Futures on all three major indexes are on the rise this morning
Following weekly losses, futures on all three major benchmarks are firmly higher before the open this morning. Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are up triple digits, as investors buy in on the tech sector's recent dip. It's set to be a busy week for economic data, with August's consumer price index (CPI) data due out Wednesday. Elsewhere, oil prices are easing after last week's surge.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Be careful with the real estate sector this month.
- Another stock enjoying AI tailwinds.
- Plus, TWNK soars on buyout; TENB upgraded; and META joins the AI arms race.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.5 million call and more than 1.1 million put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.75 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- Hostess Brands Inc (NASDAQ:TWNK) is up 17.5% premarket, after news that J.M. Smucker (SJM) will acquire the snack company in a deal worth roughly $5.6 billion. Should these gains hold, TWNK will hit a new record high. Since the start of the year, the equity is up 25.3% heading into today.
- J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded Tenable Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TENB) to "overweight" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $56 from $51, noting the cybersecurity company is poised to see better business fundamentals in the future. Up 4% before the bell, the stock is up 15.9% since January.
- Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is up 1.4% premarket, after the Wall Street Journal reported on the tech giant's new artificial intelligence (AI) system over the weekend. The model is expected to be released next year, and will be stronger than the one released two months ago. META is up 125.3% so far this year.
- See what economic data is scheduled for the rest of the week.
Flood of Economic Data Overseas
Stocks in Asia were mixed Monday, as investors in the region awaited China’s industrial output, retail sales, and house sale prices data. China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.8% after the country’s consumer price index (CPI) grew 0.1% in August – a positive inflation rate for the first time since May -- while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled 0.6% lower. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.4% after the Yomiuri newspaper said the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is entering “a phase of reducing monetary easing.”
A deluge of economic data is due out of Europe as well, and markets across the pond are higher ahead of the releases. At last glance, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 are both 0.3% higher, but London’s FTSE 100 sits flat.