SPX, Nasdaq Futures Fall Alongside Tech Sector

Stock futures are lower to begin what could be another volatile week on Wall Street. Tech stocks are already taking a beating this morning, with names like Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), and Nvidia (NVDA), all sporting pre-market losses, thanks to a surge in the 10-year Treasury yield -- which is now sitting at its highest level since June. At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are just above breakeven, sporting a 40-point rise, while futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are sinking into the red. Looking ahead, lawmakers in Washington D.C. are attempting to avoid a government shutdown, with the hopes of passing a new budget by the end of September.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update is back with 7 pot stocks that hogged the spotlight last week.
• Levi stock's latest pullback provides an interesting entry point.
• Plus, Box's bull note; Toyota completes a stock buyback; and Piper Sandler names this retailer a "top idea."

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.7 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 960,087 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.50.
2. Cloud computing concern Box Inc (NYSE:BOX) are up 2.2% in electronic trading, after JMP Securities upgraded the equity to "market outperform" from "market perform." The analyst in question cited Box's execution as the catalyst for the upgrade, among other reasons. Year-over-year, BOX is up 46.4%.
3. Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) is up 1.9% before the opening bell, after automobile manufacturer announced it completed a 25.8 million stock buyback. Longer term, Toyota Motor stock already sports a 38.5% year-over-year lead. 
4. Piper Sandler recently named Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) a "top idea." The firm is enthusiastic about Best Buy's new "Best Buy Total Tech" membership program, which provides 24/7 tech support via Geek Squad. Best Buy stock was last seen 0.3% higher ahead of the open, while sporting a 5% year-to-date rise.
5. To begin the week, today features durable and core capital goods orders.

European Stocks Jump After Preliminary Election Results in Germany 

Asian markets were mixed on Monday, as it remains unclear whether or not China Evergrande Group will pay interest on an overdue dollar-denominated bond. Pacing the laggards was China’s Shanghai Composite, which fell 0.8%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei settled slightly below breakeven with a 0.03% loss, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished with a small 0.07% gain. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3%.

European markets are mostly higher, following preliminary results for the Germany's latest election. Specifically, the center-left Social Democratic Party has 25.8% of the vote, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s right-leaning party of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union has 24.1% of the vote. Though this has eliminated some risk for investors, negotiations among the coalitions could take months. Investors are also awaiting European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde’s statement to an European Parliament committee, while also eyeing the Labour party’s annual conference in the U.K. At last check, the German DAX is up 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.3% higher, and London’s FTSE 100 is just below breakeven with a 0.05% loss.