Dow futures are up triple digits
Stock futures are higher this morning, as Wall Street looks to close the week on a strong note, boosted by easing U.S.-China trade tensions and softer inflation data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are up triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also firmly in the black.
New housing data is adding a cautious note to the morning, after U.S. single-family homebuilding fell 2.1% in April. While the U.S. and China announced a 90-day tariff truce earlier this week, uncertainty remains around the future of country-specific duties and broader trade policy.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What next week's Fed speeches and PMI data could mean for stocks.
- Fintech stock showdown: who deserves your attention?
- Plus, TTWO slips on weak forecast, CHTR jumps on Cox merger, and META edges lower on AI delay.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.3 million call contracts and over 1.2 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.52, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) is down 1.6% premarket, after the video game maker issued a disappointing fiscal 2026 revenue forecast of $5.95 billion to $6.05 billion -- well below Wall Street’s $7.91 billion estimate. The results follow news that Rockstar Games will delay the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to May 26, 2026. Over the last 12 months, TTWO has added 56.9%.
- Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) is up 9.7% in electronic trading, looking to extend a 22.4% year-to-date lead after announcing a $34.5 billion merger with private broadband provider Cox Communications.
- Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is down slightly before the bell, after reports the company is delaying the rollout of its flagship artificial intelligence (AI) model due to internal development challenges. The stock shed 2.4% on Thursday, and is up 10% year to date.
- Retail earnings, Fed speeches, and economic data on deck next week.
Overseas Markets React to GDP Data
Asian markets were all over the place today. Gross domestic product (GDP) data out of Japan contracted by 0.2% for the first quarter, more than the 0.1% estimate. The Nikkei is flat in response, but the yen is cooling against the dollar. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.5% and 0.4% apiece, respectfully, while South Korea’s Kospi brushed off small-cap weakness to add 0.2%.
In Europe, the United Kingdom (U.K.) GDP grew by 0.7% for the first quarter, topping analyst estimates. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called U.K. “the fastest economic growth in the Group of Seven.” The FTSE 100 is 0.3% higher at last check. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 and the German DAX are both up 0.4%, the latter hurtling toward a record high after defense giant Renk was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase.