Futures on all three major benchmarks are confidently higher premarket
Stock futures are firmly higher this morning, as investors unpack the latest inflation data. Delayed consumer price index (CPI) data showed annual inflation at 2.7% in November, while core CPI came in at 2.6%, both lighter than analyst estimates of 3.1% and 3.0%, respectively. Meanwhile, AI heavyweight Micron Technology (MU) is soaring after earnings, up 13.3% at last check. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sit comfortably in the black as well.
- The best S&P 500 stock in 2025.
- There's still a handful of economic data due out Christmas week.
- Plus, LULU surges on investor stake; WDC rises after bull note; and BIRK falls as forecast disappoints.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 2 million call contracts and more than 1.5 million put contracts exchanged on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.75, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
- Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) stock is up 7.4% premarket, after activist investor Elliot Management took a $1 billion stake in the athletic retailer and is pushing for change. Since the start of the year, LULU is down 45.6%.
- Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) is up 4.6% in electronic trading, after Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $228 from $188, keeping its "outperform" rating. Year to date, Western Digital stock up an impressive 269% heading into today's trading.
- Birkenstock Holding PLC (NYSE:BIRK) is down 13.2% before the bell, despite better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, after a disappointing full-year forecast. The stock has been climbing since its early-November lows, but is still down 18.1% year to date.
- See what's coming up for the rest of this week.
Interest Rate Decisions in Focus
More policy meetings are underway, with Japan slated to conclude its two-day affair tomorrow. The country’s central bank is expected to raise rates to a 30-year high of 0.75%. AI and tech stocks weighed on sentiment, pushing the region’s Nikkei 1% lower for the session. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.1%, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%.
European stocks are mostly higher, after the Bank of England (BoE) lowered rates by 0.25% to 3.75%, its lowest mark in roughly three years. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) kept rates steady, though it did hike the euro zone’s growth outlook. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is flat, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.1%, and Germany’s DAX is 0.2% higher.