The second stimulus package was passed in congress
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are slightly lower this morning, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) futures eye modest gains ahead of the bell. Today's big news comes from Washington D.C., as congress approved their long-awaited coronavirus relief package, with stimulus checks out to individuals within days, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The measure will add $900 billion in pandemic aid to the $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through September. Meanwhile, revised data showed gross domestic product (GDP) rebounding at a 33.4% annualized rate in the third quarter, which is slightly better than expected.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Why bulls should by Target stock's recent pullback.
- Two worthwhile trading strategies amid continued coronavirus uncertainty.
- Plus, ILMN gets boost on bull note; FUBO continues rally after price-target hike; and KMX brushes off an upbeat quarterly report.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Monday, and 854,642 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.47 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.41.
- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) stock is up 1.3% ahead of the bell, after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $415 from $340. The firm is more confident toward the acquisition of cancer testing firm Grail. Year-to-date, ILMN is up 9.3%, coming into today.
- Fubotv Inc (NYSE:FUBO) stock is up 14.6% in electronic trading, after Needham raised its price target to $60 from $30. FUBO is looking to extend yesterday's 26.1% pop after it was announced that the company is considering exclusive sports content deals. In the past week alone, the equity is up 82.2%.
- The shares of CarMax, Inc (NYSE:KMX) are down 3.4% in premarket trading, despite an upbeat fiscal third-quarter report, with comparable used-vehicle sales down 0.8%. Year-to-date, KMX is up 14.6%.
- Today will bring the latest consumer confidence index, and existing home sales data.
European Stocks on the Rebound
Asian markets were lower today, as the new coronavirus strain that is quickly spreading across the United Kingdom -- leading to lockdowns and travel restrictions -- weighed heavy on investor’s minds. In turn, China’s Shanghai Composite and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled 0.7% lower.
Meanwhile, European stocks are higher, bouncing back from yesterday’s massive sell-off that happened in response to the new COVID-19 strain. In other news, data showed the U.K.’s GDP grew by a record 16% in the third quarter, though it remains far short of the 18.8% decline in the previous quarter. Regardless, London’s FTSE 100 is 0.4% higher while the German DAX is up 1.1% and France’s CAC 40 was last seen up 1.04%.