U.S. Stock Futures Up as North Korea Tension Subsides

Coming off its worst week of trading since March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is signaling a positive start, with futures trading well above fair value. While threats of a possible nuclear war with North Korea drove last week's downside price action, a more diplomatic tone over the weekend from several top U.S. officials, including General Joseph Dunford -- chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff -- is helping to ease the fear. Amid a bare economic calendar, traders will be keeping an eye trained on Charlottesville, Virginia, following a deadly attack at a white supremacist rally on Saturday. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also higher, as U.S. stocks eye an up day.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• The FAANG stock analysts love. 
• The tech stocks crushed after earnings. 
• How to limit your losses with index options. 
• Plus, the Chinese internet stock posting losses; social media stock in retreat; and the car company stock driving higher.

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 729,994 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 687,810 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.94 -- the highest since April -- and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.68.
2. Despite reporting a 43.6% jump in second-quarter revenue and an increase in annual active customers, JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) is down 7% in electronic trading after its quarterly net loss widened, due to increased marketing expenses. 
3. Shares of Snapchat parent Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) are down 1.9% in pre-market trading after billionaire Dan Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point, dissolved its holding of 2.25 million Snap shares Friday -- just one quarter after buying the social media stock. In response, Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target on SNAP to $15 from $17.
4. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) is up 5.9% before the bell, after Automotive News reported that representatives from a Chinese car company made at least one offer to buy the the car company this month. FCAU reportedly rejected the bid as insufficient.
5. Canadian Solar (CSIQ) and Sysco (SYY) will report earnings today.

Overseas Trading

For the most part, stocks throughout Asia started the week on a strong note. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the way with a 1.4% increase, with China’s Shanghai Composite picking up 0.9%. These gains came despite the fact that the latest figures on factory output, retail sales, and fixed asset investment all came in softer than anticipated for the country. Also closing higher was South Korea’s Kospi, settling up 0.6%. But after being closed on Friday for holiday, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1% lower, even as second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) easily surpassed estimates.

It’s also shaping up to be a good day for European benchmarks. The banking sector is one group outperforming at the halfway point, while food stock Danone and Fiat Chrysler are both seeing strong gains thanks to M&A buzz. Meanwhile, industrial production in the eurozone fell slightly more than expected in June. Still, Germany’s DAX was up 1% at last check, while France’s CAC 40 was up 0.9% and London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5%.