Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Rise After Dow, S&P 500 Fall for 3rd Straight Session; Oil Prices Jump as Trump Orders Blockade of Venezuelan Tankers

Here’s How Much Traders Expect Nike Stock to Move After Earnings Thursday

9 minutes ago

Nike is set to post quarterly earnings after the market closes Thursday, with traders anticipating a big move from athletic apparel maker’s stock following the results.1

Current options pricing suggests traders expect Nike’s (NKE) stock could swing up to 7% in either direction by the end of the week. A move of that size from Tuesday’s close around $67 would push the stock up to around $72 at the high end, its highest level in two months though still in negative territory for the year. At the low end, the stock could drop down to $62.

While up from their April lows in the wake of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement, the shares are still down about 11% year-to-date. It hasn’t been an easy year for Nike, which continues to grapple with a number of challenges as part of its turnaround plan under CEO Elliott Hill, who took over last October, and higher tariffs haven’t helped.

Nike topped sales estimates when it last reported results in late September, but noted that persistent uncertainty around tariffs was negatively impacting its business, and profits declined. The company said at the time that tariffs could cost it about $1.5 billion annually, up from a previous forecast of $1 billion.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Nucor Stock Drops as Steelmaker Issues Soft Q4 Profit Outlook

41 minutes ago

Nucor (NUE) is “optimistic” about 2026 business conditions. Its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter outlook, however, is dragging shares.

Before the bell Wednesday, the steelmaker said it sees Q4 profit of $1.65 to $1.75 per share, well below the consensus estimate of $2.16 of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said earnings “are expected to decrease across all three of our operating segments as compared to the third quarter of 2025, driven by seasonal effects and fewer shipping days in Nucor’s fiscal quarter.”

Shares were down 3% an hour before the opening bell.

However, Nucor added that “as we look ahead into 2026, we are encouraged by backlogs that are materially higher than they were a year ago at this time, reflecting continuing momentum in select construction market segments such as energy, infrastructure, data centers and manufacturing. We are also optimistic that monetary, tax and trade policy will lead to continued gradual improvement in business conditions for Nucor.”

Entering Wednesday, Nucor shares were up about 40% this year.

What to Expect From Thursday’s Report on CPI Inflation

58 minutes ago

High inflation just won’t die. At least not yet.

A belated report Thursday is likely to show the Consumer Price Index rose 3.1% over the year in November, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. That would be up from 3% in September and mark the highest annual inflation since May 2024. Core inflation is expected to have risen 3% over the year, the same as September, by the median forecast.

Inflation has steadily risen since April, when President Donald Trump announced steep import taxes against nearly every U.S. trading partner. Businesses have passed on some of the tariff costs to consumers, pushing up overall inflation even as price increases for some important categories unaffected by tariffs, such as rent, have cooled down.

Accelerating inflation would worsen the dilemma faced by the Federal Reserve, which aims to keep inflation running at a 2% annual rate and has failed to do so since 2021.

Inflation had nearly cooled to that point in January after surging during the pandemic, but tariffs have kept it stubbornly high. Some members of the Fed’s policy committee have argued for keeping the central bank’s key interest rate high to discourage spending and quell inflation. However, they have been outvoted by the majority, which has favored cutting rates to boost the faltering job market.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Lennar Stock Drops as Homebuilder Issues Soft Outlook

1 hr 12 min ago

A tepid housing market affected Lennar’s fiscal fourth-quarter results and current-quarter outlook.

Shares of Lennar (LEN) fell 4.5% before the bell Wednesday, a day after the homebuilder reported a Q4 profit miss and issued soft guidance.

Lennar posted adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share, below the $2.24 consensus of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue of $9.37 billion topped expectations of $9.13 billion.

For the first quarter of its fiscal 2026, Lennar sees new orders of 18,000 to 19,000 and deliveries of 17,000 to 18,000. Both were below analysts’ estimates, as were projections for average sales price and financial services operating earnings.

“Even as interest rates moved slightly lower in our fourth quarter, the overall market remained challenged,” co-CEO and Executive Chairman Stuart Miller said.

Lennar shares entered Wednesday down more than 10% this year.

Oil Futures Rise After Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Tankers In and Out of Venezuela

1 hr 42 min ago

Yesterday, West Texas Intermediate futures touched their lowest level in nearly five years. Prices are rebounding Wednesday following a social media post by President Donald Trump.

WTI, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rebounded more than 2% to $56.40 after President Trump wrote on his Truth Social network Tuesday evening that he was “ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”

The U.S. last week seized an oil tanker full of Venezuelan crude, and has deployed warships and troops to the Caribbean as it looks to pressure the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.

On Tuesday, WTI futures briefly fell below $55 a barrel for the first time since early 2021.

Stock Futures Rise After Dow, S&P 500 Fall for 3rd Straight Session

2 hr 11 min ago

Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.4%.