Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a flattish open amid what has so far been a relatively quiet morning of headlines. 

Stocks posted broad gains yesterday, which pushed the Nasdaq Composite and the DJIA into positive territory for the week, while the S&P 500 now sits at its unchanged level for the week. Nine S&P 500 sectors posted gains on solid breadth figures, though a modest loss in the top-weighted information technology sector limited gains at the index level. 

The market remains expectant of a 25-basis-point rate cut at next week's FOMC meeting, a catalyst that lifted cyclical sectors and small-cap stocks yesterday. 

Investors will receive the weekly initial jobless claims report (Briefing.com consensus 220k) alongside the October trade balance at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by September Factor Orders at 10:00 a.m. ET. 

The market also has a decent batch of earnings reports to assess this morning, several of which are mentioned below. 

In corporate news:

• China is issuing general licenses for rare earth exports to ease tensions with the U.S., according to Financial Times.
• Paramount (PSKY 14.76, +0.09, +0.6%) increased the breakup fee for its Warner Brothers (WBD 24.49, -0.08, -0.3%) bid to $5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
• Salesforce (CRM 241.75, +3.03, +1.3%) beat EPS expectations by $0.39, reported revenues in-line, and guided Q4 EPS in-line with revenues above consensus. 
• Snowflake (SNOW 244.76, -20.24, -7.6%) beat EPS expectations by $0.04, beat revenue expectations, and saw product revenue rise 29%. The company guided for Q4 product revenue growth of 27%.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly higher note with Japan's Nikkei (+2.3%) reaching a three-week high. Japan's Nikkei: +2.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.7%, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.1%, India's Sensex: +0.2%, South Korea's Kospi: -0.2%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.1%.

In news:

• People's Bank of China Governor Pan published an op-ed in People's Daily, calling for prudent monetary policy, which represents a shift from the summer when policy was described as moderately loose. The comments were made as the yuan reached a 14-month high against the dollar.
• Japan's 10-yr yield climbed above 1.90% to its highest level since 2007 despite a strong 30-yr JGB auction.
• Expectations for 2026 rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia climbed again after the release of a strong Household Spending report.

In economic data:

• Australia's October trade surplus AUD4.385 bln (expected surplus of AUD4.440 bln; last surplus of AUD3.707 bln). October Imports 2.0% m/m (last 1.8%) and Exports 3.4% m/m (last 7.6%). October Household Spending 1.3% m/m (last 0.3%); 5.6% yr/yr (last 5.1%)

Major European indices trade in the green with Germany's DAX (+1.0%) showing relative strength thanks to leadership from automakers after President Trump announced a plan to reduce fuel efficiency standards for passenger vehicles. STOXX Europe 600: +0.4%, Germany's DAX: +1.0%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.1%, France's CAC 40: +0.5%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.1%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.4%.

In news:

• European Central Bank policymaker Cipollone said that the governing council is making decisions on a per-meeting basis and that the economy has been resilient.
• The Bank of England's Decision Maker Panel left its year-ahead CPI forecast at 3.4% while the three-year outlook was increased to 3.0% from 2.9%.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's October Retail Sales 0.0% m/m, as expected (last 0.1%); 1.5% yr/yr (expected 1.4%; last 1.2%)
• U.K.'s November Construction PMI 39.4 (expected 44.5; last 44.1)
• Swiss November Unemployment Rate 3.0%, as expected (last 3.0%). November Manufacturing PMI 49.7 (expected 48.9; last 48.2)