The Dow and S&P are both eyeing their seventh consecutive wins, should this morning's gains hold
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) were last seen up nearly 100 points, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed several executive orders extending coronavirus relief measures. This includes expanded unemployment benefits, student loan deferment through 2020, and a payroll tax holiday.
One ongoing point of contingency in coronavirus relief talks has been unemployment benefits, and it looks like they will continue albeit at a reduced rate of $400 per week -- $200 lower than impacted workers were originally provided. Elsewhere, futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are pointing marginally higher, with the former pacing for its seventh-straight win.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw over 1.9 million call contracts traded on Friday, and over 1 million put
contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.51, and the
21-day moving average moved up to 0.47.
- Theme park operator SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS) announced wider-than-expected second-quarter losses. Revenue also missed Wall Street's estimates, likely due to the park closures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, SEAS is down 3.6% before the bell.
- After securing a multi-million dollar loan, the shares of Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) soared to a record high. However, that loan was put on hold this morning, on news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating stock options that executives were granted one day before the loan was announced. As a result, KODK is off 40.5% before the market's open, set to open near its late-July levels.
- Bernstein just upgraded FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) to "outperform" from "market perform. The analyst predicted better residential pricing and improved FedEx Ground profit margins. In response, FDX is up 1.2% ahead of the open.
- The new week kicks off with JOLTS data, while. Barrick Gold, Canopy Growth (CGC), JD.com, Royal Caribbean (RCL), Tencent Music, and Tilray (TLRY) will step into the earnings confessional.
Trump Sanctions Do Little to Hinder Asian Markets; European Stocks Higher on Upbeat Economic Data
Stocks in Asia were mostly higher today, while investors continued to digest the U.S. Trump Administration’s announcement that it will impose sanctions on 11 people, including Hong Kong politician Carrie Lam. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%, while China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.8% after data showed Chinese factory deflation slowing in July. The Kospi in South Korea tacked on 1.5% as automaker stocks Hyundai and Kia surged, while Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.
In Europe, markets are higher midday, encouraged by the upbeat economic data out of China, but still eyeing the U.S. coronavirus relief bill progress. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 are both up 0.4%, while the DAX in Germany has risen 0.2%.