A number of FAANG and blue-chip earnings are due out later this week
New hopes of another coronavirus-related stimulus package are leading stock futures higher this morning. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are signaling a modest move above fair value, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also looking to open comfortably in the black. Investors are also eyeing gold's fresh highs, notched Friday, with the commodity hitting an intraday peak of $1,943.93. Though its relatively quiet on the earnings front this morning, there are blue-chip quarterly reports due out later this week from the likes of Apple (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), and McDonald's (MCD) among others.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- One e-tailer taking a breather ahead of its upcoming earnings report.
- Why Under Armour stock is Deutsche Bank's latest apparel pick.
- Plus, MRNA pops on record-breaking COVID-19 study; HAS set to tumble after earnings; and BIIB gets double-upgraded.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw 1.6 million call contracts traded on Friday, and 951,645 put
contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.60, and the
21-day moving average stayed at 0.49.
- Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) is gearing up for the world's biggest COVID-19 vaccine trial to date. The phase-three study will include 30,000 volunteer patients, with one group receiving a placebo version of the treatment and one group getting the real shot.In response, MRNA is up 7.9% in pre-market trading.
- Toy producer Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) is down 5.3% ahead of the open, following second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell well below analysts' estimates. The firm cited store closures and product shortages, though it also lifted its current quarter forecast. Hasbro stock has traded sideways below its 160-day moving average for the last two months.
- Morgan Stanley just handed Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) a double-upgrade to "overweight," commending the biotech's Alzheimer's drug aducanumab. In response, Biogen stock is up 2.9% before the open, but was down 8.2% in 2020 heading into today.
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The Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI), Markit services PMI, and new home sales are lined up
for today.
Gold Gives Asian Markets a Boost; Europe Eyes COVID-19 Surge
Stocks in Asia were mostly higher to start off the week, after gold surged to record highs and China reported industrial profits for June that were 11.5% higher year-on-year. As a result, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi closed up 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei and the Hong Kong Hang Seng lost 0.2% and 0.4% respectively.
Across the pond, however, stocks are leaning lower after the U.K. imposed a two-week quarantine on travelers returning from Spain, as coronavirus cases surge in mainland Europe. At last check, the German DAX was up 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 and London’s FTSE 100 were both down 0.1%.