Stock Market Futures Slip As Recent Rally Loses Steam
Stock market futures are edging lower as investors reel in expectations with more Omicron data rolls in. Overall, this is understandable given the recent hot streak in stocks. As things appear to be slowing down today, investors may be wondering if the market still has room to run moving forward. Well, for one thing, the general narrative we are looking at is a fight between the reopening trade and Omicron news. On one hand, the Omicron variant is reportedly more mild in severity but is apparently more infectious than the Delta variant. On the other hand, the current reopening trade continues to power on as retail markets hold strong.
Today, a key piece of data contributing to this debate would be the weekly initial jobless claims. As it stands, current estimates are expecting 211,000 claims, a rise from last week’s 222,000. Even so, Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock investment management, seems optimistic. She says, “We do think that there is fundamental support there for markets to continue to move higher here.” She adds, “Obviously we had a couple of things spook us over the last week or so, the emergence of the Omicron variant as well as this pivot from the Fed, potentially seeing them accelerating their tapering of asset purchases here. But the bottom line is that the economy is strong.”
Nevertheless, there is plenty of exciting stock market news to consider today. As of 7:32 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading lower by 0.27%, 0.28%, and 0.36% respectively.
RH Surges On Earnings Beat And Better Outlook
RH (NYSE: RH), formerly known as Restoration Hardware, is among the latest retailers turning heads this earnings season. After yesterday’s closing bell, the company posted record figures across the board in its third-quarter earnings report. In detail, RH posted an earnings per share of $7.03 on revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter. Notably, this smashed Wall Street’s estimates of $6.63 and $984 million respectively. If all that wasn’t enough, RH also raised its OVe outlook for the fiscal year, matching that of consensus estimates.
By and large, the uptick in demand for RH’s offerings comes as no surprise. Seeing as it is the year-end holiday season, most would consider redecorating their homes. This would be where a leading home furnishings store such as RH comes into play. The company said, “Our performance demonstrates both the desirability of our exclusive products and our ability to overcome the compounding supply chain challenges that led us to delay the launch of RH Contemporary, the opening of our first RH Guesthouse and several Galleries, and the mailing of our Fall Source Books until Spring of 2022.” Given the current momentum seen in RH’s operations, investors could be watching RH stock closely in the stock market today.
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Roku Inks Multi-Year Deal To Keep YouTube On Platform
In other news, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) seems to be making a comeback in the stock market now. Evidently, ROKU stock soared by over 18% throughout yesterday’s intraday trading session. For the most part, this would likely be thanks to the company’s latest team-up with Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary Google. In particular, Roku and Google are extending an existing partnership. The duo have come to a multi-year agreement, keeping Google’s YouTube and YouTubeTV services on Roku’s platform. Considering YouTube’s popularity, this is a solid win for Roku.
More importantly, the current deal serves to quell fears from Google’s initial plans to pull its services. Now, Roku’s 56.4 million active accounts can continue to watch YouTube and YouTubeTV without disruptions. Not to mention, both firms can also leverage their respective user bases to help grow active user counts across the board. All in all, this deal comes at a great time for Roku as holiday shoppers eye its latest streaming boxes. With competitors like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) supporting YouTube on their streaming platforms, Roku would not want to be the odd one out. Regardless, I could see ROKU stock coming into focus this holiday season.
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Trump Stocks Among Top Gainers In The Stock Market
Elsewhere, stocks related to former President Donald Trump are making waves in the stock market now. For starters, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: DWAC) is the focus of this trend. Since DWAC announced its business merger with the Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC stock is currently up by over 500%. Through the SPAC merger, the firm will likely continue to fund its upcoming social media platform, Truth Social. With all this movement in DWAC stock, investors appear to be keen on ‘Trump stocks’, to put a name to it.
At the same time, another company linked to the former president appears to be gaining momentum as well. Namely, a Canadian video-sharing platform called Rumble is looking to go public by merging with CF Acquisition Corporation VI (NASDAQ: CFVI). Earlier this month, news broke of Trump being a member of the platform. Since then, CFVI stock is up by over 50%. Whether you are looking to jump on social media stocks or ride the Trump train, these two firms continue to turn heads.
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Earnings To Note Today
Aside from all that, there is no shortage of major companies reporting earnings in the stock market today. In the pre-market, we have Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), Liquidity (NASDAQ: LQDT), and Arhaus (NASDAQ: ARHS).
Alternatively, we have plenty of consumer-focused firms hosting their latest earnings calls after the closing bell. Namely, the likes of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU), Chewy (NYSE: CHWY), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), American Outdoor Brands (NASDAQ: AOUT), and Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN). Additionally, semiconductor chip giant Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and computer software firm Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) are also on tap. From steadying markets to companies making plays, investors will likely be on their toes in the stock market today.
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