, after December’s unemployment rate of 2.5% met expectations.

Better-than-expected economic growth isn’t helping European bourses this afternoon. In a surprise for analysts, the euro zone economy grew 0.1% in the final quarter of 2022. When broken down by country though, Germany, Europe’s largest economy, contracted by 0.2%, while France’s economic growth also slowed during the quarter. At last glance, the German DAX and French CAC 40 are 0.4% and 0.3% lower, respectively, while London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.7%.

 

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