Dow Futures Roar Higher on Trade Talks, ADP Data

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading well above fair value this morning, after a statement from China's Ministry of Commerce indicated trade talks were tentatively scheduled for "early October" following a call between Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Traders are also panning the latest jobs data ahead of this Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. While ADP showed the private sector added a higher-than-anticipated 195,000 jobs in August, weekly jobless claims rose modestly last week. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are higher, too, as the major markets look for back-to-back wins.

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

• 2 REIT stocks bulls should be watching.
• Why Starbucks could reward options traders again.
• Options traders blasted these 2 surging stocks.
• Plus, 3 names making big moves after earnings.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 896,626 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 611,632 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average dipped to 0.71.
2. Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted profit of 71 cents per share on $960.6 million -- well above the per-share profit of 55 cents on $932.5 million in revenue analysts were expecting for the networking equipment maker. CIEN stock is up 8% in electronic trading, poised to extend a recent bounce off its 160-day moving average.
3. In addition to reporting better-than-anticipated fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) forecast double-digit sales growth over the next three years on strong demand for its Prisma Access cloud security platform. A handful of analysts have already raised their PANW price targets, sending the stock up 7% ahead of the bell.
4. In its first earnings report as a publicly traded company, Slack Technologies Inc (NYSE:WORK) unveiled a slimmer-than-anticipated second-quarter loss and revenue that beat the consensus estimate. However, the workplace messaging firm forecast a wider-than-expected current-quarter loss and weak revenue, pressuring WORK stock to a 14.1% drop in pre-market trading.
5. The Fed balance sheet, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing index, crude inventories, factory orders, and productivity and costs are due. CrowdStrike (CRWD), DocuSign (DOCU), Kirklands (KIRK), Lands' End (LE), lululemon athletica (LULU), Signet Jewelers (SIG), Zoom Video (ZM), and Zumiez (ZUMZ) will report earnings.

Stimulus Signs Boost Chinese Stocks

Asian markets ended mostly higher, with the exception of Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which cooled slightly after Wednesday's massive surge, down 0.03%. Renewed investor optimism over a new round of U.S.-China trade talks, along with signs of imminent economic stimulus from Beijing, lifted China's Shanghai composite nearly 1%, while South Korea's Kospi tacked on 0.8%. Japan's Nikkei saw the biggest surge today, however, led by machinery and transport stocks. The index hit a one-month high, ending the day up 2.1%.

Markets in Europe are mixed at midday, as potential breakthroughs in both Hong Kong and the U.K. boost investor sentiment. However, London's FTSE 100 is following suit with Hong Kong, down 0.7% after big gains yesterday. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 is up 0.9%, while the Frankfurt DAX has added 0.7%.