Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are up triple digits at last look, ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium due at 10 a.m. ET. Investors are anxiously awaiting insight into the Fed's interest rate-cut trajectory, as well as the overall state of the economy. As of this writing, CME's FedWatch tool is projecting a 75% chance the central bank cuts interest rates at its September meeting. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are modestly higher as well, following five-straight losses for the SPX.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Quantum computing stock flashing bull signal.
- Why options trading is a valuable strategy.
- Plus, two stocks rising after upbeat forecasts, and why LCID is slipping.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.6 million call contracts and more than 1 million put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio came in at 0.62, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
- Zoom Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM) stock is up 4.4% premarket, after the video conferencing name posted strong second-quarter results and lifted its full-year forecast, citing AI utilization. Should these gains hold, ZM will cut into a good amount of its 10.3% year-to-date deficit.
- Discount retail stock Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) is up 3.8% before the bell, after the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and lifted its holiday-quarter forecast, two beats that are overshadowing a current-quarter revenue miss. Down 3.7% since the start of 2025, today's gains could push ROST into the black for the year.
- EV stock Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) is down 2.9% in electronic trading, after the California-based company announced a 10-for-1 stock split, going into effect after the close next Friday, August 29. Year-to-date, the equity is down 30.8%.
- GDP update, Nvidia earnings, and more due out next week.
Trade Updates, Economic Data Overseas
Asian markets finished a mixed week on a strong note. Japan’s Nikkei settled slightly above breakeven with a 0.05% gain, after the country reported a lower core inflation rate for July compared to the prior month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9% as the index added three new stocks, including Labubu-maker Pop Mart. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.5% to hit a 10-year high, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9% ahead of President Lee Jae Myung’s upcoming summit with President Donald Trump.
European markets are treading water. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen modestly above breakeven at 0.07% gain, as details from European Union’s (EU) trade deal with the U.S. continue to emerge, while France’s CAC 40 is 0.2% higher. Germany’s DAX is flat as second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data showed the economy shrank more than expected in the second quarter.
