All three indexes are headed for weekly wins
All eyes are on Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures today, as the index moves higher and paces for an eighth-straight daily pop, its longest win streak since December. With rate hike worries tempered for the time being, investors' focus will hone in on big-name earnings. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also moving higher, with all three indices on track for healthy weekly wins.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.5 million call contracts and 834,322 put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call fell to 0.55, and the 21-day moving average fell to 0.70.
- Bumble Inc (NASDAQ:BMBL) stock is higher before the bell, after the dating app firm reported a top-line beat for the first quarter, while also bumping up its share repurchase program to $450 million. Two price-target hikes and an upgrade to “buy” from “neutral” at BofA Global Securities are helping power gains today. BMBL is down 22% in 2024 and fell to a record low of $9.83 on Wednesday.
- 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) stock is up ahead of the open, after HSBC issued an upgrade to “buy” from “hold,” as well as a price-target hike to $115. The analyst in coverage cited an improving macroeconomic backdrop as a reason for the bull note. 3M stock is up 6.4% in 2024 but has added 26% in the last three months.
- Cloud company Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) is down 9.3% before the open, reeling from a weak second-quarter outlook. The equity is at risk of snapping its four-day win streak, but already suffered a 13% year-to-date deficit heading into today.
- A busy week of earnings and inflation data on tap.
Asian Markets Digest Housing Data
Stocks in Asia finished mixed today, after rumors of a regulation proposal to exempt singular tax payers from paying dues on dividends surfaced in Hong Kong and Japan’s household spending for March of 1.2% came in lower than expected. The two winners were Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi, each with a 0.4% gain. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite finished down 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively.
Across the pond investors are looking more upbeat, extending Friday’s better-than-expected economic outlook in the U.K. All eyes are on big-name earnings reports as well, including IAG and Mediobanca, set for later this week. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 has added 0.7%, and Germany’s DAX is holding a modest 0.1% gain.