Big Bank Earnings Boost Dow Futures

The stock market's volatile daily swings look set to continue, as futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are more than 150 points above fair value amid a positive earnings reaction for blue-chip financial firm JPMorgan Chase (JPM). Fellow bank stock Citigroup (C) is also higher after the company posted a first-quarter earnings beat, though shares of Pittsburgh-based lender PNC Financial Services (PNC) are pointed lower after earnings.

In addition to bank earnings, Wall Street will weigh a busy day of Fed speeches. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren kicked things off this morning by saying the central bank may need to hike rates at a faster pace than is currently expected to counter a falling unemployment rate and rising inflation.

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

• 3 Dow stocks in danger today.
• This pharma stock plunged on news of a "bombshell lawsuit."
• The latest ESPN venture failed to boost Disney stock.
• Plus, Musk tweet boosts Tesla; Trump's latest executive order could impact Amazon; and GoPro pops on buyout buzz.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 868,455 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 572,499 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.66, and the 21-day moving average edged up to 0.67.
2. Responding to an article in The Economist entitled "Tesla is heading for a cash crunch," CEO Elon Musk tweeted overnight that the electric car company will be profitable in the second half of this year, "so obv no need to raise money." In reaction, shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) are up 3.1% in electronic trading -- and could do battle with the round $300 mark, after closing last night at $294.08.
3. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that will create a task force to examine operations at the United States Postal Service (USPS). Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was tapped to head the review, which follows several Trump tweets accusing Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) of losing the USPS money.
4. Chinese smartphone startup Xiaomi is reportedly considering a buyout bid of up to $1 billion for U.S.-based camera maker GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO), according to The Information. GPRO stock is trading up 5% ahead of the bell, after closing last night at $5.22 -- a roughly $763 million market cap.
5. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will hit the Street today, while St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan are slated to speak. Quarterly results from Wells Fargo (WFC) and First Horizon (FHN) also helped mark the start of earnings season.

China Stocks Sink on Rare Trade Gap

Stocks in Asia were mixed to close out the week. China's Shanghai Composite started higher, but ultimately gave back 0.7% after posting a surprise trade deficit of $4.98 billion last month amid declining exports. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed its early gains to finish lower as well, down 0.1%. On the flip side, Japan's Nikkei added 0.6% as exporters benefited from a weaker yen, and South Korea's Kospi tacked on 0.5%, led by a 3.6% bump from cosmetics stock Amorepacific.

European markets are higher at midday, as investors eye a series of big U.S. bank earnings. Among individual stocks, Hammerson has tanked 10.8% in London after France's Klepierre abandoned its buyout bid, while Volkswagen has edged higher in Frankfurt as new CEO Herbert Diess takes the reins. London's FTSE 100 is up 0.2% at last check, the French CAC 40 is up 0.5%, and the German DAX sports a 0.8% lead.