Stocks Set to Rally After Jobs Report, Spending Bill
It's shaping up to be another big day on Wall Street, with stock futures broadly trading above fair value. Investors this morning are reacting to the nonfarm payrolls report for November, which revealed an increase of 228,000 jobs, topping estimates of 200,000. However, wage growth for the period disappointed. Traders should stay focused on the economic schedule, too, since the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey and wholesale trade data come out later today.
Elsewhere, Congress was able to pass a two-week spending measure yesterday, avoiding a government shutdown for the time being. Progress on the Brexit front is also sparking optimism. Against this backdrop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is signaling a triple-digit jump out of the gate, and futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also sharply higher, giving the indexes a chance to close the week in positive territory.
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5 Things You Need to Know TodayThe Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 789,415 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 457,484 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio dropped to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.61.According to The New York Times, hedge fund Elliott Management is pushing for changes at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), including a potential sale. The news has ALXN stock up 8.6% before the open. The shares peaked near $150 in September, but have fallen on rough times since, suffering their lowest close since June yesterday, at $106.78. Bloomberg is reporting that Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube is planning to launch a paid music service early next year. This comes after company has become embroiled in a spat with Amazon in recent days. GOOGL stock settled yesterday at $1,044.57, recently bouncing from its 50-day moving average. Another stock to watch this morning is Trivago (NASDAQ:TRVG), as the shares received a much-needed bull note. Specifically, Deutsche Bank upgraded TRVG stock to "buy" from "hold," just days after it touched a record low of $6.45. On the other hand, Wells Fargo lowered its price target to $7.50 from $9. TRVG stock is headed 10.5% higher in electronic trading.There are no notable reports slated for release today, but retail earnings will continue to roll in next week.
Overseas Trading
Asian markets followed Wall Street's bullish lead, ending higher after a round of well-received economic data. In Japan, an upwardly revised reading on third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and a weakening yen helped send the Nikkei up 1.4%. Additionally, better-than-expected import and export data out of China boosted the Shanghai Composite to a 0.6% win. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi added 1.2% and 0.08%, respectively, amid a rebound in tech stocks.
A big rally in bank stocks is helping lift European benchmarks at midday, after the Basel III agreement found "no significant increase" in capital requirements for global financial institutions was needed -- a post-recession win for the sector. Traders are also reacting to upbeat Brexit developments, with U.K. and European Union (EU) leaders agreeing to terms that will advance divorce talks to the next stage. At last check, the German DAX was up 1%, the French CAC 40 was flirting with a 0.4% lead, and London's FTSE 100 was 0.7% higher after data showed factory activity rose for a sixth straight month in October.