Another Fed inflation favorite posted results that were in line with expectations
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are firmly higher this morning, as investors digest the latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data, which rose the expected 0.2% for July. This reading acts as an important inflation guide for the Fed ahead of a widely anticipated September interest rate cut.
For markets, the month and week are looking to close with varied results. Notably, the S&P 500 is on track for its fourth consecutive month in the black, and the Dow is pacing for a 1.3% August gain.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.5 million call contracts and 957,864 put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.62 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.
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Shares of
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) are enjoying an early morning lift, up 2% before the bell after
landing an upgrade at HSBC to "buy" from "hold." The firm also hiked its price target to $339 from $302, a significant leap from CRWD's current post of $271.67. Over the past 12 months, the IT giant has climbed 82%.
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Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) is 3% higher before the bell, riding on the coattails of its second-quarter earnings beat, brushing off a revenue miss and lowered outlook. The
athleisure name has been in a dramatic rut this past year, now off nearly 50% for 2024.
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Big Tech leader Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) is climbing 3% in the pre-market trading, after reports surfaced suggesting the company is working closely with finance professionals to aid the recovery of its core business weakness. INTC suffered a steep post-earnings bear gap earlier this month and now sports a steep 60% year-to-date deficit.
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Asian Stocks Higher on Hells of Tokyo Inflation
Asian markets settled higher on Friday, as stateside inflation fears eased on the back of U.S jobs data. Investors also unpacked a slew of economic data out of Japan, with the inflation rate in Tokyo for August surging to its highest level since March, while the unemployment rate in July rose above estimates, and retail sales for last month came up short of expectations. Japan’s Nikkei tacked on 0.7%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5% after announcing a retail sales slump of its own for July. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite added 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
European markets are on the rise as well, after euro zone inflation for August hit a three-year low of 2.2%. Plus, traders are sifting through inflation data out of Germany and France, with the latter also seeing 0.2% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second quarter. France’s CAC 40 was last seen 0.4% higher, London’s FTSE is up 0.3%, and the German DAX sports a 0.2% lead.