Stock Futures Churn as February CPI Meets Its Mark

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are struggling this morning. Inflation data isn't the culprit though; February's consumer price index (CPI) came in at 0.3% for the month, or 2.4% annually, as expected.

Oil prices are once again in focus, with front-month crude once more testing $90 per barrel, though reports indicate the International Energy Agency (IEA) is announcing a massive release of emergency oil reserves. Despite yesterday's Strait of Hormuz misinformation, there are confirmed reports that several Iranian ships have sunk.

• Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White digs into the relationship between stocks and oil.
• 4 stocks worthy of an award right now.
• Plus, drone maker shot down; Upstart eyes bank life; and Uber corners robotaxis.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange saw roughly 2.1 million call contracts and 1.2 million put contracts traded on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio slipped to 0.57, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.59. 
2. AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) stock is 10.5% lower ahead of the open, after the drone maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of estimates. Three brokerages have trimmed their price targets in response, the worst coming from UBS to $236. AVAV was down 8.4% year to date before today's gap, and will be testing the round $200 level.
3. Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST) stock is up 2.6% before the bell, after the AI lending company applied for its national bank charter to establish itself as an insured national bank. UPST is down 35.6% in 2026 and fell to a 24-month low of $25.60 on March 2.
4. The shares of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) are 3.6% higher in electronic trading, after the ride-share app announced a deal with Amazon.com (AMZN)-based Zoox for robotaxis. UBER is nursing an 11.4% deficit heading into today.
5. All eyes are on this week's inflation data.

Asian Bourses Bounce Back While Europe Lags

Asian markets finished mostly in the black, as investors monitored oil prices and Middle East turbulence. Japan’s Nikkei added 1.4%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the only loser, shedding 0.2%.

European markets are moving lower, as traders take a handful of earnings, including a post-earnings bear gap from German defense giant Rheinmetall. The U.K. also shared that three cargo ships had been hit off Iran’s coast, including one in the Strait of Hormuz. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.3% lower, and Germany’s DAX has shed 0.8%.