A nuclear summit with North Korea and the U.S. is still in play
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading well below fair value this morning, as political unrest in Italy and Spain spook global markets. Another Italian election appears likely, after President Sergio Mattarella rejected a coalition government nominated by the country's anti-establishment parties, and appointed former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister. Plus, in Spain, parliament will vote on Friday on a potential ouster of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's center-right government amid corruption charges. Traders are also keeping a close eye on efforts to revive a nuclear summit between the U.S. and North Korea.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Here's one signal you can't miss as VIX hysteria rises, according to founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer.
- M&A buzz had this short seller going long on Roku stock.
- Buy the dip on this car stock.
- Plus, Sears suitors line up; Universal Display stock gets an Apple boost; and Han Solo sinks Disney.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.03 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 628,076 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio and the 21-day moving average arrived at 0.61.
- Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) stock is up 1.4% in electronic trading after hedge fund ESL Investments disclosed in a Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing that it has asked the department store chain's board for permission to discuss selling certain SHLD assets with third parties. Sears stock has added 30% this quarter, fueled in part by its Amazon tire deal, but remains down 59% year-over-year.
- Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) stock is up 16.8% ahead of the bell, after Apple (AAPL) said it would be abandoning LCD screens and using OLED screens for its new 2019 iPhone models. OLED stock has shed 42% in 2018, and hit an annual low of $86.85 on April 26. Since then, however, the equity has rallied back up to the $100 level.
- Shares of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) are down 1.5% in electronic trading, after ticket sales for "Solo: A Star Wars Story" came in lower than expected over the holiday weekend. It was the weakest opening since the relaunching of the "Star Wars" franchise in 2015. On the charts, DIS stock has struggled amid rumors of a bidding war with Comcast (CMCA), with recent breakout attempts thwarted by its 120-day moving average.
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The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index showed home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in March. Data on consumer confidence is also expected. For earnings, HP (HPQ), Momo (MOMO), and Salesforce.com (CRM) are on deck.
Falling Oil Prices Weigh on Asia Stocks
Stocks in Asia finished lower today mostly due to falling crude prices and global political uncertainty. Weakness in the financial sector pushed Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1% lower, while South Korea's Kospi ended down 0.9%. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei finished down 0.6% and China's Shanghai Composite suffered a 0.5% loss.
Stock markets in Europe are sharply lower at midday, with political tensions in Spain and Italy weighing, pushing the euro to a multi-month low. London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX, and France's CAC 40 are all 1.2% lower at last check.