Fresh off another round of record closes, stock futures are moving lower today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are all pointed lower before the open, as profit taking and lackluster earnings reports weigh on Wall Street. IBM (IBM) is among the laggards, putting pressure on a resurgent tech sector.
Uncertainty between the U.S. and Iran remains a palpable point of contention, with President Donald Trump ordering the Navy to "shoot and kill" any ship laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, despite this week's ceasefire extension Elsewhere, jobless claims rose, the weekly 214,000 total surpassing the 210,000 estimate.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange saw roughly 2.5 million call contracts and 1.2 million put contracts traded Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.48, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
- Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) stock is up 7.7% premarket, after the media company reported a first-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Comcast also cited a record number of mobile customers and an improvement in broadband losses. CMCSA is up 5% year-to-date.
- In addition to a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss, American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) slashed its full-year outlook, citing rising fuel costs. AAL is nevertheless 1.8% higher before the open, the airline stock set to eat into its 25% year-to-date deficit.
- Shares of Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) are 5.7% ahead of the bell, after posting an earnings beat for the first quarter but a lackluster second-quarter outlook. Up 12.7% in 2026, Honeywell stock is 11% off its March 2 all-time peak of $248.18.
- Consumer sentiment will close out the week tomorrow.
Asian Markets Moved Mixed on Geopolitical Tensions
Asian markets were a mixed bag today, as geopolitical tensions simmered. Japan’s Nikkei nabbed a record high but retreated below 60,000 with a 0.8% loss, even as manufacturing activity grew at its fastest rate in four years and SoftBank outperformed. The Kospi in South Korea also scored an intraday record high and tacked on 0.9%, thanks to higher-than-expected first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), the fastest growth since 2020. China’s Shanghai Composite gave back 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1%.
In Europe, bourses are also struggling for direction. A post-earnings pop from L’Oreal is powering the French CAC 40 to a 0.4% lead. A jump in purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data out of the U.K. sent the FTSE 100 0.6% lower, while in Germany, a halved GDP forecast for 2026 sent the German DAX 0.3% lower.
