The Dow is pointed 93 points lower this morning
Stock futures are mixed this morning, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) off roughly 93 points, pulling back from Friday's record highs, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is also taking a breather, as investors eye sinking oil prices and climbing Covid-19 cases. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), meanwhile, are pointed marginally higher, getting a boost from Tesla (TSLA), which just scored an analyst upgrade. Wall Street is also monitoring the $1 trillion infrastructure bill in Washington, with U.S. senators reconvening over the weekend to work toward an agreement on the bipartisan deal.
Oil futures, meanwhile, are extending last week's losses, weighed by tightening restrictions in China and an expectation for weakening demand. September-dated crude was last seen 4.3% lower at $65.33 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Novavax stock plunged on a Covid-19 vaccine update.
- These cannabis stocks made major moves last week.
- Plus, DLTR gets a downgrade; TSN eyes post-earnings pop; and SAFM surges on buyout deal.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.8 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 1.0 million put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.55 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.52.
- Deutsche Bank just downgraded discount retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) to "hold" from "buy," noting the negative impacts of rising freight and labor costs on the company's profit margins. DLTR is down 1.5% ahead of the bell, and off over 7.6% in 2021.
- Meat producer Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) is up 2.8% ahead of the bell, following the firm's fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue beat. TSN also lifted its full-year revenue, citing restaurants reopening and strong demand for beef. In 2021, TSN is up 10%.
- The shares of Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFM) are up 7.8% in pre-market trading, following news that the poultry company will be acquired by privately held food company Cargill in an all-cash deal worth $4.5 billion, or $203 per share -- an 11.3% premium to Friday's close. Year-to-date, SAFM is up over 42%.
- The week is off to a slow start, though job openings data is still on tap.
Covid-19 Concerns Weigh Overseas
Asian markets started the week mostly higher, although investors continued to monitor the worsening Covid-19 situation. Oil prices are in focus today, with black gold dipping more than 3% in the region amid fears that rising cases could impact fuel demand. The Shanghai Composite in China and Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively, despite China’s import/export growth slowing in July. The South Korean Kospi, meanwhile, shed 0.3%, and Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.
Those same virus woes are taking their toll on European stocks, as are tumbling commodity prices. At last check, London’s FTSE is down 0.2% thanks to a post-earnings bear gap from finance giant Hargreaves Lansdown. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were last seen down 0.02% and 0.05%, respectively.