Stock Futures Sink After Hotter-Than-Expected PPI Readings

Stocks moved sharply lower this morning following hotter-than-expected inflation data. The producer price index (PPI) and core PPI both rose 0.9% in July, firmly higher than Wall Street's estimated increases of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. On an annual basis, the headline PPI jumped 3.3% to a five-month high.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are both down triple digits, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sink into the red as well. Elsewhere, weekly jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to 224,000. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Call traders targeting Home Depot stock ahead of earnings. 
• A sneak peek at what's scheduled next week, including Fed minutes. 
• Plus, 2 stocks falling on disappointing guidance; while BMBL slips on share offering.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 3 million call contracts and more than 1.8 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio came in at 0.63, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
2. Luxury retail stock Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR) stockis down 15% in premarket trading. The company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, but a disappointing annual profit forecast is overshadowing the top-line beat. On track to drop abruptly from yesterday's record highs, TPR is up 197% year over year. 
3. Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) is down 6.1% ahead of the open, also brushing off a fiscal third-quarter beat, after the company lowered its annual forecast. Year-to-date, the equity is up 21.2%. 
4. Shares of Bumble Inc (NASDAQ:BMBL) are off 17% in electronic trading, after Bloomberg reported that shareholders are offering a block of shares at a heavy discount. Since the start of the year, the equity is down 12.2%. 
5. Still plenty more economic data scheduled this Friday. 

Nikkei Falls From Highs

In a sharp reversal from recent sessions, Asian markets closed mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.5%, retreating from its record highs the day before, as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) faced criticism from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over its handling of inflation. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, with caution ahead of China’s July economic data due Friday. South Korea’s Kospi scraped out a 0.04% gain after the government announced plans to overhaul its petrochemical sector.

European markets are off to a much better start. London’s FTSE was up 0.1% at last check, buoyed by better-than-expected second-quarter economic growth in the U.K. France’s CAC 40 is seeing gains of 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX is rising 0.7% despite a euro zone slowdown in industrial output that was more severe than anticipated.