Stock Futures Churn Ahead of Quadruple Witching Day

Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are indicating a comfortably higher open as AI stocks regain their footing, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures hover on either side of breakeven. Blue-chip retail giant Nike (NKE) was last seen down 11.2% before the bell due to disappointing China sales. Expect some volatility today as it is this quarter's "quadruple witching" Friday, with four sets of derivative contracts expiring. 

• Call traders scoop up Oracle stock amid recent woes. 
• This big tech giant is flashing a historically bullish signal. 
• Plus, CRWV jumps on Genesis Mission; GNRC upgraded; and FDX brushes off beat-and-raise. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange saw over 2.2 million call contracts and more than 1.3 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.59, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
2. CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV) stock is up 5.5% premarket, after the neocloud name joined the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission to advance U.S. research and innovation. Plus, Citigroup resumed coverage with a "buy" rating. Publicly traded since late March, CRWV is down 60.2% in the last six months. 
3. Generac Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNRC) stock is up 3.7% before the bell, after Wells Fargo upgraded the power generator to "overweight" from "equal weight," citing AI data center growth. Year to date, the equity is down 11.6% heading into today. 
4. FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX) stock is down 2.5% in electronic trading, despite the company posting better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and lifting its full-year forecast. The stock also received several price-target hikes after the event. Should these losses hold, FDX will slip into negative territory for 2025. 
5. See what's coming up next week on Wall Street. 

Bank of Japan Lifts Rate

Asian markets finished higher, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked its key policy rate by 0.25 basis points as expected to 0.75% -- its highest reading in 30 years. In response, the 10-year bond yield charged over 2% higher to its strongest reading since 2006. A swing higher in tech also supported the upbeat sentiment. For the session, Japan’s Nikkei added 1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tacked on 0.8%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi enjoyed a 0.7% lift.

Stocks in Europe are mixed as investors comb through economic updates, France’s budget plans, and Nike’s (NKE) grim sales numbers in China. European Union (EU) officials also approved an aid package for Ukraine worth $105.5 billion. Plus, U.K. retail sales and Germany’s consumer confidence reading are slated for release today. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 is flat, France’s CAC 40 is off 0.1%, and Germany’s DAX is 0.02% higher.