The U.S. trade deficit shrunk in January
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are struggling for direction, under pressure once more from the 10-year Treasury yield, which earlier fell to 2.35% -- its lowest point since December 2017. Following yesterday's weak economic data, Wall Street is also eyeing the latest trade data, which saw the U.S. trade deficit shrink to $51.1 billion in January, compared to an estimated $57 billion, due in part to a sharp rise in soybean exports to China. This comes ahead of high-level talks between the U.S. and China, which are set to begin tomorrow.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- This signal says now's the time to buy stocks, courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.
- This drug stock squeezed shorts on its way up the Nasdaq.
- One Chinese stock that just flashed a trusty bull signal.
- Plus, Fiat Chrysler's a takeover target; Papa John's earns an upgrade; and Lennar rises despite earnings miss.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 742,805 call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 486,417 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.62.
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) stock is up 3.1% in electronic trading, amid reports that French automaker Renault is preparing to restart merger talks with Nissan, and preparing a bid to buy Fiat Chrysler. Since an early February bear gap triggered by a downbeat 2019 forecast, FCAU has consolidated below the $15.50 level, an area that coincides with its 50-day and 80-day moving averages.
- Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) stock is up 0.9% ahead of the bell, after Stifel raised its rating on the pizza maker to "hold" from "sell," while boosting its price target to $45 from $35. The brokerage believes the worst is behind the embattled pizza chain, and likes the investor optimism surrounding its new spokesperson. Despite adding 23.6% year-to-date, the overhead 320-day moving average looms.
- Shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) are up 3% in electronic trading, despite the homebuilding name reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that missed estimates. Instead, investors are instead cheering a bigger-than-expected jump in new orders. LEN has a chance to break past resistance at the $50 level, but then faces a stiff test at its 320-day moving average, a trendline that kept a lid on breakouts in the second quarter of last year.
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The weekly crude inventories report is due. Meanwhile, Five Below (FIVE), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Paychex (PAYX), and PVH (PVH) will report earnings.
Draghi Comments Drag Down European Stocks
There was mixed trading over night in Asia, as traders continue to await another round of U.S.-China trade talks on Thursday, while also monitoring concerns about a slowdown in the global economy. In China, data showed that profits from the nation’s industrial sector for the first two months of the year declined the most since 2011. Still, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6%, with investors expecting more help from the Chinese government to prop up the economy. Japan’s Nikkei settled in the red, however, down 0.2%, as did South Korea’s Kospi.
In Europe, the major benchmarks are uniformly in the red at the halfway mark. Traders are considering comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi, who attempted to downplay the possibility of an upcoming recession, while lawmakers in Britain will again take a vote on Brexit plans. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen trading down 0.3%, while the French CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX are each down 0.1%.