Stock Futures Cool Off; Bitcoin Clears $100K

Stocks are taking a breather from yesterday's record closes, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) all trading either lower or near breakeven this morning. The cryptocurrency sector is the big story today, after Bitcoin (BTC) topped the $100,000 level for the first time in the previous session. Wall Street also has jobs data to unpack, as unemployment claims rose to 224,000 last week, above estimates of 215,000.

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

• Roku stock charges higher on analyst praise.
• 2 electric air taxi stocks primed for a short squeeze.
• Plus, more on the BTC breakout; Five Below's blowout report; the assassination of UNH's CEO. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 2 million call contracts and more than 1 million put contracts exchanged Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.49 and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.62.
2. MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) stock is up 8.6% before the bell, looking to extend yesterday's 8.7% win that followed Bitcoin's (BTC) first break over $100,000.  The software company has been buying Bitcoin since 2020 and is now the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. MSTR is up 542.8% in 2024.
3. Discount retail stock Five Below Inc Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) is up 14.8% in premarket trading, after the company raised its full-year sales and profit outlook amid strong Black Friday sales. The company also easily beat third-quarter estimates and drew 10 of price-target hikes, the highest coming from UBS to $150 from $108. FIVE is down 50.8% this year, however, heading into today.
4. UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) stock is down 0.2% ahead of the open, after CEO Brian Thompson was shot and  killed in what New York law enforcement called a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack." Shell casings found at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them. UNH added 29.2% in the last nine months.
5. There's a flood of economic data scheduled for this week. 

European Stocks Higher Amid France's Political Shakeup

Stocks in Asia closed mixed, with all eyes on South Korea amid continued attempts to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. Revised gross domestic product (GDP) data also surfaced from the country, showing a 0.1% expansion quarter over quarter and 1.5% annual growth – both in line with estimates. In response, the region’s Kospi closed 0.9% lower. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.07%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.1%.

Over in Europe markets are moving modestly higher, with a lens on France’s Prime Minister Michel Barnier after his administration was voted out of power yesterday. Major U.K. mobile phone services Vodafone and Three were given approval to merge by the Competition and Markets Authority, sending the former stock surging. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.1%, and Germany’s DAX is 0.4% higher.