All three major indexes are quietly lower this morning
Stock futures are inching lower today, poised to take a breather from the string of record highs nabbed by the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI). As the month of September winds down, all three major benchmarks are headed for outsized monthly gains. New home sales data is due out at 10 a.m. ET today, and investors are also monitoring U.S. Treasury yields, which have been in an uptrend since last week's interest rate cut.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.4 million call contracts and 762,214 put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.54 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.65.
- General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) stock is down 3.3% premarket, after a downgrade from Morgan Stanley to "underweight" from "equal weight." The firm downgraded Ford (F) as well, as both stocks battle internal headwinds. Year to date, GM is up 33.8%.
- KB Home (NYSE:KBH) stock is off 6.1% before the bell, after the homebuilding name reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of analyst estimates. Nevertheless, Barclays and Wedbush both hiked their price targets to $99 and $75, respectively. Looking to fall further from last week's record highs, KBH is up 40% since the start of the year.
- Shares of China-based e-commerce stock Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) are down 2.8% in electronic trading, after surging yesterday following China's stimulus measures. In 2024, the equity is up 26.5%.
- What's coming up this week on Wall Street.
China Cuts Lending Rate
Stocks in Asia were mixed in today’s trading, with investors digesting the People’s Bank of China’s decision to cut the medium-term lending facility rate by 0.3% to 2%. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi were the only losers, falling 0.2% and 1.3%, respectively, with the latter snapping a six-day win streak. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7% and China’s Shanghai Composite tacked on 1.2%.
Taking note from Asian markets, European stocks are mixed. In Germany, software stock SAP plunged amid price-fixing allegation, while in France, Paris-based Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) upgraded its economic growth outlook for Britain. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3%, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX are nursing 0.2% and 0.3% losses, respectively.