China is reportedly considering reducing its exposure to the U.S. bond market
The U.S. stock rally may have finally hit a wall, with futures trading below fair value this morning. The bond market is in focus today, with 10-year Treasury yields climbing north of the key 2.5% level after Bloomberg reported China may slow or stop the purchase of U.S. bonds. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) appear ready to retreat after making history on Tuesday, oil prices continue to climb ahead of today's domestic crude supply update. At last check, February crude futures were trading up 0.9% at $64.54 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What this huge caution sign means for stocks, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- The surging Dow stock ready to be upgraded.
- How options traders are speculating on Delta earnings.
- Plus, Eastman Kodak joins the blockchain bandwagon, a crumbling housing stock, and Weight Watchers gives back Oprah-inspired gains.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 951,490 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 569,836 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.60, while the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.57.
- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) said yesterday it is launching a cryptocurrency called "KODAKCoin" for photographers, which uses blockchain technology. The news sent KODK stock soaring 119% on Tuesday, with the shares up another 66.9% in electronic trading.
- Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) said its profit unexpectedly fell to $1.29 per share in the fourth quarter -- missing analysts' estimates for earnings of $1.48 per share -- after an undisclosed deal got pushed back to the first quarter. Revenue for the homebuilder came in at a better-than-expected $3.79 billion. LEN stock is down 1.4% ahead of the bell.
- Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) shot to a five-year high of $57.92 on Monday, amid rumors major WTW stakeholder Oprah Winfrey could run for president in 2020. Today, though, WTW stock is set to open the session down 1.5%, but considering its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) closed last night at 71 -- in overbought territory -- a near-term pullback may have been in the cards.
- Wholesale trade data and import and export prices are on today's docket. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are expected to speak. KB Home (KBH) and Supervalu (SVU) will report earnings.
Chinese Stocks Continue Hot Winning Streak
Asian stock markets saw mixed trade today. Chinese stocks mostly closed higher, with the Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both adding 0.2%, even though inflation data in the region fell short of estimates. This brings the two indexes respective daily win streaks to nine and 12. Over in Japan, the Nikkei fell 0.3%. Like in China, financial stocks outperformed, as did shares of automakers, but pullbacks in heavyweights like SoftBank had the index lower at the close. South Korea's Kospi, meanwhile, dipped 0.4%.
Major equity benchmarks are struggling for upside in Europe at the session's halfway point. Bank stocks in the region are tracking their Asian counterparts, however, standing out as one of the few bright spots thus far. Meanwhile, investors are digesting a round of economic data, as U.K. manufacturing output for November came in strong, but French industrial production fell for the same month. The German DAX is the biggest loser so far, down 0.9%, and the French CAC 40 has shed 0.4%. The FTSE 100 is bucking the trend in London, last seen up 0.1%.