A parliamentary vote on Brexit will take place in the U.K. today
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointed lower this morning ahead of a busy day on Wall Street. Investors are digesting subpar quarterly results from banking giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which reported a fourth-quarter earnings miss. This disappointment has offset encouraging developments abroad, after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) offered up hopes of more stimulus efforts amid concerns of a global economic slowdown. Staying abroad, all eyes are on the U.K., where a big parliament vote on the future of Brexit will occur later today.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 878,155 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 568,896 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.65, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.72.
- UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) stock is down 2% in electronic trading, as increased Medicaid costs offset fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations. UNH is one of the best stocks to own in January, historically, and is currently riding a six-day winning streak -- its best in 12 months.
- Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) stock is down 1.4% ahead of the bell, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the software name to "equal-weight" from "overweight," while trimming its price target to $53 from $57. So far in 2019, ORCL has added 6.7%, but appears to have found resistance at the confluence of its 320- and 100-day moving averages.
- The shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) are up 1.2% in electronic trading, after the car company announced a partnership with Volkswagen on vans and pickups, as well as electric and self-driving technology. F stock fell to a nine-year low of $7.41 on Dec. 26, but has already added 17% in 2019. Should today's bullish premarket momentum continue, the auto stock could topple its 100-day moving average for the first time in over a month.
- Today's economic schedule will feature the producer price index (PPI) and the Empire State manufacturing survey. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 11:30 a.m. ET. Both Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Kansas City Fed President Esther George will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Charles Schwab (SCHW), Kinder Morgan (KMI), United Continental (UAL), and Wells Fargo (WFC) will release earnings.
Stimulus Hopes Boost Asia; Europe Braces For Brexit Vote
It was a strong finish in Asia, after Chinese regulators promised supportive monetary policy -- including possible tax cuts and increased infrastructure spending -- following a recent string of weak economic data, though a report today showed new loans came in higher than expected last month. While China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2%, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.6%, and Japan's Nikkei reopened after the long holiday weekend with a 1% gain.
European markets are mixed at midday with all eyes on today's key Brexit vote, which will occur at 2 p.m. ET. Traders are also parsing a dismal reading on Germany's gross domestic product (GDP), which showed the economy grew last year at its slowest pace since 2013. At last check, the German DAX is down 0.2%, the French CAC 40 is up 0.1%, and London's FTSE 100 is 0.02% higher.