Stock Futures Higher as Wall Street Eyes 7th Week of Gains

Stock futures are higher Friday, as Wall Street looks to build on yesterday's highest close of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) yesterday touched an all-time high following dovish Federal Reserve commentary. Even better, all three major benchmarks are heading for their seventh-straight weekly win.

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

• Why call traders should bet on this software stock.
• This casino stock is flashing a bear signal right now.
• Plus, 2 earnings reports to unpack, and Colgate-Palmolive's bull note.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more nearly 2.3 million call contracts and more than 1.3 million put contracts traded Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.55, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.69.
2. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is 2.1% higher premarket and looking to add to a more than 38% year-to-date lead after an upbeat earnings report. Specifically, the whole sale retailer's fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue were higher than expected, and the company announced a special $15 per share dividend. 
3. Homebuilder Lennar Corp (NYSE:LEN) also reported, with its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, revenue, and new orders besting Wall Street's estimates. However, the shares are 3.1% lower before the bell, after the company's gross margins were lower than expected. Year to date, LEN is 71% higher. 
4. Bank of America Securities upgraded Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) to "buy" from "neutral," saying it expects the company's U.S. volume and market share to turn positive, among other catalysts. In response, CL is 1% higher in premarket trading, as it attempts to overcome a slim year-to-date deficit.
5. Employment and inflation data are set to close out the week.

European Investors Digest Moves from Several Central Banks

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday, after China last month saw its best industrial output growth since February 2022. Investors also unpacked the country’s worse-than-expected retail sales figures for November, as well as housing prices and urban investment data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the gainers with a 2.4% jump, followed by Japan’s Nikkei 0.9% win. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8%, and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.6%.

European markets are mixed, as investors continue to weigh interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England (BoE), and European Central Bank (ECB). France’s CAC 40 is up 0.4%, while the German DAX is only slightly above breakeven with a 0.03% gain, and London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.7%.