Positive sentiment is continuing after yesterday's interest rate decision
Stock futures are comfortably higher today, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) sporting triple-digit leads. As another batch of earnings reports roll in, investors are hopeful that the U.S. Federal Reserve is done raising rates this year, following the central bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Bond yields are falling in response, with the 10-year Treasury yield last seen around 4.69%, a far cry from the 5% levels two weeks ago.
Elsewhere, U.S. productivity rose a higher-than-expected 4.7% annually in the third quarter, while unit labor costs dropped 0.8%, in comparison to expectations of a 0.7% rise. Weekly jobless claims jumped to a seven-week high of 217,000, though job losses are still very low.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Contrarians should pay attention to this VIX signal.
- Why this REIT could move higher on the charts.
- Plus, two stocks flying higher after earnings; and what's boosting rideshare stocks.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 976,024 call contracts and 687,692 puts traded Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.70 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
- Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock is jumping 10.1% premarket, after the coffee chain's strong fiscal fourth-quarter results. Should these gains hold, the stock will gap to its highest levels since August and break into positive territory for 2023.
- The shares of Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) are soaring before the open, up 19.8% at last look, after the company's upbeat third-quarter results and fourth-quarter forecast. No fewer than three analysts have chimed in with price-target hikes after the event, though Oppenheimer lowered its to $100 from $110. Heading into today, ROKU is up 46.7% year to date.
- Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) stock is up 3.4% in electronic trading, while sector Peer Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) rises 3.1%, after both companies agreed to pay the state of New York a $328 million settlement on wage-theft allegations from drivers. Since the start of the year, UBER is sporting a strong 77% gain, while Lyft is down 16.8%.
- There is plenty more economic data scheduled this week.
Bank of England Leaves Rates Unchanged as Well
Asian markets were mostly higher Thursday, after the U.S. central bank left interest rates unchanged. South Korea’s Kospi led the gainers, adding 1.8% despite a third-straight month of accelerating consumer prices. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei also moved higher, gaining 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively, while China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.5%.
The major European bourses are substantially higher following the stateside rate decision, as well as news that the Bank of England (BoE) is also leaving interest rates unchanged. The BoE did, however, note that its monetary policy may need to stay tight for an “extended period of time.” At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is up 1.1%, while Germany’s DAX is 1.6% higher, and France’s CAC 40 boasts a 1.9% lead.