Dow Futures Gain Momentum on Blue-Chip Earnings, Vaccine News

Bank stocks are once again in the spotlight this morning, as investors unpack Goldman Sachs' impressive second-quarter results. The blue-chip bank giant is flying higher in pre-market trading after posting a 93% surge in trading revenue, and earnings that blew analysts estimates out of the water. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are responding in kind, up over 500 points above fair value ahead of the open and looking to build on last night's comfortable win.

News that Moderna's (MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine produced a "robust" immune response in an early-stage human trial is also injecting Wall Street with even more optimism. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are both surging in electronic trading. 

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

• Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White breaks down two technical indicators on the SPX, and what they might mean for markets. 
• The Swiss semiconductor stock call traders are going wild for. 
• Plus, GOOGL's billion-dollar stake; BBY's mask requirement; and PVH's nation-wide store closings. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.7 million call contracts traded on Tuesday, and 673,955 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.43, and the 21-day moving average fell to 0.50.
2. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is in focus this morning after its Google unit agreed to buy a 7% stake -- worth $4.5 billion -- of Indian firm Reliance Industries' digital arm, which is headed by telecom giant Jio Infocomm. The FAANG stock is up almost 14% in 2020, with solid support in place at the ascending 40-day moving average. 
3. Electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) will join the line of large chains now requiring their customers to wear a mask in their stores. The stock is flat ahead of the open, though it boasts a year-over-year lead of 15.1%. 
4. Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) is up 5.4% in electronic trading, after announcing plans to close 162 of its stores and cut 450 of its North American jobs, citing the negative impact of COVID-19 on its sales. PVH added that the move will affect 12% of its workforce and save the company $80 million annually. 
5. Today's calendar is packed with the import/export price index, the Empire State manufacturing index, and industrial production data. UnitedHealth (UNH), PNC (PNC), Progressive (PGR), and U.S. Bancorp (USB) will all enter the earnings confessional.  

Asian Markets Encouraged by COVID-19 Vaccine, Though China Sanctions Loom

Stocks in Asia were mostly higher today, propped up by biotech firm Moderna’s positive coronavirus vaccine response in all 45 patients in an early trial, as well as a rally in U.S. markets driven by optimism over gradual economic recovery. As a result, Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.6% and 0.8% higher, respectively. However, these gains were not enjoyed elsewhere, after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on China in response to its interference with Hong Kong’s autonomy, and signed an executive order ending Hong Kong’s special status with the U.S. As a result, China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.6% lower, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stayed flat.

Across the pond, European stocks are also higher on hopes for a potential coronavirus vaccine, and promising data that says it may offer protection against the respiratory disease. At last check, France’s CAC 40 was up 2.5%, London’s FTSE 100 was up 2%, and the German DAX was up 1.8%.