Wall Street's rally is attempting to resume
It looks like Wall Street's rally is getting back on track, with futures on all three benchmarks higher before the bell. The pop follows a batch of upbeat economic data, including a larger-than-expected drop in labor costs, a jump in productivity, and ADP's private payroll data that showed the job market is easing up.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw nearly 1.1 million call contracts and 626,550 put contracts traded Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
- Shares of Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) are 1.5% lower before the bell, after the e-commerce company held its investor day. At least one analyst in attendance called the event "half a victory lap," while another said the "shares may consolidate a bit here." Year-to-date, Shopify stock is up 115.3%.
- PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) is down 0.6% premarket after Bank of American downgraded the shares to "neutral" from "buy," saying new CEO Alex Chriss puts the online payments company in position for a "transition year." Coming into today, PYPL was down 18.7% in 2023.
- Toast Inc (NYSE:TOST) is 3.2% lower in electronic trading, looking to add to a 17.5% year-to-date deficit following a bear note from BoFA Global Research. The analyst downgraded TOST to "neutral" from "buy," saying uncertainties regarding macro spending trends and competition could pressure the restaurant services software company.
- The first week of December features a deluge of economic data and earnings.
Stocks in Asia Pop Amid BoJ Survey
Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors digested the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Tankan survey, which pointed to improving sentiment among manufacturers in the region. In response, Japan’s Nikkei added 2%, as commercial services and utilities stocks rallied. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi saw a marginal 0.04% increase, and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.1%.
European markets are higher as well, with mining stocks enjoying tailwinds from higher metal prices. France’s CAC 40 is up 0.6% at last glance, while London’s FTSE 100 sports a 0.5% lead. The German DAX boasts a 0.4% gain, too, as it looks to extend yesterday’s record highs.