Canada is joining a trade agreement with the United States and Mexico
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are roaring higher this morning, following news of a trade deal between the U.S. and Canada. The agreement will reportedly be known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, and builds off the trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico from earlier this year. Auto stocks are seeing strong pre-market price action as a result, while Tesla (TSLA) shares are making another sharp move on news of their own. Meanwhile, the first trading day of the fourth quarter will also feature of flurry of Fed speeches, along with a mix of manufacturing data shortly after the open.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Pre-earnings Stitch Fix options bulls are targeting another blowout quarter.
- Analyst: This video game stock can surge 25%.
- Plus, Tesla's big news; GE shares take off; and Chipotle pulls back again.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.12 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 717,647 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.64, and the 21-day moving average held at 0.60.
- TSLA stock is up 17% before the open, thanks to news CEO Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following last week's fraud allegations. Musk will pay $20 million and be removed as chairman. Meanwhile, Musk also sent out a letter to Tesla employees saying the company is "very close to achieving profitability."
- General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) stock is also soaring before the open, up more than 15%, following the exit of CEO John Flannery. Larry Culp, formerly with medical equipment company Danaher, will replace Flannery. GE stock last week touched fresh multi-year lows,
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) stock is under pressure again, down 2% in pre-market action, after an Oppenheimer downgrade to "underperform" from "perform." This is overshadowing news that the company is testing a new customer loyalty program, and comes after Bill Ackman cut his stake in the company last month.
- The week kicks off with speeches from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren will speak in the afternoon. On the data front, there will be the Markit purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI), the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index, and construction spending data. Stitch Fix (SFIX) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) will report earnings.
Global Markets Rise on Canada Trade Deal
Asian markets finished the day mostly higher, as investors digested the breaking NAFTA update between the U.S. and Canada. Also in focus was a Bank of Japan (BoJ) manufacturing survey that showed confidence continuing to deteriorate among the country's major manufacturers. Regardless, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.5% higher. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi suffered a 0.2% loss, and markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for public holiday.
Stocks in Europe are trading modestly higher at midday, though gains are capped by suffering travel stocks after budget airliner Ryanair cut its full-year profit guidance. London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.02%, the CAC 40 is sporting a 0.2% lead in France, and Germany’s DAX is 0.5% higher, at last check.