Dow Signals Positive Open; All Eyes on Harvey

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is signaling a positive open, with oil stocks in focus after Hurricane Harvey pounded the Gulf Coast. Gasoline futures hit two-year highs after massive flooding caused several refineries along the the Gulf Coast to shut down over the weekend. On the other hand, October-dated crude futures were last seen 0.5% lower at $47.60 per barrel. President Trump plans to travel to Texas on Tuesday to review the state's efforts to recover from the hurricane.

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

• The best buy signal of 2017. 
• Analysts: There's a clear winner in social media, and it's not Twitter.
• 2 oil stocks pounded by Hurricane Harvey options traders.
• Plus, 2 stocks soaring after buyout deals; and Amazon officially takes ownership of Whole Foods.

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 685,990 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 471,455 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio remained at 0.69, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.71.
2. Shares of Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE) are up 29% in pre-market trading, after U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) announced it would buy the company for $11.9 billion. KITE -- set to open at a record high -- is pacing to be among the top percentage gainers on the Nasdaq today.
3. Chipmaker IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) stock is up 41.4% before the bell, after electronic manufacturing company Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) said it would buy IXYS for $750 million in cash and stock. The deal comes to a price of about $23 per share, which is 44% more than IXYS' Friday close of $15.95.
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) officially takes ownership of Whole Foods Market today. Up 0.2% in electronic trading, the e-commerce giant hit a record high of $1,083.31 on July 27.
5. Today's earnings calendar is rather bare, but Wall Street will see the Dallas Fed's manufacturing index, and data on international trade in goods.

Overseas Trading

It was a big day for China’s Shanghai Composite, with the index outperforming its Asian peers to touch fresh two-year highs. By the close, the Shanghai Composite had added 0.9%, thanks to upbeat corporate earnings and a strong showing from bank stocks. The Hang Seng gave back much of its early gains as the day wore on, but still managed a 0.05% advance. Bank stocks also performed well in Japan, though a strengthening yen kept the Nikkei under pressure, closing down 0.01%. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.4% amid weakness in Samsung Electronics shares.

A strengthening euro is weighing down major benchmarks in Europe at the halfway point, as the currency earlier hit its highest point against the dollar in more than two years. The energy sector is in focus amid the fallout from hurricane Harvey in the U.S., while telecommunications giant Altice NV is rallying after announcing a stock buy back program. With London’s FTSE 100 closed for holiday, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX are down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.