The Fed's measures to get the U.S. economy back on track are giving stock futures a big boost
After swimming deep in the red this morning and earlier hitting a "limit down," Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are getting a big boost after the Federal Reserve said it would be implementing new measures to combat the COVID-19 shakeup ravaging the U.S. economy. This includes an open-ended asset purchase program, allowing the Fed to buy assets to "smooth over market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.”
These moves are overshadowing the U.S. Senate's split decision regarding a massive stimulus bill meant to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus, with Democrats criticizing the bill's huge efforts to bail out companies while ignoring the needs of workers. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are also eyeing strong opens today, pivoting abruptly higher in the wake of the Fed's actions.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How CrowdStrike stock fared after its turn in the earnings confessional.
- Another look at Wall Street's extremely volatile week last week.
- Plus, 2 stocks skipping higher on analyst upgrades; and Amazon.com hikes overtime pay for warehouse workers.
futures
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.03 million call contracts traded on Friday, and 856,567 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.83, and the 21-day moving average climbed to 0.84.
- Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), is up 1.9% in electronic trading on an upgrade to "overweight" from "neutral" at J.P. Morgan Securities. Although the analyst cut its price target to $44 from $60, they predicted a strong rebound for the soda specialist once COVID-19 headwinds settle. KO is down 30.8% in 2020.
- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is up 1.3% this morning after it was announced the company would raise the overtime pay for its warehouse workers, echoing its competitor Walmart (WMT), which recently lifted its minimum wage for its warehouse workers. The FAANG stock is facing off with its year-to-date breakeven level today.
- Stay-at-home essential Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is also getting some positive analyst attention before the bell. Baird just upgraded the equity to "outperform" from "neutral." In response, NFLX is up 2.6% in pre-market trading.
- Today's economic calendar is relatively sparse, but traders will keep an eye on the Chicago Fed national activity index.
Asian Markets Kick Off Week Deep in the Red
Asians stocks were mostly lower to kick off the new week. South Korea's Kospi paced the region with a 5.3% drop, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 4.9%. China's Shanghai Composite gave back 3.1%, and Japan's Nikkei turned in the only gain with a 2% close higher.
Meanwhile in Europe, stocks are tumbling yet again. Investors will be eyeing last month's euro zone consumer confidence data, which comes out later today. London's FTSE 100 is down 2% at last check, while the French CAC 40 and the German DAX are down 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.