Dow futures are trading flat as traders consider escalating situations involving Russia and North Korea
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading nearly flat with fair value this morning, as geopolitical concerns impact stocks. Most notably, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Russia, where the conversation is likely to center around the recent
Syria missile strike. Traders are also keeping a close eye on an escalating situation with North Korea, after the country threatened to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. And while global political tensions have recently been a boon for oil prices, May-dated crude futures were last seen 0.2% lower at $52.98 per barrel. On the economic front, stocks could also react to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), due out shortly after the open.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone explains the chart pattern throwing up a red flag for small-cap stocks.
- How AMD options traders have reacted to the stock's recent pullback.
- This bullish Cliffs Natural Resources stock signal has averaged a one-month return of 67%.
- Plus, United's PR problem worsens; analysts eye record highs for Visa; and Western Digital is set to soar yet again.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are trading just shy of fair value.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 643,952 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 396,670 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio moved down to 0.62, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64 for a ninth straight day.
- Despite climbing on Monday, shares of United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) are set to lose 2.5% at the open, as the company continues to deal with the fallout surrounding a video that surfaced yesterday showing a man being dragged off an overbooked flight. United CEO Oscar Munoz has since written a letter defending employees' actions, while a security officer involved in the altercation has been put on leave. In other news, Cowen and Company raised its price target on UAL stock to $75 from $72. The shares settled at $71.52 on Monday.
- Dow stock Visa Inc (NYSE:V) is also in analysts' crosshairs this morning, after KBW raised its price target to $104 from $99, representing record-high territory, and a 17% premium to last night's close at $88.86. So far in 2017, Visa stock is up nearly 14%.
- Analysts are also raising their outlooks on data storage firm Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC), with J.P. Morgan Securities upping its rating to "overweight" from "neutral," while also lifting its price target to $116 from $80. This comes after WDC stock hit an annual high of $86.26 yesterday, before closing at $84.78, bring its 12-month advance to almost 93%.
- Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak today, and Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) will step up to the earnings mic.
It was a mostly lower finish in Asia today, as geopolitical uncertainty overshadowed oil's continued rise. South Korea's Kospi settled down 0.4%, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group moved closer to the Korean Peninsula amid escalating tension in the region. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei closed 0.3% lower, as a strengthening yen weighed on exporters. Additionally, embattled Toshiba released its twice-delayed financial results, though an auditor has yet to sign off. China's Shanghai Composite bucked the regional bearish bias, however, tacking on 0.6%.
European benchmarks are mostly higher at midday, amid a rally in mining and luxury stocks. At last check, London's FTSE 100 is trading up 0.6%, after data showed inflation stood at 2.3% in March -- above the Bank of England's target. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 is flirting with a 0.06% lead. However, the German DAX is off 0.1%, as shares of Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor plunge on a downgrade -- overshadowing the ZEW business sentiment survey for April surging to its highest level since August 2015.