The S&P and Nasdaq are on track for a fourth straight loss
Despite eking out a win yesterday, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are pointed lower, with trade tensions reignited following President Donald Trump's comments at a Florida rally Wednesday evening. Specifically, he said China "broke the deal," and "they can’t do that, so they’ll be paying." This, as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He heads to Washington to talk trade ahead of Trump's planned tariff hike on $200 billion in Chinese goods tomorrow. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are no better, with both indexes eyeing a fourth straight day of losses.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- The Trump tweet that sent this penny stock surging.
- iRobot stock could be ready to rally.
- Party City call options popped ahead of earnings.
- Plus, Stamps.com's post-earnings plummet; Wedbush slams 3 popular retailers; and Synchrony Financial's share-buyback plans.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
-
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 850,759 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 558,340 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.66, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.61.
- Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) stock has plummeted over 46% in electronic trading, reeling after the company reported first-quarter results well below estimates, and simultaneously lowered its full-year outlook. Craig-Hallum quickly downgraded the shares to "hold" from "buy," and hacked its price target to $48 from $125. STMP has struggled this year, unable to regain momentum following its late-February post-earnings bear gap. Over the past 12 months, STMP has shed 65%.
- Wedbush has been busy this morning, with the brokerage firm slamming multiple big-name retailers with downgrades and/or price-target cuts before the bell. Of note, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) were both downgraded to "underperform" from "neutral," while Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) was cut to "neutral" from "outperform.” In response, before the bell, the retailer stocks are down 5.7%, 2.5%, and 2%, respectively.
- Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is flat in pre-market trading, after the banking name raised its quarterly dividend to 22 cents per share, and said its board approved a stock-buyback plan of up to $4 billion. Meanwhile, Instinet hiked its price target on SYF to $39 from $35, with the shares up 44% year-to-date coming into today.
- Today will feature a speech from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, while investors will digest data on international trade, weekly jobless claims, the Fed's balance sheet, and the producer price index (PPI). Meanwhile, earnings will roll in from AMC Entertainment (AMC), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Care.com (CRCM), Dropbox (DBX), GoPro (GPRO), Kuerig Dr Pepper (KDP), Overstock.com (OSTK), Puma Biotech (PBYI), and Yelp (YELP).
China Stocks Spiral on Increase Trade Fears
The ongoing fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China sent Asian markets spiraling again. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.5% for its lowest close since February, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave back 2.4%, also notching its worst settlement in weeks. In Japan, traders watched as the shares of Honda Motor sold off after earnings, and the Nikkei dipped 0.9%. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi closed with a 3% loss.
Losses are piling up for European stocks, as well, with automakers among the worst performers. Outside of the trade drama, investors read reports suggesting British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to introduce another Brexit plan for a vote later this month. The biggest loser so far is France’s CAC 40, down 1.2%, followed by an 0.8% pullback in the German DAX, while London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.3%.