The Dow is gripping to a mediocre 21 points before the bell
Stock futures are sitting right at fair value this morning, struggling for direction ahead of a busy week on Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are up only 21 points at last check, while S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) futures are flat. Although markets are fresh off a winning week, the looming debt ceiling default deadline of June 1 has investors growing more skittish by the day. U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet later today to resume negotiations.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts and over 1 million put contracts exchanged on expiration Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.56 and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.72.
- DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) is up 3.8% premarket, after UBS upgraded the shares to "buy" from "neutral," citing expansion into new markets. DKNG is already up an impressive 111.7% since the start of the year.
- PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) is up 10% before the bell, after revealing its intent to sell 74 real estate construction loans to Kennedy Wilson Holdings for an estimated value of $2.6 billion. PACW has struggled this year, down 75% in 2023 so far.
- Sporting goods giant Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is shifting lower, off 1.7% ahead of the open, after sector peer Foot Locker (FL) last week missed top- and bottom-line estimates. Friday's losses saw NKE fall below its year-to-date breakeven mark.
- Economic data is looking bare today, though Zoom Video Communications (ZM) will report earnings after the close.
Overseas Markets Eye Debt Ceiling Talks
Stocks in Asia were higher Monday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng pacing the major indexes, adding 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.9%, extending its rally to stand more than 20% higher in 2023, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.8%. Rounding out the region, the People’s Bank of China kept 1- and 5-year loan prime rates the same, helping the country’s Shanghai Composite tack on 0.4%.
European markets are mostly lower this afternoon, as investors eye U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is muted, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 are both down 0.3%.