(Update: June 25, 2021 at 08:33 a.m. ET)
- Key inflation indicator rises 3.4% in May from a year earlier, as expected.
- S&P, Nasdaq futures at peaks ahead of crucial inflation report.
- Nike, CarMax, Virgin Galactic & more made the biggest moves in the premarket.
(June 25) The core personal consumption expenditures price index for May was expected to rise 3.4% on a year-over-year basis, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Related: Key inflation indicator posts biggest year-over-year gain in nearly three decades
Fed's Favorite Inflation Indicator Surges To Highest Since 1991 As Savings Rate Slumps
S&P futures traded at record highs, tracking strong gains in Asian markets, as investors braced for the Fed's preferred inflation data following a tentative bipartisan agreement on infrastructure spending, while U.S. lenders rose after clearing stress tests.
At 7:58 am ET S&P futures were up 5pts or 0.12%, Dow Jones futs were up 120 or 0.35% and Nasdaq futs were up 10.5 or +0.07%. Global stocks are poised for their biggest weekly advance since April, extending their fifth monthly gain.
In a sign of the ongoing recovery still under way in the U.S., the Labor Department'sweekly jobless claims report out Thursday morningshowed a drop in new filings, even as the margin of improvement came in slightly weaker than expected. And on Friday, investors will be closely watching the Bureau of Economic Analysis' reported on core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which serves as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. This is expected to have risen by 3.4% in May over last year, marking the fastest increase since 1992.
On Thursday, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs, while the Dow jumped almost 1% after Joe Biden embraced the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Senate spending deal and as data showed a labor market recovery was on track, albeit at a slower pace. Major US banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup were all higher in premarket trading after all Wall Street banks passed the Federal Reserve’s stress tests, paving the way for over $140 billion in payouts. Nike surged 12% in premarket trading after sneaker maker forecast fiscal full-year sales ahead of Wall Street estimates prompting several analysts to raise their price projections, and helping Dow futures rise 0.3%. In sympathy, Adidas jumped 5.1% to 17-month high, while electricity producer Iberdrola dropped 2.1% to the lowest since early March. The latest evidence of a labor shortage came from FedEx Corp as the U.S. delivery firm missed 2022 earnings forecast due to hiring difficulties. Its shares shed 3.8%.
Here are some of the other big premarket U.S. movers today:
- Blank-check firm Property Solutions Acquisition (PSAC) rises 16% after it said the registration statement on its merger with electric vehicle maker Faraday Future had been declared effective by the SEC.
- Cannabidiol product seller Grove (GRVI) surges 35% rising further above yesterday’s IPO price of $5 per share.
- Netflix (NFLX) gains 1.3% after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to outperform, with subscriber growth expected to normalize in 4Q21. A survey by CS of U.S. consumers reinforced the stream platform’s strong competitive position and high user satisfaction.
- Nokia’s U.S. ADRs (NOK) rise 2.9% after Goldman Sachs upgrades the telecom equipment maker to buy from neutral and raises price targets.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Nike, CarMax, Virgin Galactic & more
1) Nike(NKE) – Nikereported quarterly earnings of 93 cents per share, well above the 51 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue beat forecasts by a wide margin and exceeded $12 billion for the first time. Nike benefited from pent-up demand for its shoes and apparel, and saw a 73% jump in direct sales through its apps and websites. Nike shares soared 12.5% in the premarket.
2) CarMax(KMX) – CarMax shares rallied 5.9% in premarket trading after the auto retailer reported better-than-expected sales and profit for its latest quarter. CarMax beat the consensus estimate by $1 a share, with quarterly profit of $2.63, helped by a pandemic-induced preference for cars over public transport.
3) Virgin Galactic(SPCE) – Virgin shares surged 11.5% in the premarket after the Federal Aviation Administration granted approval for Virgin to fly paying customers into space. It’s the first such approval granted by the FAA, and follows a successful test flight by Virgin Galactic in May.
4) FedEx(FDX) – FedEx beat estimates by 2 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $5.01 per share. The delivery service’s revenue also topped forecasts. CEO Fred Smith said operations are being crimped by an inability to find enough workers, however, and the company will ramp up capital spending by 22% this year to deal with delivery delays. The stock slid 3.9% in premarket trading.
5) Tesla(TSLA) – Japanese electronics giant Panasonic sold its entire stake in Tesla for about $3.6 billion during the most recent fiscal year, according to a Panasonic spokesperson. Panasonic was an early investor in Tesla, and is a major battery supplier for the automaker.
6) Netflix(NFLX) – Netflix rose 1.3% in the premarket following an upgrade to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse. The bank said it expects subscriber growth to normalize and that its recent consumer survey reinforced Netflix’s strong competitive position.
7) BlackBerry(BB) – BlackBerry shares added 1.3% in premarket trading after it reported a smaller-than-expected loss for its latest quarter. The security and communications software maker also saw better-than-expected revenue, as a jump in electric vehicle sales boosted demand for BlackBerry’s QNX software.
8) JPMorgan Chase(JPM),Wells Fargo(WFC),Bank of America(BAC),Citigroup(C) – Big bank stocks are on watch today after the Federal Reservegave passing marksto all 23 banks that were subjected to the latest round of stress tests. Following those results, the Fed said it would lift temporary restrictions on dividends and share buybacks.
9) Twilio(TWLO),Asana(ASAN) – Twilio and Asana have agreed to list their shares on the Long-Term Stock Exchange, a Silicon Valley-based operation that is designed to focus on long-term investing. They will continue to list on the New York Stock Exchange as well. The two cloud software companies were early investors in the Long-Term Exchange. Asana jumped 3.3% in premarket trading.
10) Credit Suisse(CS) – Credit Suisse is mulling various overhaul plans including a possible merger with rival European bankUBS(UBS), according to people familiar with the bank’s thinking who spoke to Reuters. Credit Suisse rose 1.2% in the premarket.
11) Doximity(DOCS) – The social network for doctors saw its stock slide 3.9% in the premarket, after going public at $26 per share and closing its first day of trading at $53.