The Dow is sporting double-digit gains ahead of the open
Stock futures are pointed higher to start the new month, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) up 97 points, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also sporting solid gains. Boosting sentiment this morning are easing Covid-19 delta variant fears, as well as progress towards an infrastructure bill in the Senate, which included $550 billion in new spending over the next five years, in addition to the previously approved $450 billion.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Keep tabs on Nordstrom stock ahead of its quarterly report.
- The meat alternative name eyeing a rare post-earnings pop.
- Plus, Square lands multi-billion dollar deal; analyst sings CPRI's praises; and Zoom settles privacy lawsuit.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.2 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 1.2 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.56 and the 21-day moving average inched higher to 0.52.
- The shares of Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) are down 3.1% in premarket trading, after the company said it will buy Australia-based Afterpay for roughly $29 billion in stock. The deal represents a 30% premium for Afterpay, and is also giving public finance name Affirm (AFRM) a leg up. Year-to-date, SQ has added 13.6%.
- Capri Holdings Ltd (NYSE:CPRI) was last seen up 1.2% ahead of the open. The equity earned an upgrade from MKM Partners to "buy" from "neutral" this morning, with the analyst in question noting strength in the luxury goods sector, as well as a series of upbeat quarterly reports. CPRI has been a long-term outperformer on the charts, up 268% year-over-year.
- Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM) will pay an $85 million settlement after it was accused of violating users' privacy rights. In addition, the tech name has committed to ramping up security so that hackers are unable to disrupt meetings on its platforms. In response, ZM is up 0.5% before the bell and at about breakeven for the quarter.
- The Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), the ISM manufacturing index, and data on construction spending are due out today.
European Stocks Rise Thanks to Strong Earnings Season
Stocks in Asia rose today, led by China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which popped 2% and 1.1%, respectively. Investors in the area reacted positively to manufacturing data, which showed slowed growth in July but still clocked in with an “expansion” reading. Japan's Nikkei delivered a 1.8% pop, despite new states of emergency in the country due to spiking Covid-19 cases. Elsewhere, the South Korean Kospi added 0.7%.
European markets are higher as well, rising on the heels of a strong earnings season and positive global sentiment. Some big names set to step into the earnings confessional include Heineken (HEIA), Axa (EPA), and HSBC (HSBC). Meanwhile, the final Markit manufacturing PMI for July showed continued acceleration of euro zone factory activity. At last check, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.7%, London's FTSE 100 is 0.6% higher, while the German DAX added 0.08%.