Stocks are backing down from a two-day rally before the open
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are pointed lower this morning, as stocks cool off from a two-day rally spurred by easing trade and geopolitical tensions. Investors are still eyeing Greenland developments, after the country's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said yesterday he isn't aware of what President Donald Trump's deal “framework” involves, but that it must respect the island's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Coming into Friday, the blue-chip index is the only major benchmark that is positive for the week.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 2.7 million call contracts and more than 1.1 million put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.41, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
- Shares of Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) are 13.4% lower premarket, falling from three-year highs despite better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, after the tech giant's current-quarter forecast fell below estimates. Longer term, INTC still sports a 148.5% year-over-year lead.
- Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock is down 1.2% before the bell, following reports that CEO Jensen Huang plans to visit China in the next few days ahead of the Lunar New Year. This comes after Chinese officials advised customs agents to not let the company's H200 chips into the country. NVDA sports a 25.7% nine-month lead.
- Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE:COF) shares are down 3.7% in electronic trading, after the bank's fourth-quarter profits missed expectations. The company also announced it will buy startup Brex for $5.15 billion. COF has added 17% over the last year.
- The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision is on tap next week.
Japan Holds Rates Steady
Asian bourses ended higher across the board on Friday, as investors eyed Wall Street gains and kept tabs on the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) decision to keep interest rates steady at steady at 0.75%. Also in the spotlight, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved Japan’s Lower House today while the country’s snap election looms. What’s more, the yen weakened 159 levels against the U.S. dollar, while the country’s December headline inflation rate declined to 2.1% -- its lowest level since March 2022 – although core inflation rates came in at 2.4%, matching estimates. Amid all the news, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.3%, no thanks to tech stock depletion after INTC's post-earnings drop. Elsewhere, Hong Kong Hang Seng Index gained 0.5%, while China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 0.3%, and South Korea’s Kospi tacked on 0.8%.
Markets in Europe are broadly lower today, as investors weighed events at Davos with special attention toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech. Also on Europe’s radar is President Trump’s “framework” agreement over Greenland, after he backed down on increasing tariffs for several countries. At last glance, the French CAC 40 is down 0.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX are both up 0.1%.