Dow Futures Signal Underwhelming Open
Tesla stock is pointed higher on plans to raise capital
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointing toward a lower open, with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) following suit. Investors continue to digest Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments indicating interest rates will likely remain unchanged, which dampened expectations for a rate cut. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is pointing toward a modestly higher open, with Tesla (TSLA) shares set to jump on the company's plans to raise $2 billion in capital.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
2 red-hot blue chips flashing "buy."This Kylie Jenner stock could heat up this summer.Alibaba stock is signaling a breakout.Plus, Caterpillar's dividend hike; Kellogg's C-Suite exit; and Yeti stock sinks despite a beat-and-raise.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.20 million call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 764,643 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.Ahead of its investor day, construction machinery name Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is up 0.8% in pre-market trading, after the company said it plans to hike its quarterly cash dividend by 20%. The firm also plans to buy back shares over the next four years. CAT has been in a channel of higher highs and lows since November, and is up 8.7% year-to-date.Shares of Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) are down 3.3% this morning, after the cereal name issued lackluster guidance and said CFO Fareed Kahn will be leaving July 1. Kellogg's stock made a turnaround in late March, and recently broke above the resistant $60 mark for the first time since late December.Cooler maker Yeti Holdings Inc (NYSE:YETI) is down 9% in electronic trading, despite the company reporting a first-quarter earnings and sales beat, and uppingits full-year profit outlook. YETI has been climbing the charts since late December, and just this past Tuesday touched a fresh record high of $36.57.Traders can expect weekly jobless claims, productivity costs, factory orders, and the Fed's balance sheet. For earnings, DowDuPont (DWDP), Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Dunkin' Brands (DNKN),GoDaddy (GDDY), Planet Fitness (PLNT), Skyworks (SKWS), Tableau Software (DATA), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), Under Armour (UAA),and WW (WTW) will report.
Europe Sees Risk-Off Trading
With the Chinese Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei still closed for holiday, traders were left to monitor Hong Kong and South Korean stocks. For the former's Hang Seng, the index gained 0.8% thanks to upbeat headlines around U.S.-China trade talks. The Kospi also rose in South Korea, adding 0.4%.
In Europe, it's mostly been a risk-off session, with the majority indexes trading at or below breakeven. Traders are considering central bank updates in the U.S. and England, a raft of corporate earnings, and disappointing economic data. Looking at the latter first, factory orders in the eurozone were weaker than expected in April, contracting for a third consecutive month. In earnings, automaker Volkswagen is gaining on well-received numbers, while investors also cheered results from BNP Paribas. Elsewhere, the Bank of England (BoE) left interest rates unchanged and raised its economic outlook for the U.K. Still, the FTSE 100 was last seen slightly lower, the French CAC 40 is down 0.4%, and Germany's DAX is sporting a slim 0.2% lead.