Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are down 67 points and are trading 1.1% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 278 points and are trading 1.4% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 388 points and are trading 0.9% below fair value.

There's been no follow through to yesterday's rally. Pre-open selling has the contracts linked to the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Industrials sharply lower.

The European Central Bank is expected to announce a 25 basis point rate cut at 8:15 ET.Other items on the calendar this morning include the release of weekly jobless claims at 8:30.

The 10-yr yield is up two basis points from yesterday at 4.29% and the 2-yr yield is down six basis points to 3.93%.

In corporate news:

• Marvell (MRVL 74.90, -15.24, -16.9%): beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line
• Veeva Systems (VEEV 233.99, +14.05, +6.4%): beats by $0.16, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS above consensus, revs in-line
• Zscaler (ZS 204.39, +7.94, +4.0%): beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; guides FY25 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
• MongoDB (MDB 215.18, -48.95, -18.5%): beats by $0.62, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus
• Macy's (M 12.76, -0.55, -4.1%): beats by $0.26, reports revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; intends to resume share buybacks
• Alibaba (BABA 144.05, +3.02, +2.1%): aiming to introduce new AI model, according Reuters 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly higher note. Japan's Nikkei: +0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +3.3%, China's Shanghai Composite: +1.2%, India's Sensex: +0.8%, South Korea's Kospi: +0.7%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.4%.
  • In economic data:
    • South Korea's February CPI 0.3% m/m (expected 0.2%; last 0.7%); 2.0% yr/yr (expected 2.0%; last 2.2%)
    • Australia's January Building Approvals 6.3% m/m (expected -0.1%; last 1.7%); 9.1% yr/yr (expected 5.6%; last 10.1%) and Private House Approvals 1.1% m/m (last -2.8%). January trade surplus AUD5.62 bln (expected surplus of AUD5.85 bln; last surplus of AUD4.92 bln). January Imports -0.3% m/m (last 5.9%) and Exports 1.3% m/m (last 1.2%)
  • In news:
    • Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+3.3%) reached its best level in three years.
    • There was some speculation about a potential unscheduled bond buying operation from the Bank of Japan after heavy selling drove Japan's 10-yr yield higher by six basis points to 1.49%.
    • China Securities Times speculated that property rules in Shanghai and Beijing could be relaxed.
• Major European indices trade on a mostly lower note. STOXX Europe 600: -0.5%, Germany's DAX: +0.2%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -1.0%, France's CAC 40: -0.5%, Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.1%, Spain's IBEX 35: -0.6%.
  • In economic data:
    • Eurozone's January Retail Sales -0.3% m/m (expected 0.1%; last 0.0%); 1.5% yr/yr (expected 1.9%; last 2.2%). February Construction PMI 42.7 (expected 45.4; last 45.4)
    • Germany's February Construction PMI 41.2 (last 42.5)
    • U.K.'s February Construction PMI 44.6 (expected 49.5; last 48.1)
    • France's February Construction PMI 39.8 (last 44.5)
    • Italy's February Construction PMI 48.2 (last 50.9)
    • Swiss February Unemployment Rate 2.7%, as expected (last 2.7%)
  • In news:
    • Germany's DAX (+0.2%) outperformed with a modest gain ahead of an expected 25-basis point rate cut from the European Central Bank at 8:15 ET.
    • Regional debt has faced continued pressure with Germany's 10-yr yield (2.86%) adding another seven basis points as the market adjusts to plans for more military spending and a relaxation of debt rules.
    • The Bank of England's Decision Maker Panel survey for January showed no change in one-year (3.1%) and three-year (2.8%) CPI expectations.
    • Airlines Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM reported strong quarterly results.