Stock Futures Come Under Pressure Despite Upbeat Earnings

With corporate earnings set to continue rolling in today, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly below fair value. A loss would snap the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJI) four-session win streak, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) will need to fight to extend its run into record-high territory. Traders this morning are digesting upbeat quarterly results from names like Morgan Stanley (MS) and CSX Corporation (CSX), with blue chips American Express (AXP) and International Business Machines (IBM) set to report after the close. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will again be testifying on Capitol Hill, this time in front of the House Financial Services Committee.

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

• Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White on what this strange stock market phenomenon could mean for the rest of 2018.
• Analyst: This healthcare stock could double.
• Options traders pounced on Amazon Prime Day.
• Plus, a rising airline stock; Google's big fine; and Buffett makes a change at Berkshire.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 908,770 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 593,431 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio declined to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.61.
2. On the earnings front, United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL) is on the rise, up 4.7% in pre-market trading, after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and raised its full-year outlook. Evercore ISI followed this up with a price-target hike to $80 from $76. UAL shares have been stair-stepping higher since bottoming just above $60 back in February, despite trade war fears.
   
3. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is in focus this morning, after the European Union (EU) fined Google $5 billion for antitrust abuses with its Android operating system. Google said it plans on appealing the decision, which follows a $2.7 billion fine it received from the EU last year. GOOGL shares were last seen down 0.5% before the open, after notching a record high of $1,218.76 yesterday.
4. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is trading higher before the open, after the company said it would loosen its share buyback policy. BRK.A shares hit an all-time high atop $326,000 back in January, but were last seen trading at $288,500.
5. In addition to housing starts, the weekly crude inventories update and the Fed's Beige Book will come out. Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Alcoa (AA), eBay (EBAY), and Textron (TXT) will be in the earnings spotlight.

Earnings Give European Stocks a Boost

Most Asian benchmarks settled lower. In China, the Shanghai Composite gave back 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2%. The Wall Street Journal reported progress on lifting a current Stock Connect ban that excludes locally listed shares of Chinese companies with supervoting stock from trading on the exchange. South Korea's Kospi also closed in negative territory -- down 0.3% -- though Japan's Nikkei outperformed again, adding 0.4% on a cooling yen.

A round of positive earnings reactions is boosting European stocks at midday, with Swedish telecom concern Ericsson and U.K-based airliner easyJet two of the names surging after the companies' respective results. At last check, the German DAX is up 0.6%, the French CAC 40 is flirting with a 0.5% lead, and London's FTSE 100 is 0.6% higher as the pound weakens on a weaker-than-forecast reading on U.K. inflation data for June.