All three major benchmarks are lower ahead of the open
Stock futures are firmly lower this morning, after U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annualized rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter, far below the 2.5% rise anticipated by analysts. The government shutdown had a hand in those numbers, but the economy still grew 2.2% in 2025. A highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs could also come out today. At this point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is eyeing a weekly loss, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are pacing for weekly gains.
- Options traders target oil ETF as prices rise.
- A look at TJX before next week's report.
- Plus, GRAL plummets after disappointing trial results; OWL extends fall; and CC pulls back after earnings.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 2 million call contracts and more than 1.3 million put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio came in at 0.64, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.59.
- Biotech stock Grail Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) is taking a nosedive this morning. The shares are down 49.9% before the bell, brushing off better-than-expected fourth-quarter results after its cancer screening trial missed its main goal. Should these losses hold, GRAL will open at its lowest level since September.
- Blue Owl Capital Inc (NYSE:OWL) dragged private credit stocks yesterday, and is today looking to extend those losses with a 3.3% premarket deficit, after selling $1.4 billion in loans. Year over year, the equity is down 51.7%.
- Chemours Co (NYSE:CC) stock is off 10.3% in electronic trading, after the chemical company's fourth-quarter earnings miss. Revenue also came in just below analyst expectations. Heading into today, CC is up 73.1% in 2026, last week hitting a 52-week high.
- Inflation data will close out February next week.
Economic Data in Focus Overseas
Asian markets finished the day mostly lower, as investors digested inflation data out of Japan and monitored tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.1%, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reported a headline inflation reading of 1.5% for January, below the 2% target for the first time since March 2022. Japanese bond yields cooled in response. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also fell 1.1%, weighed down by an underperforming tech sector. Bucking the trend, South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.3%, tapping a second-consecutive record high thanks to a boost in defense and chip stocks. Markets in China remained closed for Lunar New Year holiday.
U.S.-Iran developments are also in focus in Europe amid a fresh batch of economic data. Euro zone’s manufacturing PMI rose to 51.9 in February, surpassing expectation and suggesting business activity growth. Retail data out of the U.K. rose 1.8% for January, up 0.4% from December. In Germany, the producer price index (PPI) declined 3% year-over-year, wider than the anticipated 2.1% drop from analysts. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.5%, Germany’s DAX is 0.2% higher, and France’s CAC 40 has added 0.8%.