Stock Futures Signal Retreat from Record Highs

After posting their strongest first week in years, U.S. stocks are set to open slightly lower this morning. The Fed will be in focus amid a relatively light economic and earnings docket, with Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams all slated to speak. Traders will be looking for any insight on the potential timeline for 2018 rate hikes, after last week's Fed minutes offered mixed messages. At last check, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) were all trading below fair value, poised to pull back from Friday's record highs.

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

• 2 auto stocks with cheap options.
• This drug stock is coming off its worst trading week ever.
• The pros and cons of trading LEAPS.
• Plus, the retail stock headed for new highs, Nvidia eyes uncharted territory, and a Pandora downgrade.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.16 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 666,466 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.57.
2. Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) said same-store sales for the November-December holiday period surged 6.9%, prompting the department store to upwardly revise its full-year profit forecast. KSS shares are up 7.2% in electronic trading -- bucking a recent trend of sinking retail stocks -- and set to open at a new 52-week high.
3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) said it has teamed up with Uber and Volkswagen to expand its self-driving car artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The chip stock has had a monster start to 2018, with NVDA shares up 2.9% ahead of the bell, and on track to start the session at a fresh record high.
4. Morgan Stanley downgraded Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) to "equal weight" from "overweight," and cut its price target in half to $6, with the brokerage firm expressing concern over ad revenue in 2018. Wells Fargo also lowered its Pandora price target to $6 from $7, sending P stock down 5.4% in pre-market trading.
5. The November consumer credit report will be released. Earnings are due out from Barracuda Networks (CUDA).

Mothercare Weighs on European Retail Stocks

Asian stocks enjoyed more tailwinds to start the week, with the Chinese Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong Hang Seng extending their respective daily win streaks to seven and 10. By the close, the Shanghai Composite had added 0.5% and the Hang Seng was up 0.3%, even without any notable catalysts. The Kospi put in an even stronger session in South Korea, rising 0.6%. Markets in Japan, meanwhile, were closed for holiday.

Stock prices in Europe are mixed at midday, however. While the German DAX and French CAC 40 have both added 0.3% so far, London's FTSE 100 has dropped 0.2%. Retailers were some of the biggest decliners, highlighted by a huge sell-off in shares of Mothercare, and homebuilders are also struggling following disappointing data on home prices out of the U.K. Investors are also keeping close tabs on any political developments as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May makes changes to her cabinet.