Dow Futures Pop After Jobs, Inflation Data

With the exception of Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures, stocks are cautious before Thursday's trading. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index -- the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge -- rose 0.2% month over month and 4.2% year on year, both exactly as economists anticipated. Meanwhile, jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 26 came in at 228,000, below estimates of 235,000. 

Futures tied to the blue-chip index are up more than 150 points while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are modestly higher, as Wall street seeks its fifth-straight win.

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

• Why HP lowered its full-year forecast.
• Behind this semiconductor stock's downgrade.
• Plus, another discount retailer's earnings; PLTR's bear note; and an Amazon-Shopify collaboration. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw around 1.4 million call and 1.2 million put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.86 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
2. Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) reported second-quarter results today, missing analysts' expectations and slashing its fiscal-year guidance after sector peer Big Lots (BIG) earlier this week chimed in with similar results. Before the bell, DG is down 15.6%, as it looks to add to an already abysmal 36% year-to-date deficit.
3. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of data-analytics software firm Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) to "underweight" from "equal weight," though it raised its price target by $1 to $9. The bear note pushed PLTR 3.1% lower premarket, though these losses will do little but dent its 154.4% year-to-date lead.
4. Shares of Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) are surging ahead of the open, following a collaboration with Amzon.com (AMZN). Specifically, Amazon is launching Buy with Prime app on Shopify, allowing merchants more ease in offering shoppers the ability to make purchases with their Prime benefits. Already up 91.4% year on year, SHOP boasts an 8.2% gain in electronic trading.
5. Following the usual jobless claims data, investors will unpack the latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, personal income and spending data, and the Chicago business barometer.

Euro Zone Inflation Data Also Released

Asian markets finished mostly lower on Thursday, with the exception of the Nikkei in Japan’s 0.9% rise, after retail sales jumped 6.8% year-over-year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite both lost 0.6%, while the South Korean Kospi fell 0.2%. According to China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of 49.7 in August, the country’s factory activity shrank for a fifth-straight month, though China’s Beige Book survey showed consumer spending bouncing back in July.

Preliminary Euro zone inflation data came in at a higher-than-expected 5.3% in August, matching the previous month and remaining above the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target. The European bourses are higher across the board, however, with London’s FTSE 100 up 0.2%, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX rise 0.09% and 0.8%, respectively.