Stock Futures Jump After Fed Comments, Jobs Data

The U.S. trade deficit was flat in March

Jake Scott

Deputy Editor

May 2, 2024 at 9:25 AM

Futures on Wall Street are higher Thursday, as traders continue to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that all but ruled out another interest rate hike. Additionally, last week's jobless claims inched up to 208,000 -- historically low levels -- while the U.S. trade deficit was flat in March. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are both up triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are above fair-market value.

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

The worst REIT stock to own in May.
Fed speeches and consumer sentiment data ahead.
Plus, Peloton's C-suite shakeup; Carvana's earnings; and Fastly's weak guidance.

Futures Chart May 022024

5 Things You Need to Know Today

The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.3 million call contracts and 1.1 million put contracts exchanged Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.84, while the 21-day moving average slipped to 0.70.
Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) said CEO Barry McCarthy is leaving his position. The home fitness equipment company is also cutting about 400 jobs, or 15% of its workforce. Up 10.9% before the bell, PTON is still down 47.1% in 2024.
Online used car seller Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) reported a blockbuster first quarter, turning in a surprise profit and issuing an upbeat current-quarter forecast. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the security to "overweight." In response , CVNA is up 36.6% ahead of the open, looking to add to a 1,106.2% year-over-year lead.
Fastly Inc (NYSE:FSLY) stock, meanwhile, sports a 37.1% premarket deficit. The cloud services company is brushing off better-than-expected first-quarter results after issuing weaker revenue guidance for 2024. So far this date, FSLY is 27.4% lower.
More earnings reports and jobs data are slated for the end of the week.

OV Buzz Chart May 2

Asian Markets Finished Session Scattered

Asian stocks were all over the place today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the region with a 2.4% pop, with tech and electric vehicle (EV) stocks leading the charge -- the latter up after upbeat April delivery numbers. The Shanghai Composite remained closed for holiday. Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.1%, even after the yen broke out against the dollar, ballooning to its strongest level in 11 days amid highly-suspected government ‘propping up.’ South Korea’s Kospi gave back 0.3%, as consumer prices for April came in at 2.9%, below the 3.1% number from March.

European bourses are lower at last check, as investors unpack earnings from regional giants such as drugmaker Novo Nordisk and energy giant Shell. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.4%, the French CAC 40 is 0.6% lower, and the German DAX is rising 0.1%.

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