The Fed's two-day policy meeting kicks off today
Stock futures are firmly higher this morning, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) both up triple digits. Investors are optimistic ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting kicking off today, with CME's FedWatch tool predicting a 67% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut tomorrow.
Elsewhere, retail sales rose 0.1% in August, better than the Dow Jones forecast for a decline of 0.2%, and excluding autos, showed an increase of 0.1% -- missing estimates of 0.2%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Bulls will need to find more buying power this week, per Schaeffer's V.P. of Research Todd Salamone.
- Options traders unfazed by volatile crypto stock.
- Plus, SEDG downgraded, INTC extends rise, and SHOP receives bull note.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.8 million call contracts and more than 1 million put contracts exchanged on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) is down 6.2% premarket, after the alternative energy stock was downgraded by Jefferies to "underperform" from "hold." Headed back toward last week's seven-year lows, the equity is down 76.5% year to date.
- Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is up 6.9% in electronic trading, extending last session's rise thanks to government funding, after the chipmaker announced it was spinning off its foundry business. Since the start of 2024, INTC is down 58.4%.
- Shares of Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) are up 3% before the bell, after Redburn upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral," citing e-commerce growth. The equity is just a chip-shot away from positive territory for the 2024, up 18% year over year.
- What's coming up this week aside from Fed updates.
Bank Stocks Making Moves Overseas
Markets in Asia closed mixed today, with several indexes fresh off holiday closures. Eyes were on Hong Kong’s largest initial public offering (IPO) since 2021, as appliance specialist Midea Group soared nearly 10% for its first session. The yen saw a sixth-consecutive day of growth, while several bouts of economic data and September inflation news from the U.S. remain in focus. For the day, Japan’s Nikkei shed 1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.1%.
Bank stocks are leading the charge in Europe today, with Commerzbank surging to 12-year highs on the heels of a Bloomberg report regarding potential stakeholder approval. Traders are itching to hear from the Bank of England (BoE) later this week, while the German economic outlook dimmed as the region’s economy continues to struggle. At last check, London’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40, and Germany’s DAX are all up 0.8%.