Stock futures are muted this morning, with the Dow signaling a tentative 17-point gain at the open just one day after the major U.S. equity indexes notched even more record highs. The quiet open comes as Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan tells CNBC that the central bank is predicting "weak" economic growth for the U.S. in the fourth quarter. It's a busy session for retail earnings, too; Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) are set to open lower after their respective quarterly results, while Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) is pacing for a bull gap.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- What sparked monster moves for 3 pharma stocks.
- The StubHub buzz making options players reach for EBAY.
- Plus, BBY stock soars on holiday forecast; AIG sells a reinsurance stake to Carlyle; and HPE flops on revenue miss.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.01 million call contracts traded on Monday, compared to 636,310 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved up to 0.63, while the 21-day moving average came in at 0.58.
- Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) took its turn in the earnings confessional this morning, posting third-quarter same-store sales that exceeded analysts' estimates, and forecast strong profits for its upcoming holiday quarter. The stock is up 4.1% ahead of the bell.
- American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) this morning said it would be selling a 76.6% stake of its reinsurance business Fortitude Re to T&D Holdings and the Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) for $1.8 billion. AIG is fractionally higher in electronic trading.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) is down 4% in pre-market trading after reporting fourth-quarter revenue that missed analysts' expectations, citing shaky demand amid the simmering trade conflict between the U.S. and China.
- Today, Wall Street will get updates on international trade, the S&P CoreLogic/Case Shiller home price index, new home sales, and consumer confidence. Earnings from Autodesk (ADSK), Burlington Stores (BURL), PVH Corp (PVH), and VMware (VMW) are due.
Asian Markets Tumble Despite BABA's Huge Hong Kong IPO
Asian markets finished mixed today, unable to benefit from Chinese tech giant Alibaba's (BABA) big day. The e-commerce concern had its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, marking the biggest IPO of 2019, and the shares climbed 6.6%. It wasn't enough to boost Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which shed 0.3%, while China's Shanghai Composite closed marginally higher. Rounding out the region, Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.4%, while South Korea's Kospi gave back 0.1%.
Over in Europe, stocks are struggling for direction at midday, as investors await the latest U.S.-China trade headlines, especially after reports that the two sides held phone discussions this morning in the hopes of "resolving core issues." London's FTSE 100 is up 0.1%, as polling suggests the Conservative Party's lead over the opposition Labour Party is narrowing. Elsewhere, the French CAC 40 is flat, while the German DAX is down 0.1%.