Wall Street is brushing off cautious Fed rhetoric, for now
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are up triple digits this morning, after President Donald Trump revealed the U.S. and United Kingdom struck a trade deal, with a press conference coming at 10 a.m. ET. Megacap tech stocks are notable winners, following news that the Trump administration will reverse artificial intelligence (AI) chip controls that would have gone into effect at the end of the month.
Wall Street brushed off Federal Reserve Chair's Jerome Powell's warning of a tariff-related economic slowdown yesterday should the levies remain unchanged, as the central bank kept interest rates steady. Investors are also unpacking jobs data today, with weekly unemployment claims for last week falling to 228,000 -- slightly below analysts' estimates of 230,000.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.7 million call contracts and 934,284 put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio came in at 0.54, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
- Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR) stock is down 0.2% before the open, after the company reported a top- and bottom-line miss for the first quarter as same-store sales tumbled at Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes. QSR has fallen more than 8% in the last 12 months.
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CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) revealed plans to lay off 500 of its employees, or about 5% of its workforce due to artificial intelligence (AI) advances. CRWD is 1% higher in premarket trading, and boasts an 83.2%
nine-month lead.
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The shares of
AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) are up 13.7% ahead of the open, after the tech company announced better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter and said it will sell its
mobile gaming business. APP sports a jaw-dropping 293.6% year-over-year lead.
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Inflation data is due out this week, and the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) two-day policy meeting will be in focus.
European Markets Rise on Rate Cut, U.K. Trade Deal
Asian bourses rose modestly across the board today, encouraged by the Fed rhetoric stateside. Now, investors turn their eyes to trade talks between the U.S. and China, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to meet in Switzerland this week to iron out trade and economic issues with his counterpart. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4%, while small caps propelled the South Korean Kospi to a 0.2% win. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4% as well, and China’s Shanghai Composite tacked on 0.3%.
In Europe, markets are on the move higher, as a trade deal with the U.K. gets finalized. There’s also an interest rate cut from the Bank of England (BoE) that is lifting investor sentiment. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.3%, while the French CAC 40 and the German DAX are both 1.2% higher.