The lira hit a new record low against the dollar
U.S. stock futures are signaling a flat to modestly higher start to the week, even as Turkey's currency crisis worsens, with the lira falling to a fresh all-time low against the dollar. However, Turkey's central bank pledged to improve liquidity. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading around breakeven, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are cautiously higher ahead of the bell.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The Turkey ETF crashing with the lira.
- Switch stock will look to buck its ugly post-earnings history today.
- Trade war concerns ate into this semiconductor concern's earnings.
- Plus, President Trump attacks Harley-Davidson again; Papa John's tries to jump-start its franchises; and VF Corp announces a spin-off.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 935,697 call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 652,943 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.70, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.64.
- Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) stock is down 0.6% in electronic trading, after President Donald Trump criticized the motorcycle maker again on Twitter, commenting that many "owners plan to boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas. Great!" Trump has already threatened steep taxes, should Harley-Davidson move its manufacturing overseas in the wake of the European Union (EU) retaliatory tariffs. On the charts, HOG fell to a two-year low of $39.34 on May 3, and recent breakout attempts have been stymied by its 160-day moving average.
- Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) stock is up 2.6% ahead of the bell, after the the company confirmed that it introduced an assistance program for its franchises in the U.S. and Canada. The overhaul comes in the wake of the controversial exit of founder John Schnatter earlier this month. PZZA stock has shed 28% in 2018, culminating in a nearly four-year low of $38.05 last Wednesday.
- Shares of VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) are down 0.6% ahead of the bell, after announcing it will spin off its jeans unit into a publicly traded company. The spin-off will be completed by the first half of 2019. VFC stock caught options bears off-guard last month with an impressive earnings beat, and rode that momentum to a record high of $96.99 on Friday. Overall, the equity has gained 30% in 2018.
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No notable economic data is scheduled today. Regarding earnings, JinkoSolar (JKS), Sysco (SYY), and Vipshop (VIPS) are scheduled to report.
Turkish Tensions Seep Into Asian, European Markets
Asian markets continued to struggle amid the lira's sell-off, and finished today's session in the red. Also contributing to today's plunge was a weak performance from automakers in Japan, a pullback in property stocks in China, as well as another pullback from Samsung Electronics in South Korea. Japan's Nikkei finished 2% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi both fell 1.5%, and China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.3%.
Stocks in Europe are lower at midday, as Turkish tensions combined with a lag in healthcare and travel stocks weigh heavy. At last check, London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX are down 0.5%, while France's CAC 40 is flirting with a 0.1% loss.