Stock Futures Quiet with Nvidia, Chip Stocks in Focus

Stock futures are muted this morning, with all three major indexes hanging around fair value. as Wall Street awaits tomorrow's interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. Until then though, all eyes are on Nvidia (NVDA), after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that Nvidia (NVDA) could ship its H200 chips to "approved customers." This includes China and other countries, as long as 25% of sales are paid to the U.S. Trump also wrote that Chinese President Xi Jinping “responded positively” to the deal. 

• Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone points out the S&P 500 trendlines to watch as the "V rally" continues. 
• Analyst puts the pressure on Lululemon stock before earnings. 
• Plus, ARES to join the SPX; AZO slips on earnings miss; and CVS posts guidance.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 1.7 million call contracts and more than 1.1 million put contracts exchanged on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
2. Ares Management Corp (NASDAQ:ARES) stock is up 7.7% premarket, amid reports that the investment firm is replacing Kellanova (K) on the S&P 500, effective Dec. 11. The stock yesterday snapped an impressive 10-day win streak, and is looking to break into positive territory for 2025, should these gains hold. 
3. AutoZone Inc (NYSE:AZO) stock is down 2.6% before the bell, after the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings, revenue, and sales missed expectations, despite strong growth from the same quarter a year ago. Coming into today, the retailer is up 17.6% year to date. 
4. CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) stock is up 2.9% in electronic trading, after the pharmacy chain lifted its 2025 profit guidance and projected strong earnings growth through 2026. Since the start of the year, the equity is up 70.5%. 
5. See what's coming up this week aside from rate-cut buzz. 

Asian, European Markets Mostly Lower

Markets in Asia finished mostly lower today, except for Japan’s Nikkei, which rose 0.1% after President Trump's Nvidia announcement. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng paced the losers, dropping 1.3%, while the South Korean Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite settled 0.3% and 0.4% lower, respectively.

Sentiment is mixed in Europe, as anticipation grows surrounding tomorrow’s rate cut decision out of the U.S. The Fed is expected to influence the European Central Bank’s (ECB) and Bank of England’s (BoE) own interest rate moves. Expected later today is data out of Germany on exports and retail sales from Britain. At last check, London’s FTSE is off 0.02%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.6% lower, and Germany’s DAX sports a 0.3% lead.