DJIA Futures: +91 (+0.3%)
SPX Futures: +14 (+0.4%)
NASDAQ Futures: +35 (+0.3%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are rising as traders look ahead to the next inflation report on Thursday.
Let’s get right to it!
Mortgage refinance demand jumped last week as rates dropped at the beginning of the new year.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported refinance applications rose 5% weekly but volume was still down 86% year over year.
That surge in refinance activity came as the average 30-year contract rate fell to 6.42% from 6.58%.
But prchase applications fell 1% weekly and were 44% lower annually.
It was the lowest total of purchase applications since 2014 as buyers struggle with high rates and falling supply.
Shares of the major U.S. airlines are flat ahead of the open after the FAA temporarily halted all departing flights in the U.S. due to a system outage.
The regulator’s Notice to Air Missions System, which is used to send messages to pilots, went down this morning.
The FAA has just lifted the ground stop but the airlines are now working to catchup.
More than 3,700 flights remain delayed according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
The White House Press Secretary said in a tweet, “There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes.”
Southwest Airlines (LUV) shares are tumbling 2% in premarket trade after the president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association told CNBC the airline is preparing to cancel its flights today to avoid further disruption.
Tesla (TSLA) shares are up 2.5% ahead of the open after the company registered with the state of Texas to expand its EV factory in Austin.
Filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration show the electric automaker plans to spend $770 million on building new facilities at the factory.
The company plans to use the new facilities for battery cell manufacturing and testing, cathode and drive unit manufacturing, and a die shop.
Crypto firm Binance is planning a hiring spree this year even as its competitors like Coinbase (COIN) conduct mass layoffs.
Speaking at the Crypto Finance Conference in Switzerland, CEO Changpeng Zhao said the company plans to increase its staff by 15% to 30% this year.
In 2022, Binance increased its headcount from 3,000 employees to nearly 8,000.
Zhao said the hiring spree is an effort to get the company “well organized” before the next crypto bull market.
“We will continue to build and hopefully we will ramp up again before the next bull market,” he said.