All three major indexes are pointed higher before the bell
Stock futures are on the rise today, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures up 86 points above fair value. With treasury yields pulling back from their recent highs and giving the market a boost this morning, the blue-chip index looks on track to rebound from its worst day since March. Elsewhere, investors are tracking a rising U.S. dollar and oil prices, while U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.2% in August, above analyst forecasts.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Steep two-day drops pose trouble for the SPX, says Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- Beverage stock to buy on the dip.
- Plus, two stocks with brand new bull notes; and Costco stock's post-earnings fate.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 958,054 call and 842,321 put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.88 and the 21-day moving average fell to 0.66.
- Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) stockis up 1.4% before the bell, after TD Cowen initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating and $16 price target. The firm cited the early innings of a "favorable denim cycle." Fresh off a Sept. 25 two-year low, the equity is down 16.8% in 2023.
- Morgan Stanley called toymaker Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) a "top pick," initiating coverage with an "overweight" rating. The stock is up 3.6% premarket, and carries an 18.9% year-to-date lead coming into today. On the charts, MAT's 60-day moving average has been acting as support.
- Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) stock is down 1.8% in electronic trading, despite the company's better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. The security is also brushing off no fewer than six price-target hikes. Coming into today, COST is up 21.1% in 2023.
- See what economic data is scheduled this week.
China Industrial Profits See Minor Fall Last Month
Asian markets were higher Wednesday, as investors digested China’s smaller-than-expected fall in industrial profits. Specifically, profits at the country’s industrial firms fell 11.7% year over year in August, less than the 15.5% drop in the first seven months of the year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the gains, adding 0.8% after trade in the area declined at a slower rate in August than economists anticipated. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is split on when to hike interest rates, according to the central bank’s latest meeting minutes, and the Nikkei managed a 0.2% pop amid the uncertainty. Rounding out the region, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi tacked on 0.09%.
European markets are mixed midday, as the regions traders assess China’s economic data. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.08%, Germany’s DAX is muted, and France’s CAC 40 is 0.08% higher.