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Dow Futures Lower as Trade Tensions Persist

However, a Trump tweet about a trade deal has stocks paring their losses

Managing Editor
May 8, 2019 at 9:16 AM
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Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointing toward another day of losses, following the index's worst day since January, as U.S.-China trade tensions linger. While President Donald Trump said the U.S. will hike tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods this Friday, May 10, if a trade deal isn't reached, he tweeted this morning that Chinese Vice Premier Liu is "coming to the U.S. to make a deal," helping stock market indexes pare their losses. Still, futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also in the red, with the former set for its longest losing streak since March 8. 

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

OV Futures Chart May 8

5 Things You Need to Know Today

  1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.06 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, compared to 727,217 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.68, while the 21-day moving average rose to 0.61.
  2. Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) are soaring 7.6% in pre-market trading, after the video game maker reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, thanks to “Apex Legends” success. No fewer than five analysts issued price-target hikes for EA shares, including to $129 from $120 at Benchmark. The equity is already one of the best stocks to own in the second quarter, historically.
  3. Just days ahead of its expected initial public offering (IPO), Uber (UBER) drivers have gone on strike, protesting the lack of benefits stemming from their “contractor” classification. The strike is worldwide, and in the U.S. drivers are expected to protest in at least eight cities today.
  4. Newspaper giant New York Times Co (NYSE:NYT) stock is 3% higher in pre-market trading, after the company reported first-quarter sales above expectations. Further, the company shared a notable increase in digital subscription revenue, though advertising revenue did slip 0.4%. NYT has struggled to break above the $34 level in recent weeks, but remains up 47% year-to-date.
  5. Today will bring the weekly crude inventories update and a speech from Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, as well as the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). For earnings, Walt Disney (DIS), Barrick Gold (ABX), e.l.f. Beauty (ELF), Etsy (ETSY), Fossil (FOSL), Honda Motor (HMC), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), McKesson (MCK), Office Depot (ODP), Roku (ROKU), and Wendy's (WEN) will report.

stock market news may 8

Asian Markets See Heavy Sell-Off

Asian stock markets pulled back, in sync with their U.S. counterparts. With investors already focused on trade tensions, data revealed that China’s trade surplus came in lower than expected for April, while exports also missed forecasts. Against this backdrop, the Shanghai Composite closed down 1.1%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished with a 1.2% loss. Japan’s Nikkei also experienced a heavy sell-off, settling down 1.5%, while the the Kospi dipped 0.4% in South Korea.

European stocks are also struggling for upside, though the selling is less severe. Still, automakers and mining stocks are getting hit the hardest due to their reliance on China. On the data front, industrial output in Germany topped expectations for March, helping the DAX outperform with a 0.2% lead. The French CAC 40 and FTSE 100 are both down 0.2%, however.

 

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